How old was your toddler when they gave up on naps?

[Stitches]

My DD is 27 months old, sleep and naps have been a struggle from the start but for the past year or so we've been doing pretty good, she's able to go to sleep herself after a cuddle and up until recently was napping about 1-2 hrs a day. We just transitioned her into a toddler bed and aside from a few hicups, it's gone just fine at night, but she has totally stopped napping now. For the past few months she's been napping later and later (used to be clockwork at 12:30, then 2pm or later) and not napping every day either. She sleeps about 12 hrs at night and seems to be coping pretty well without her nap.

So my question is how old was your DC when they stopped napping? Apparently I gave them up at this age too. I really don't think this is an issue I can force with her, and we've been doing quiet time in her room in the afternoon so I can have a rest (I'm pregnant and I'm the one missing nap time!!), but this is in the range of normal, right?

[elleystar]

My DS is 28 months. We stopped doing naps for the most part about 2 weeks ago. He's been the kind of kid who ALWAYS needed his naps, and loads of sleep at night. But for the last month or so, it was taking an hour long struggle to get him to sleep for his nap, and then another hour long struggle in the evening for his (later and later) bedtime. One day I decided it wasn't worth it, I didn't like the parent that I was becoming when I was getting that frustrated, and we decided to go for it and drop the nap. It's actually working out very well. He still gets a nap 1-2 times a week when I can tell he's getting really run down. But now bedtime is 7 pm, he's asleep within a couple of minutes, and in general he sleeps solid for 11-12 hours. The adjustment takes some time. The last half of the day he looks pretty tired and has bags under his eyes. If he has a day where he's so tired his emotions are ragged, I try to give him a nap and he falls asleep. (Of course, we pay for it later when he won't go to sleep at bedtime...)

Anyway HTH! I wish my kid was one of those who kept his nap past age 3 but I guess that's not in the cards for us!

[broodymama]

DS1 and DD1 gave up naps as soon as I transitioned them to a toddler bed. That's the whole reason I'm holding off on transitioning DD2 (26 months) to a toddler bed. She'll nap for usually at least an hour, sometimes a little over 2 hours in the afternoon and she falls asleep almost as soon as I put her down. I can tell that she still needs the sleep in the afternoon (and still goes to bed about 7), and I don't want her to give up that nap until she's ready.

[coyotemist]

My 22.5 month old is going through this same thing. Over the summer suddenly the 12-1 o'clock nap wasn't happening anymore, and it was more like 3 or 4. Now he'll go down late and not wake up until bed time. I try to hold him out until 7, it's easier for everyone that way. It doesn't always work.

This too shall pass, this too shall pass.

[Thing1Thing2]

Same here with my 27month old. Over the past few weeks, his naps are getting later and later. And then there's the late bedtime just like PP mentioned. I think I may try to cut his naps from 2 hours down to an hour. Seems to me that will be better for us than to completely cut out naps right now (he gets really cranky when he's tired)...

[Fujiko]

My 3.5 year old still takes a 2-3 hour nap most days. She actually didn't start napping well until she was around 2 or 2.5 years old. Very short, frustrating naps before that. But she always needed them, because she couldn't make it to bedtime before freaking out. Just lately she's been electing to skip the nap, AND has been lasting until bedtime while still acting rationally.

[The4OfUs]

26 months and 28 months. They could have continued napping at around 3 or 4pm but then they'd be up until 11pm and then awake at 6am no matter what time they fell asleep. So they got more net sleep per 24 hours if they didn't nap and just went to bed at 6:30 or 7pm. Was a little hairy for the first few weeks while they adjusted, but then we enjoyed not having to be home in the afternoon, AND I enjoyed the break in the evening.

[mamadelbosque]

ds1 hung onto his afternoon nap untill well... super recentl. He's 3.5 and I'm pretty sure we're done... but up untill a few wks ago he was fairly consistently still taking a solid 1-2 hour nap from 2-4ish in the afternoon. DS2 is just over a year and not yet consistent...

[gagin37]

ds gave them up completely at 21-22 months. He started dropping them and really fighting them around 18 months, but we'd still get 3-4 naps a week. i think i miss them a lot more than he does.

[SubliminalDarkness]

DS1 napped until he was 4.
DS2 napped until he was a little over 2. He was an absolute bear to put to sleep at night, so we cut naps out.

[momtoS]

Both of my daughters gave up naps at 12 months or so. If they did nap, bedtime wasn't until 2am.....way too late for me!

[ShyDaisi]

Micah is 3.5 and still naps every day during the week. On the weekends, he only naps if we are in the car during that time of the day or if I am willing to take a nap too. Otherwise, he is too interested in what I am doing to stop. I like non-nap days because bedtime is easier and earlier.

[Baby_Cakes]

Around 20-21 months. She now goes to bed at 8 pm and STTN till 8 in the morning though! Good trade off as far as I'm concerned.

[Abraisme]

Originally Posted by The4OfUs

26 months and 28 months. They could have continued napping at around 3 or 4pm but then they'd be up until 11pm and then awake at 6am no matter what time they fell asleep. So they got more net sleep per 24 hours if they didn't nap and just went to bed at 6:30 or 7pm. Was a little hairy for the first few weeks while they adjusted, but then we enjoyed not having to be home in the afternoon, AND I enjoyed the break in the evening.

My DS was a little over 2yo when this same thing happened. He just wasn't a long-term napper.

[Neera]

Around 33 months or so the naps became less and less. Now, at 3.7 mo she wakes up real late so she doesn't nap. But, if she woke up early she'll need a nap although she'll fight it each time. But, sometimes it'll be a short tantrum making me think that I should have tried earlier. The thing is the lack of communication with them. If I don't ask there's no way that she's going to ask. Plus, most of the times the answer is in the negative. When I see a melt down coming I don't give her the option, I just tell her she has to nap.

[changingseasons]

We just dropped the nap at 35mo. Naptime has ALWAYS been a fight, but it was suddenly taking an hour to get her to sleep (for an hour. ) So I finally gave up, thinking she would just go to sleep earlier and/or sleep longer at night. Nope.

[physmom]

I'm soooo ready for DD to give up naps!!! She's 20 months and has been fighting naps since birth! Today I just decided to not even bother and it was such a wonderful day. Way less stressful for me. Let's see how the night goes, though, because sometimes she gets nightterrors (although last time that happened to coincide with an ear infection so it might have been that and not the no napping).

When she does nap she goes to bed after 10 and sleeps like 9 hours at night. When she has no nap days she'll sleep 12 hours (but wake up more often and have to have at least one potty break). However, it's so much better because I get so exhausted we she goes to bed after 10!!!

[Drummer's Wife]

All four of my kids were about 24 months old - or slightly younger - when they stopped consistently napping.

[MamaPhD]

21 mo DD started preschool this week (MW9-11, co-op so I go with her), and didn't nap the whole week. I am hoping this is just a transition thing, but super afraid DD might drop her nap all together! She used to take a 2 hour naps & I need a nap nowadays, too, with #2 on the way. She gets tired by dinner time but is OK until bed time at around 8pm then sleeps until 7am. One day I was so tired I put DD in her crib & napped for like 45 min, sigh....

[tylerdylan]

32 months for DS1 and 18 months for DS2.