Is he all done with naps??

[juneboymum]

My DS is 28 months old and used to take wonderful, 3hr naps, midday, for the past 10ish months.  For the past 1-2 weeks, he's not napping more often than not.  Last week, I think he napped 1-2/5 days that he's home (he's at daycare 2 days/week).  We go through the same naptime routine and he will go into his crib.  Sometimes he lays down and acts like he'll fall asleep, other times he wants to sit up and read books, play, etc.  I tell him he needs to go to sleep (he's tired!) but if he doesn't go to sleep he seems to get a second wind and is wide awake within 30-45 minutes.  He calls for me repeatedly for water, fix his covers, go potty (which is OK b/c he's not in diapers), get a toy/book for him, etc. There's no crying.  I tell him he needs at least quiet time for 1-2 hours but a nap would be much better!   We do a lot of physical activity in the mornings, and I've been increasing it in the hopes he'll actually nap!

Could this just be a phase, or does it seem like he's giving up his naps???  I REALLY hope this is a phase!  I need my naps with another baby expected in Jan.

At what age did your toddlers stop napping?? 

[Megan73]

My three-year-old did recently drop his nap - permanently, I think - but he's gone through phases in the past of refusing naps. We kept trying and he went back to them. I'd just keep up the routine and keep responses to him boring and brief: "shh, it's sleep time."
From what I've read, most kids don't drop naps around their third birthday so I'dr try to keep that nap going! It really helped us that DS2 was already five or so months old when DS1 dropped his nap. We now do two hours of quiet time where he's expected to play quietly with his "little toys" - things the baby could choke on so we keep them in his room - or "read." If he's wound up, we read to him in the rocking chair so he can relax.

[Peony]

My first 3 kids stopped napping right after they turned 2. It is a common age to start not needing naps anymore. Even when they did nap, I would dream of a 3 hour nap, wow! I used to think 1.5 hours was awesome. Could be a phase or not. IMO once they start those not needing nap phases, the real phase of not needing a nap is not far behind. 

[saralm]

My daughter is 26 months and also in nap chaos.  Her naps used to be consistently 2 hours and now they are all over the place; between 15 minutes and 2 hours.  Some days she is skipping naps, and then being super grumpy at night.  When I let her take a 2 hour nap now I feel like she is up long past her normal bedtime, meaning that I can't get enough sleep either.  I am trying to be flexible with her as she adjusts to her new needs for sleep. 

[dejagerw]

How much sleep is he getting at night? If he gets a lot at night, he might not be tired enough for a nap during the day. I guess it depends on what you prefer. If you'd prefer him to still nap, then you could try moving back bedtime, or getting him up earlier in the morning. My 35 month old gets about 12 hours per day. Usually 1-2 hours of that is a nap.

[dancinganya]

My 2.5 year old daughter either naps for 1 to 2 hours during the day and then won't fall asleep until at least 10pm, or skips her nap and then sleeps 12 to 13 hours at night.  I have heard that napping is a different kind of sleep that is good for kids, but for us the tradeoff is 9 to 10 hours at night and usually 1.5 hours of nap or closer to 12 for a full night's rest.  When she doesn't nap, she does wake more often at night, but some nights with a nap she's a horrible sleeper too.

Don't know if that helps, but I think the best thing is just to go with the flow without expectations.  When I get to that place, my life is easier.  I usually try take time to myself regardless of her nap.  Today I put on a video, but some days she needs that down time too and we just hang out without interacting much or fold clothes together.

Good luck!

[juneboymum]

Thank you so much for all the responses!  Yesterday DS took a good nap and fell asleep pretty fast.  Today he took about 1 hr of loud singing, yelling, jumping, and dancing in his crib until he fell asleep.  I really didn't think he was going to nap today but I told him he needed to sit quietly at least and he was soon asleep.  At night he goes to sleep very easily ~ usually around 8 or 8:30 on nap days, an hour sooner on non-nap days.  At night he sleeps 10-12 hours and might wake up briefly for us to fix his covers a few times.  I make a point to not wake him up in the AM - I wait until he wakes up on his own...even if we're a little late for daycare on those days (which isn't often). 

I'm going to continue with "nap time/quiet time" everyday and see what happens.  He's much happier when he falls asleep so hopefully he'll pick up his naps more consistently again.  This is the kid that didn't sleep more than 30-45 minutes at a time for the first 18 months of his life!!  Things are not bad compared to that, I've just been spoiled with his great naps for the past 10 months!  :)

Thanks again!