The Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot and 3.5 yr. olds that take long naps

[kamilla626]

Any other 3.5 yr. olds still taking long naps? Maybe it's more common than I realize, but I always assumed that most kids grow out of daytime napping by age 2 or so.

[jlpumkin]

My 4 yo still naps on most days...

[Daffodil]

I wish! Mine gave up regular napping at 2.5. Today she did fall asleep in the car, and she and the baby stayed asleep in there for maybe an hour after we got home. Having them both asleep at the same time like that is a rare and wonderful thing!

[dharmamama]

My son is somewhere between 3.5 and 5 years old. He still naps for about 2 hours every day. My daughter is 4.5. She naps for about 1.5 hours 2-4 days a week. My 12 year old naps for about an hour almost every day.

Namaste!

[jazzharmony]

For those with kids who nap, when do they go to bed at night and wake in the morning? My daughter is 2 and when she naps even for a short time, she is up until 12 or 1am. She still does nap most days. My son was the same until he completely gave up naps at about 3.5

[4evermom]

My ds napped for 2-3 hours up until just after he turned 5. I did have to lie down with him as he has never been a "good" sleeper. At that time, he slept 9 hours at night. He seemed unable to sleep more than that at a stretch until recently (even if he skipped naps for a few days, he wouldn't sleep longer at night, just got severly under rested). Now, he doesn't nap and sleeps 11 hours at night. I consider sleeping through the night to just mean not getting up and doing something. He doesn't actually sleep w/o waking, and he never has.

[JavaBean]

I have a just turned 3yo and he takes at least a 2 hour nap regularly. 1-2 days of the week it's 90 minutes, 3-5 days it's 2 hours and 2-3 days it's 3 hours.

Wake up time is 7-7:30am and bedtime is 8:15-8:30pm. At least that's when it's lights out. Sometimes he falls asleep within 15 minutes, other times he can be up singing in his bed until 10pm. It varies.

I want to nap him sooner than 1pm but I can't. For some reason 1pm is when I get my act together to put him down. I don't let him sleep later than 4:30, preferrably 4:00pm but that's flexible bc of DD.

We always do something in the morning. Either it's preschool or Little Gym or hitting the park. I always make sure he's gotten some sort of exercise and that may help with the napping. Then in the afternoon after a snack we try to hit the park again. That helps with his appetite and hopefully tires him out to sleep.

I'm not ready for him to drop his nap so I'm really really happy with our current situation.

[lisac77]

My 3.5-year-old DS sleeps for 2-3.5 hours 4-5 days a week. He usually naps on the days that I'm working (but not always), and stays up on the days I'm home (but not always). If he does go to sleep, he always sleeps a long time.

[*Jessica*]

My just turned 3yo hasn't napped regularly for a few months. In the last week, though, he has taken one 5 out of 7 days. I'm crossing my fingers that he keeps up with it for a while since it is so much easier to keep the baby asleep when he isn't being loud.

When he naps he always sleeps for 3 hours. He sleeps ten hours at night, regardless of having taken a nap during the day or not. (Unless he falls asleep at 4pm, as discussed in a thread in the toddler forum. Then he sleeps for about 13 hours, as if he's adding the length of his nap onto his nighttime sleep.)

[Oceanone]

My ds did until he was in his 4's. My dd on the other hand is 2.5 and no longer takes a nap. I really worked on getting her to take it and just became convinced she was just one of those kids who don't need one. I assumed she would nap until at least in her 3's because my ds did.

[tinuviel_k]

Mine takes a two hour nap every day. I often wonder if she always will: my husband functions much better with a daily nap, and he is 32!

[solareyna]

My 3.5 yr old still takes a nap (2-3 hrs) every day. If it is about noon and he hasn't been laid down yet, he starts getting really cranky. I love it on the weekends because then I get a nap too. He goes to sleep between 8 and 9:30 (usually depending on how long of a nap he took) and wakes up between 5:30 and 6.

[ewe+lamb]

DD stopped napping at 18 months - that was a bit of a shock!

[dharmamama]

Originally Posted by jazzharmony

when do they go to bed at night and wake in the morning?

My son goes to bed at 9 and gets up around 7.

My dd2 goes to bed around 9 and gets up at around 8.

My oldest dd goes to bed around 9 and gets up around 10, unless I wake her early for something.

My dd2 does have a hard time falling asleep if she's napped that day, but she has a very hard time making through the day if she hasn't napped. She still has to go to bed at bedtime but she can listen to a book on tape or read books in her bed until she falls asleep.

Namaste!

[dancingmama]

My 4 year-old naps 1.5 - 3 hours per day. She goes to bed around 9 and wakes around 6:30.

[**guest**]

Ds doesn't usually nap anymore...Unless he's not feeling well.

By the way, your thread title made me chuckle.

[hhurd]

DS (4.5) is just starting to phase out naps. When he does nap, it's for 1.5 hours +/-. He goes to bed around 7:30pm and wakes around 6:30am.

[kamilla626]

Ok, so it sounds like it's not that unusual after all.

She typically naps 1.5 - 3 hrs. in the afternoon, goes to bed at about 9-ish and wakes up at about 7-ish. We're torn about the idea of her giving up the nap, because it does allow us to "get things done" on the weekends, but when we want to plan family activities and go places, we have to work around that block of time.

Thanks for your responses!