Is 3 too young to stop napping?

[moonlight mom]

I'm just wondering because my ds will be 3 next month and I just weaned him from bfing. Since he is no longer nursing before his nap, he decided that he just won't take one! I tried laying down with him to have a rest time but that is not going so well. We can maybe make it 5-10 minutes before he is jumping around. I've played music, tried different rooms and rocking in a chair. None of it is settling him enough to rest.
He is sleeping about 11 hours at night. Is this enough sleep for a 3 year old?

In general, he is not breaking down in the afternoon, but this is only week 1 and I am worried that it may eventually catch up with him.

[Robyn79]

My youngest gave up his naps just before his 3rd birthday and was fine with it. I've now found that on occasion when he does fall asleep in the afternoon he is very difficult to get to sleep at night.

I did adjust his bedtime when he gave up napping (putting him to bed 30-45 minutes earlier) and he's done quite well with it.

[abi&ben'smom]

Mine both stopped at 27 months. Except for the rare falling asleep in the car. And they were fine until bedtime. I think it just depends on the child; some need it and some don't.

[LaughingHyena]

DD stopped napping regularly before 2 she's now 3 1/2 and sleeps about 11 hours a night.

There were a few weeks when it was rough, she didn't want to nap but would be tired well before her usual bedtime. I learned to make sure we had plenty of food ready for afternoon snacks because she was often to tired to eat much at dinner and if she was really melting down a walk in the pushchair usually got us a short nap.

[ChristaN]

Three seems like a pretty standard age to stop napping. When they first give up that nap, there is some time when they are tired early in the evening and really cranky, but if they keep napping, they often stay up too late anyway.

My younger one stopped napping at home by 2 1/2 or so, but kept taking a nap at preschool until 4, but she's always needed more sleep than her older sister. My older one completely stopped napping at 16-18 months and I spent months fighting with her to try to get her to nap -- nursing, driving her around, etc. I finally gave up. The plus side to her stopping napping was that she finally started sleeping through the night about 6 months later.

[Jade2561]

I don't think 3 is too young. My almost 4 year old gave up naps before she turned 3, although she takes naps randomly (maybe 3 times a month).

After she gave up naps she started going to bed earlier. I think as long as there isn't a change in behavior it should be fine. We nap if we are melting down in the early afternoon.

[reezley]

DS (now 3) gave up naps for the most part when he turned 2. It was just too hard to get him to lie still and close his eyes and try. After a few months he did figure out how to take a nap if he was very tired and did so occasionally. Now at 3yo he naps about once every week or two, if that, and usually then only in the car if very tired. I do also recommend moving bedtime up just a bit too.

[tuck]

My son stopped napping at 22 months! We had a definite cranky time late afternoon, and I found that doing a 4 pm bath worked out well, since 5 was a tough time to be agreeable ( him, not me ) . I found that doing bedtime much earlier than I ever considered was great, too. Until recently, he would be in bed at 5:30 for cuddles and stories, then by 6 we were "trying to sleep". He was often asleep by 615/630, and slept all night. For us, it worked well, since dw is home from work by 4 and they had time together. I think for most families that early bedtime might cut into family time...
Ds is now 5, and is in bed by 630 ( am I the only one who HATES the time change 2x year?!) , asleep by 730 at the latest. Its constant adjusting! Good luck.

[Ks Mama]

My DD stopped napping consistantly right around 2 3/4 yrs., and even at that point, the only way I could get her to sleep, for a year prior to that, was in the car.

She OCCASIONALLY takes a nap now (like once every couple weeks) when she's REALLY tired; she'll actually ask me for a nap. She's 3.5 yrs now. I think it just depends on the child.

[limette]

If that's too young, my daughter is really abnormal because she gave up all naps at a year. She's slept for about 12 hours a night since then with no problems.

I so wish she still napped.

[Catherine12]

My ds stopped napping around 18 months. He sleeps about 12 hours a night. It was much easier to just let him stop napping than to try and force him to continue, and he has slept better at night since dropping the nap. Now he has "quiet time" with dd in the afternoon instead. Kids vary a lot with this - dd didn't stop napping until 3 1/2.

[TEAK's Mom]

Both of mine stopped napping between 18 months and two years. They were easier to get to sleep at night after they stopped napping. I still miss naps some days.

[Peony]

DD1 stopped napping regularly right when she turned 2y, by the time she was 3y she had stopped napping all together. She also didn't go to bed until late, she was *maybe* getting 10 hours of sleep a night, she did this until age 5, then she decided she needed a bit more sleep and started going to bed earlier. She just doesn't need much sleep.

[One_Girl]

My dd did this after she weaned, she made up for it by getting tired and falling asleep a lot earlier so it wasn't a problem.

[*jeanine*]

when ds was 2 3/4 he was taking good, long naps but *would not* go to sleep at night. i tried to wake him after a short nap but he would be super cranky. so i stopped putting him down for naps. it took him a couple weeks to adjust, but after that he was fine with it.
dd1 will be three soon, and she still naps. of course it's 10:30 and she's still awake "i need some water", "i need my bunny", but i digress....

[pigpokey]

I think 11 hours is about how much my 3 year old son sleeps with a nap -- probably 9 hours of sleep at night and 2 in the afternoon. My 4 year old probably averages 12 hours a day of sleep with a nap also.

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide...en-need?page=4 gives some typical ranges.

[annethcz]

All of my kids stopped napping at around 2.5yo.

[veganf]

My middle son stopped at 2.5. I myself stopped at 2.
If he's not tired then I don't see a problem.

[pixiepunk]

my DD stopped napping right around her 2nd birthday. DS will be 3 in July and is working on dropping his nap (only does it about 1/3-1/2 the time). DD nursed for another year after that and DS is still nursing, so it wasn't related to that, they just didn't want to nap anymore, and instead started going to bed for the night a little earlier.

so i don't think 3 is too young.... but i would be concerned if it were abrupt stop related to weaning. that tells me that he isn't necessarily read to stop napping, he's just protesting or doesn't know how to fall asleep without nursing.

[moonlight mom]

I guess alot of kids don't need naps anymore - I do miss it. He seems fine, not overly cranky and it is much easier to get him to bed a night. He did drop the nap only because he wasn't nursing anymore, but he falls asleep fine at night without nursing