2.5 - 3 yrs - talk to me about sleep IF your kid still naps

[CloudBee]

DS is showing signs that he needs less of it.

He'll happily take a 2-3 hr nap, but now he's taking a LOT longer to fall asleep at night. For the longest time he went down at about 7:45, then that crept up to 8pm. The past few weeks it's been about 8:30pm. Once I started staying at home we let him sleep until 7am. I set my alarm and go down and get him. He's usually stirring by then. But man, going to bed at 8:30pm is cramping our style in the evening as a couple. I also feel bad that he's tossing and turning (though not upset) for an hour after that. Poor guy.

Yesterday I only let him nap for 90 minutes, and he passed out pretty quickly when I put him in bed at 8pm.

Can you give me a general idea of your 2.5 - 3 yr old's sleep schedule if they still nap? TY!

We definitely need to make some adjustments. The 7am wakeup time is perfect, but the nap and bedtime need some work.

[bea]

My kiddo is 2 years, 8 months. She naps for 2-3 hours each afternoon. Bedtime begins at 6:45. She is generally still awake when we leave the nursery, but plays quietly until she falls asleep. The mornings are more variable - she wakes up between 6:30-7:30 most days.

I hear you on the not wanting bedtime to creep later into the evening. It's the only time we can really put our feet up and hang out together without toddler shenanigans.

[DarcyLongfellow]

Are you staying at home now? If so, I'd just let him sleep until he wakes up on his own. When DD1 was a toddler, she would go to bed some time between 9 and 10, then she'd wake up 12 hours later. She also took a 2 hour nap every single day until she was 3.5 or so, and I would put her down pretty late -- 2pm or so.

DD2 (2.5) goes to bed around 7, falls asleep quickly, and is usually up at 7:30 or so. She takes a 2 to 3 hour nap every day. I put her to bed sometime between 11:30 and 12:30 usually, although I can push her later if I need to.

I don't wake my kids up unless absolutely necessary. If DD2 takes a late nap and doesn't wake up until 5:30, then I just put her to bed a little later to make up for it. I would never wake her up unless I had to (which I do, often, to pick DD1 up from school, but I'd prefer not to).

[thebreakfastclub]

Mine will be 3 in Feb. At daycare, he naps from 1-3. Weekends are hit or miss. Today we were out and he did not nap.

On a nap day, bedtime is around 9pm. He wakes at 6:15.

I will try for 8:30 tonight due to no nap, but the days of 7:30 bedtime are long gone for us.

[Marmee]

My kid falls asleep in the car every time we are in the car after about 1pm. It's annoying. If we are at home she's not tired until 2-3pm & wants to sleep 2-3 hours. It's very inconvenient because then she wants to stay up to 9-10pm.

[teatimefor2]

DS1 is 3y3m and still naps but not everyday. Due to preschool,I wake him by 7:30 M-F. I found that although he doesn't go daily, he does better waking at the same time. Saturday's we let him sleep in.

He doesn't nap everyday, but at least three to four days per week. Other days he has quiet time and will play in his room with cars, puzzles, books, etc.

I still read him three books before nap/quit time and leave him around 2:00 pm. If he does nap, I make sure he's up by 4:00 pm, ideally 3:30 pm. Bedtime is is 8:00 pm regardless of if it was a nap day or quiet time day. He can read with by the nightlight for as long as he wants. Some quiet time days he reads until 9:00 pm and some nap dats he goes right to bed.

But he always has to be on bed, lights out at 8:00 pm. We usually go back in for a final kiss when he's ready as he yells into the monitor 'tuck me in'.

[megs193]

My son is 3.5. He still naps 90% of the time. He usually naps from 1:30-3:00. He goes to bed between 7:30-8:00pm and he wakes up at 6am. I would love for him to drop his nap and sleep a little later in the morning but he doesn't seem ready yet.

[megs193]

Dec 19, 2015 15:35:57 GMT -5 @kirkette said:

My kid still napped at that age. She's almost 6 and still naps.

How does that work with school? Occasionally my 6 year old will take a nap after school but he sleeps until 5:30pm and then won't go to bed until 10:00-10:30pm. There are a lot of days that he could use a nap but I am always trying to keep him awake so he doesn't torture me at night.

[CloudBee]

The 7am wakeup allows time for he and DH to spend time together. It's also the perfect amount of time for us to bum around the house, cook breakfast, and slowly get ready for the days we have to leave at 9am. (Gym, MOPS, CBS, etc.)

[CloudBee]

Huh. Maybe I should try putting him down earlier and stay steady with a 90 min - 2 hr nap. Like 1-3 so he's tired by bedtime. Yesterday I noticed he woke up from his nap happier. This may have been due to the fact that it was still light outside, and we weren't pushing 4:30/5pm. I think I woke him at 4pm?

[greycat]

My kids sleeps less than average.

Most days he naps 1.5-2 hrs although he occasionally skips a nap. He goes to bed at 8-8:30p and is up 5:30-6a.

ETA - DS will be 3 in March

[mlvmd]

DS1 took naps until he was five I think. And a long one, normally around three hours. He went to sleep around 7:30 too. However, he has always gotten up between 5:30 and 6am. But nothing would change that, we tried taking away naps, pushing bedtime later, combinations. Finally we decided to just let him have his naps.

Even now at 6 he no longer naps and still gets up at the same time. DS2 is also an early riser, FML.

[dcn]

Ds1 just recently gave up napping for the most part. He's 3y2m. Before that, he was up 6:30-7, nap 12:30 or 1 for 90 min or so, then bed at 8 or 8:30.

Now that he doesn't nap he's in bed around 7:15 or 7:30 and sleeps until 6:30 or 7. Glorious. I did not like 8:30 bedtime at all.

[ladygrey]

DD is 2.5. She goes to bed at 8:00 pm, wakes at 8:00 am, and naps from 1:30-3:30 pm.

[Deleted]

DD turned 3 last month.

She will nap on the weekends for 2-3-3.5 hours, but it means she is a beast when she wakes up and won't go back to sleep until 9/10pm, which sucks. I think she's dropping naps at school too. So I usually let her nap on Saturdays to catch up on the week, but it's hit or miss on Sundays.'

[dancingirl21]

DS is 2.5. At daycare he naps anywhere from 1-3 hours per day. He sleeps much better at home generally. Today, however, it took him over an hour to go to sleep for nap. And that included me rubbing his back and singing him to sleep.

[tealblue]

Dec 19, 2015 15:55:07 GMT -5 greycat said:

My kids sleeps less than average.

Most days he naps 1.5-2 hrs although he occasionally skips a nap. He goes to bed at 8-8:30p and is up 5:30-6a.

ETA - DS will be 3 in March

This is DS- he's 3.5 but been this way for probably 9 months. Wakes 5:30-6:15 (occasionally), nap at daycare is 1-3 (no clue how long he actually sleeps), nap at home or maybe 1:30/2-3/3:30. Bedtime is 8 but he doesn't fall asleep right away.


Edit: we don't always do or push weekend nap time and it doesn't really make him sleep earlier or stay sleeping longer.

[ssmjlm]

E naps 1-3 at daycare. Bedtime is 7:30 and I wake her at 6:30 for daycare.

On weekends we don't let her sleep past 3:30. Bed is usually a bit later around 8, Friday and Saturday.

[smile]

DD will be 3 next month. She is generally up for the day anytime between 7:30-8am, and goes to bed between 8-8:30pm. Naps generally occur 2-4, but occasionally 3-5. I dislike naps that end after 4pm because it affects bedtime. On the days that DD skips her nap I can put her to bed by 7:30 easily. I would prefer if naps were dropped, but DD starts melting down around 3 without one unless she is actively involved in something until bedtime. 

[robot]

2 yrs, 10 months. She naps from about 1-3pm, and sleeps 8:30-7. But her bedtime has always been 8:30, so at least we haven't lost hours of sleep yet. I'm always a little jealous of the early-to-bed kids I hear about, but on the other hand, at least I don't have an early waker!

[arch01]

DS turns 4 Tuesday-he has been very consistent since he dropped to 1 nap. Most days he naps from 2-4 or 3-5; bedtime is 8pm, he's up between 7 and 8 (but his light doesn't come on til 8).

[bunch]

I've never found that moving anything around directly impacts my kids sleep.

DD2 (2.5) goes to bed at 8 and wakes around 7 (really anywhere from 6:30-8). She generally naps for about 2 hrs in the afternoon.

DD1 (4.5) dropped her nap for the most part around 3.5, but still takes a nap a few times a week.

[Deleted]

My 2.5 year old has been waking up an hour earlier now that he's potty trained but he still takes a 2-3 hour nap (2ish at daycare but 3 at home). He is a bedtime staller (makes us read and sing to him for an hour) but once we leave he usually goes down for a good 10-11 hours.

[urbancowgirl]

DS is 2.5. He sleeps from 7:30 pm to 7:00 am, and naps from 1:00 to 3:00. If I don't limit his nap to 2 hours, he won't nap the next day. Nighttime sleep isn't affected, though.

[loskadoodle]

Ds1 is 3.5. He goes to school 3 days a week and won't nap there. He naps at home 99% of the time. But we have to really tire him out for him to go to be at normal time. School days are 8-630/7 (no nap). Home days/weekends are 9-630/7 with a nap for 2-3 hours.

[NandaB]

Dec 19, 2015 15:54:34 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

Huh. Maybe I should try putting him down earlier and stay steady with a 90 min - 2 hr nap. Like 1-3 so he's tired by bedtime. Yesterday I noticed he woke up from his nap happier. This may have been due to the fact that it was still light outside, and we weren't pushing 4:30/5pm. I think I woke him at 4pm?

This is pretty much what we do. My kids are 2.5 & 4.5 and even the oldest naps most days still. They lay down around 130 and usually are asleep in 10 min or so. I wake them by 4 if they're still sleeping. Bedtime is 8 (like that's when the lights are off) and usually they fall asleep pretty quickly.

If youth want him to go to sleep earlier than he is I would make the nap earlier (wake him by 3 maybe) before I totally eliminated it. But I cherish nap time.

[pinkdutchtulips]

dd always had a lateish bedtime (8:30) due to me getting home from work at 6-6:30pm which meant that couple time was non-existent to begin with lol (i went to bed at 9-9:30 bc i had to be up at 5a to be able to leave at 6a) ! at 2.5-3, she was still napping at dcp - 2hrs- daily. along with a catnap in the car (at that age, we had an hr long ride bt dcp and home). we cut the nap ENTIRELY at dcp when she was 4 bc her 2 hr siesta was keeping her up until 9:30-10p and i was at my wits end w/ ZERO alone time (working + single parent = DIRE need for alone time). we cut the nap and she went down at 8:30-9p.

[jessnpaul]

DS is 3y8m but his schedule has been the same for awhile. Most days i have to wake him up at 7:45am (i have to be at work at 9) . He naps anywhere from 1.5-3 hours. Bedtime is 8:30/9pm. He falls asleep pretty quickly.

DH and I don't go to bed until midnight so plenty of time for us to hang out after B is in bed.

[lg28]

DS is 3.5 and we are having to stop naps in order for him to sleep ok At night. Otherwise he is wide awake from 730-10 or even later when I want him in bed!!

I really miss naps though.

[bdubs419]

DS1 will be 3 in April. He still naps but it does seem to be affecting how long it takes him to fall asleep at night. I put him down in his crib at 7:45 and I still hear him "chatting" now at 9:30. Omg dude go to bed!