Reducing sleep time...does it work?

[Jack and Cians mum]

My DS1 is 3 years old and still needs his naps during the day or else he can be a demon come bed time but even when he wakes from his nap he can be just as bad.

He used to be a great sleeper at night and go for around 12 hours and can have between 1 and 3 hour nap during the day, i have never woke him and thought that if he went for a long sleep then he obviously needed it.  But the situation is now we have a 10 week old and i want my sleep back, DS1 will now come into our room normally between 6.30/7am and not go back to sleep so i end up having to get up.

I did hear that if i reduced the daytime nap then he should add it onto his evening time sleep.  Is this true?  I was thinking maybe of just letting him sleep for an hour for the next week and see how we get on from there but i would love some feedback on this.

Thanks

Tracey

[Samuel's mum]

Sam doesn't usually have a nap. On the rare occasion he falls asleep in the car he is then much longer to get to sleep that night and sleeps for less time.

So I'd say it's worth a try. 3 hours is a long nap at his age so I'd be tempted to reduce it.

The only danger might be he wants to go to sleep earlier but then still wakes up at the same time. Is his room blacked-out?

Is he old enough for a box of toys in his room and a 'don't come into daddy and mummy's room until the ears on the bunny alarm clock pop up'??

[Carmela's Mom]

I'm having some problems with my DD.  She never slept 12 hours at night, more like 10-10.5 and then napped for 1.5 hours.  So she was getting 12 hours total a day.  Well lately she's waking earlier than normal (6 am versus 7 am), falling asleep way too late for nap (put her in at 1 pm, she falls asleep around 2pm), and wanting to nap until 3:30/4 pm.  Bedtime was 8:00 pm but she wasn't falling asleep until 10:00 pm.  I've tried waking her from her nap at 3:00 pm no matter what time she fell asleep, and that created a MONSTER living in my home until bed time.  And she still would talk until 10:00 pm.  So now I'm stuck.  I don't want to give up that nap, and I also don't want to have to put her to bed too early as its summer and I enjoy going out and playing outside when DH comes home from work!  Soooo I think I'm going to live with the later bedtime and hope it makes wake up time later.  We'll see.  Let me know what works for you.