Support for dropping the last nap age 2-3 yrs

[chemgirl1681]

As an update - Aidan is not dropping naps!!! 

I have been able to keep him in bed (for several days now) two fold:
1) Told him that if he gets up or calls for Mom or Dad more than once all his stuffed animals will be taken out of his bed.
2) I'm teaching how to read the clock in his room.  He knows the hand configuration for going to nap, getting up from nap, going to bed, and getting up in the morning. 

I'm amazed how well he has been doing with the clock, and he's proud of himself too!  I had gone in to get his brother and he had just gotten up and was looking at the clock to read the time and turned to me and said "Look mom the little hands on the 3 it's time to get up!"

[Sarah - Enfys' Mum]

That's pretty cool about the clock. 
I've taken the stuffed animals out of the cot too on occasion.  It does work.

[OliverRowland]

oh boy, I think we are ready to make more changes here.  da is now down to 45 min naps daily.  but not sure where i should tread next...drop the nap entirely here and there or cut the nap to 30min?  Anyone have any feeling about this?

[deckchariot]

I've not done it myself, but I'd try cutting the nap to 30 min first and see if that helps - you could also try pushing it out a bit later.

[OliverRowland]

wouldn't pushing it later interfere with bedtime....ie take longer to fall asleep?

[deckchariot]

it shouldn't if you're still keeping it short - just even moving it 15 min later might help.  At 3, most bubs only need about 10.5 hrs of sleep overnight along with an hour-ish nap.  So if his nap is already short, he could be on the shorter end of sleep needs.

[Sarah - Enfys' Mum]

Well Enfys is definitely on her way to dropping her nap and is now only napping 3 or 4 days per week.  The way I can see it going is, she'll either nap an hour and a half or she won't sleep at all.  I can live with that I guess.  If she naps, she's in bed by 8, if she doesn't it's between 7-7.30 or whenever I get home from work to put her to bed!

[Bryony]

Katie has just dropped hers....  well actually I dropped it as she was not napping till about 4pm and only then if she was in the buggy - and then wouldn't go to sleep at night until almost *my* bedtime!   So now we avoid going in the buggy after 3pm so that she doesn't get the chance to nap this late.... so far so good - she's gone from sleeping 10hrs at night to 12 hrs, and is much happier all day. Bit tired and stroppy in the evening but if she's asleep by a sensible time (rather than 9pm or later) I can live with that! 

[Sarah - Enfys' Mum]

Thanks for posting Bryony.  I was starting to think Enfys was dropping freakishly early, but she's only three months younger than Katie   Cause you know it's all about peer pressure  

[Bryony]

Cause you know it's all about peer pressure  

absolutely!! 

i think there is a lot of variation....  they can drop their nap any time from 18 months to 4 year.... 

[skatty]

Hi ladies, I think I need to join you as Leorah never naps at nursery anymore, they put her down way too early and she just sings and talks  She has to give up in October anyway as she moves to the big kids nursery and she will not sleep inside so we are ready to help push her towards no nap. Wierd thing is she still naps at home no problem! I have asked the nursery to experiment and put her down last so she is more tired so we will see, I would like it if she napped 2 or 3 days at nursery to prevent OT, today was day 3 of no nap and she asked to go to bed at 5pm after lots of tantrums! We are lucky as she will go down at 5.15pm, asleep by 5.30pm and up at 7am but will usually have a brief waking before 11pm which isn't too bad but after 3 days no napping I wonder if it will be worst tonight  We had a very smooth 2-1 transition thanks top the fact she likes her night sleep so I am hoping for the same again but she is so sensitive to OT 

Sarah I cannot belive Enfys is giving up her nap already, poor you  I hear you on it depending on who puts her down as we have had the nursery problem for ages, I have had to let it go because I was getting so stressed about it and decided she is nearly 3 and I cannot spend any more time stressing over naps, it was quite freeing!

[Sarah - Enfys' Mum]

And I can't believe Leorah will go to bed at 5 pm!  I mustn't jinx myself but Enfys is a happy-silly OT and just goes faster and faster and faster.  Literally only once in her life has she lost it through being OT, so really I musn't complain too much.  Also most of my IRL friends with LO's her age or a bit older aren't napping anymore. 
 

[skatty]

You are lucky Enfys is happy OT, Leorah is awful, she will be cackling like a witch one minute and on the floor in a tantrum the next, if L had been happy when OT I think we may have given the nap up earlier  I do think BW kids seem to nap longer than non BW, my mum said at L's age I wouldn't nap but would just drop off somewhere in the car or maybe on the floor in the middle of all my toys! Again L was asleep by 5.30pm, brief NW at 10.30pm and I woke her at 6.45 to help her have mmore a time before nursery nap, dare I hope she is handling the no naps well? It is strange giving her dinner at 4.30pm but we have kind of got used to this new routine, we are away this weekend though and I need her to nap! Her cousins will be there so I am hoping they will run themselves ragged as usual and I can get her to nap, a 5pm bedtime will not be good as we are sleeping in an annexe so I will have to sit outside in case she wakes up, she'd freak out on her own!

[Bryony]

I can't believe she will go to bed at 5:30pm either!  Katie only sleeps max 11hrs in any 2 hour period so if we put her to bed at 5:30 I expect she would be up at 4:30 am to start the day. Yikes!

Mind you, Katie is surviving OK on no naps, but one week in, is starting to fall asleep around 5pm if we are in the buggy. Which is a real pain as then she is in a horrible mood if we I wake her after 15 mins or so, and then she won't go to sleep again until 9pm ....

Not sure what to do - am trying to avoid being out in the buggy after 4pm but sometimes can't avoid it....

[Sarah - Enfys' Mum]

LOL since Enfys has NEVER slept in her buggy, I don't know!  I take it you can't just make her walk?