DD refusing to nap and is super grumpy!

[alwaystimeforgin]

As I said in the title,
My DD is 3 years old and she has decided she no longer wants to nap in the day. I wouldn't have a problem with this at all if she could cope with being up all day, but she just can't! By 5pm she is very emotional and crying and you can see she is just too tired.

I have tried giving her "down time" instead of her nap which I usually do some quiet stories and puzzles and we have a cuddle for about an hour which she likes. Whenever I do attempt to get her to nap she screams and says she is not tired (when she clearly is!) and she just ends up getting too upset which is just not worth it in the end.

I suppose what I am looking for is any advice/ideas to combat this or is it just a case of waiting for the phase to pass?

Any advice greatly appreciated. Also should mention that she eats very well and sleeps very well at night- goes down at 7.30 waking at around 8am.