Dropping the final nap

[Mum7644885]

Any parents, when did you child/children drop their final nap ?

My LO is 2 years 3 months and I think she needs to drop the nap but it seems super young ? Just wondering what other people’s experiences have been

Blimey very young in my experience. I'm a childminder and most sleep to around their 4th birthday with me.

Ds was like this, mostly done by the time Dd was born at 2.5.

DS dropped it about that age. Maybe a little earlier than that at home and a little after at nursery. He just wasn’t tired enough during the day - it got to the stage where the nap wouldn’t naturally happen until 3:30 or 4pm which meant bedtime was horrendously late. We dropped it, had a rough couple of days and then his night sleep became the best it ever has, 12-13h straight through. I’m so glad we didn’t cling on to it for too long. I’m shocked at the above. I don’t know a single 3 yo that still regularly naps let alone a 4 yo.

Slightly early but not unusual. Most kids in the UK drop it between 2 and 3 I think e.g. school nurseries don’t do naps.

This can vary wildly between children (and parents). My eldest dropped hers when she was very nearly 3, my toddler is around the same age as yours and I've had to reduced hers to 1 or 1.5h max, otherwise she gives me trouble at bedtime.
I do think people tend to ditch the nap a bit too quickly as soon as they see any signs and that causes a lot of trouble too. Often reducing it and slightly postponing bedtime works better with a toddler's stamina. If you do decide to drop it completely bring bedtime an hour or so forward to start with, to avoid the dreaded overtired manic state!

My son is 2 next month. We have a very relaxed approach to naps (i.e. time, location, duration is whatever it needs to be and we don't have a set nap time, wouldn't wake him etc).
The past month or so he is starting to have a day or two a week where he just doesn't nap. Opportunity is there but he doesn't fall asleep. On those days he goes to sleep at bedtime around 30mins earlier and will definitely nap the next day.
I remember my daughter dropping it this way and she gradually did more consecutive days without a nap and eventually around 2 1/2 she was out of the napping stage completely.
I think if they're not ready to nap until late afternoon you're best to try and hold off until (a slightly earlier) bedtime that day x

Dropped at 2, which was great. For a while I did have to work hard keeping her awake last 6 though!

Both ours stopped before 3. Youngest only falls asleep if on a longer car journey.

Thanks everyone, really helpful to know others experiences.

I’m just worried about dropping it too soon but on days she naps, she won’t even consider settling till 1 and then she takes a good 45 mins to fall asleep, we are down to 1 hour nap time absolute tops and then if she does sleep in the day she needs a late bedtime (8 o’clock) and even then she’s up for an hour tossing and turning.

On days she doesn’t nap, she’s down for 7 and asleep pretty quick, it seems to be forming a pattern so I’m left thinking that the daytime nap is now the problem but it just seems to have crept up out of no where and she seems so young to stay up all day

DD dropped her last nap just as she reached two. I was a bit annoyed at first but actually it made life easier in a way as we didn't have to try to factor in a nap to our daily plans or deal with a late nap derailing bedtime, and she just went straight to sleep at 7pm.

And yes I don't know any 4yos who nap still, none of DD's friends do, but most of them are at nursery and while nursery will accomodate nappers of any age, at this age I don't think kids want to be left out of what their friends are doing to go nap. Maybe some of them do at home from time to time. If DD has a nap in the day, eg falls asleep in car for longer than 15 mins, then bedtime is usually much more tricky!

First had definitely pretty much dropped her nap before she went into the toddler room at nursery the day after her second birthday! If I recall she was napping on nursery days while she was still in the youngest room, with the rest of them, (and having a late bedtime) but not on home days.

DD dropped her nap at 2y3m precisely. She had a 2hr nap one day, the next she said "no nap today!" and proceeded to chat away to herself for over an hour and a half in her cot, then asked me to come and get her! She did that for a week and then we gave up. Didn't affect her at all.

DS started to drop his at about 18mo, on the first day of lockdown. He did nap on and off during those months, but then he'd be up really late refusing to sleep, even if he'd just had half an hour. If he didn't nap he was an absolute mess come 5pm, then a lunatic by 6pm. We kept him going until about 7pm ish and then he'd conk out in bed straight away. He did get the hang of it eventually, and had fully stopped napping by the September (just in time for DD going back to school...).

Naps can be a PITA whether they're having them or not! Good luck, OP.