When did naps become a battle

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My little one is nearly three and naps have suddenly become a struggle. Some days he naps fine and other days he refuses completely. If he naps bedtime is hard and if he does not nap he is shattered by late afternoon. Just curious how it went for others and when naps finally stopped being part of the day.

DS dropped his nap entirely at 2.5. He will occasionally have a ten minute Power Nap in the car if we’re on our way back from something like a walk or gymnastics where he’s tired himself out.

When he was dropping his nap we had a phase of him falling asleep at 4 or 5pm; we’d let him have 20 minutes or so then wake him, so bedtime was later (8ish) but not ridiculously so. It didn’t last long.

Fairly sure around that age DD was going to bed at 5... definitely was asleep by 6pm and slept til 7

Nearly 3 yr olds don’t nap. Grandson was 2 and a half and I still put him down for a nap every Tuesday and he slept. When I asked his parents when they would drop the nap they said ‘oh, did we forget to tell you? We dropped his nap months ago’

DD was 10 months when she started to delay her naps and we were getting to 5pm (teatime) and she wanted to sleep/wouldn't eat, then would be hungry later. We tried cuddling her or taking her out in pushchair for a walk in the hope she'd go to sleep. By 18 months she had completely dropped her naps.

OP, hope is around the corner. Once we'd got through this, life became much easier, ie we could plan to go out without having to worry about giving her time to sleep.

14 months. Would stand up in the cot and hammer the side against the wall, shaking the house! I gave up and let him sleep in the car or buggy if we were out at that point. Otherwise we managed without.

Mine dropped napping regularly around this age, although would still nap occasionally if on buggy walks or longer car journeys. I think it sounds like he’s ready to drop it. For a good while it was a struggle to get through to bedtime. You may need to shift bedtime earlier for a while. I found that a bit of fresh air in the evening was good for helping her last till bedtime, and/or a good long bath to play in before bed! Avoid devices and car journeys after 5pm like the plague!

Stopped at 16 months and had been a struggle (intense rocking and singing) for a couple of months before that, one day he just didn't drop off and that was that 🤷 He goes to bed at 7pm and gets up at 6:30pm, only sleeps in the day now if unwell. I'm more tired than he is 😂

I would say that’s normal for that age, mine both stopped regular naps earlier, they might fall asleep in the car or after a busy morning but they definitely weren’t going down for a set daily nap by 3. Agree early to bed when needed.

In a 3 to 5 nursery room none of the children sleep at all. We find naps stop around about 2 and a half. Of course there are exceptions

DD stopped aged 2.5. Getting her down would become an absolute warzone, followed by another when I had to wake her and another at bedtime. I gave up! She still has quiet time instead after lunch where I let her watch TV and chill on the sofa for a bit.

I was dreading the end of naps but actually it frees up the day a lot more and I don't panic if she wants to oversleep in the morning. It's fine once you've got used to it.

When you’re battling to get them to nap and they’re sleeping well at night surely that’s just time to drop the naps. One of mine continued till school at 4 another stopped before 1 and there was no changing his mind.

Both my children dropped their naps around 2 years old.

There's such a wide variety. DS1 is 5 in April and fell asleep both to and from my sisters the other day (50 min journey about 9am then back at midday). Preschool would often try to stop him from falling asleep in his dinner, but sometimes it was just too much for him. DS2 is 2.5 and has resisted for ages. He won't nap at all now. He can stay awake for longer than his brother and often falls asleep after too. Even without a nap he's often still awake at 8 (was 9 or beyond when nursery would get him to nap). Often he'll not even fall asleep in the car.

My son is under 2.5 and has skipped the odd nap, but what makes the difference for me is that he sleeps worse at night if he's not napped.

Either he sleeps 1.5h in the day and 11h at night, or he sleeps 11.5h at night and is grousy in the day.

If he was doing 12h and was cheery with it, I'd be happy enough for him to drop it. But with better sleep at night and a rest in the day, he plainly still needs it.

Dropped at 2.5 years old. I think she would have gone slightly longer if my youngest hadn’t have arrived then. It threw off her routine and she had fomo so wouldn’t sleep. She’s 3.5 now and will car nap now and again on long journeys but that’s it!

Sounds like a drop in sleep needs and they’re ready to transition out of daytime napping.
my first two had totally dropped daytime nap at this age. If they had a danger nap eg on a late afternoon car drive then their bedtime would be basically be 11pm.
transitioning out of nap is hard though because then you’re in the phase of evenings being difficult because child is cross and tired. But bedtime is earlier then and easier.

Around 2.5 he dropped his nap in the cot but if he had woken up v early and was so tired then we would do a little drive and let him have a power nap in the car before the afternoon activity - but if he had no nap he was in bed by 7 sharp and if he napped we pushed bedtime to 7.30/8
second child napped until 3.5 but he has always loved his sleep! He seemed an anomaly with our friends kids

Generally speaking, when it becomes a battle it's time to stop it.

Mine started to drop them at 18 months. We just do a slightly earlier bedtime. The elder one dropped them at 3.5 (but was notoriously a horrendous napper until age 2.5 then started napping wonderfully for a year). Think it’s entirely normal as there’s such a range.

Nearly 3 is very old for a nap, he’s telling you he’s ready to drop it now.
Have quiet time in the afternoon but not a nap (reading books, a bit of TV).
Move bedtime half an hour earlier if you need it, then move gradually 10 mins later until it’s back when it is now.

Mine napped brilliantly in their pushchairs from a youngish age, or sometimes in a sling.....naps in the house were really tricky. We'd either go for a walk whilst they slept or give them a short walk to get them to sleep and then leave them in the garden. They were well wrapped up in colder weather.
My youngest dropped naps at 3 or 4 and then needed them again once at school - they would sleep during school pickups, so had to put a post lunch sleep back in to ensure they went to sleep at a reasonable time in the evening.

At three, most of mine were napping every third day. One of mine stopped day time naps before she was two🙄 but then she was in bed, sleeping all night, at 6pm

Totally unplanned but we had a couple of months of battles and on-and-off napping, and then my little girl had her last nap literally the day before her third birthday. After that the only time she fell asleep was during a car journey.

Mine dropped naps gradually like this, went form napping every day to napping 3/4 times a week. The days she napped bedtime was really late, but she needed the nap. The other days bedtime was earlier. It's just how it is when they start to drop the nap. Just something you have to get through.
When she was about 3, I wouldn't 'try' for the nap. She would either cuddle up and fall asleep next to me on the sofa, or fall asleep in the car etc. I couldn't be doing with the battle of trying to force the nap!
She's 4 now and still ocassioanly has a nap, probably 2 or 3 times a month (bedtime is SO late on these days- like 11pm)

It's not old for a nap at all. On average, most children drop their nap between 3 and 5! All kids are different but its certainly not old for a nap.

A lot of parents get them to drop it earlier for their own benefit, as bedtime tends to become later as they get older with a nap.