3 hour nap - too long?

[Nellyc1]

Our recently adopted (5 months) 3yr old (4 in January) son has been napping from 1 until about 4 most days of the week. He has even gone to 430 some days.
When he first arrived he was only going until 230.
Does anyone out there think I should be worried or do you think he just needs the sleep?
BTW he goes down fine at 7pm and is asleep until about 630/7am.
Thanks.

I'm a great believer in letting DD sleep as long as she needs. She is also 3 and doesn't nap on nursery days, but has at least 2 hours on the other 4 days. Occasionally it stretches to 3 hours. She also goes from 6.30-7.00pm to 6.30am

How is he when he's awake? Is he eating okay? DD is full on when she's awake, rarely sitting still, so I think she just needs the sleep. I could manage an afternoon nap myself most days plus 8-9 hours a night!

Hi! Yes, he is full on when he is awake as well. Never stops!!! We start nursery in January and so will so what changes.
Some people recommend waking the child but then others - who are louder! - say not to wake a sleeping child.
I was going with the idea that he must need it... Just doing some super-early prepping for school in september!!

I'm jealous! DS dropped a nap completely by 2yrs went to sleep around 7 and was up at 5-6am!

If he sleeps normally at night I wouldn;t worry yet especially if he is full of energy during that day.

Don;t worry about prepping for school for another 5/6 months.

I know I shouldn't prep to early and just enjoy the moment. It's in my genes though to plan ahead!!
Am going to stop worrying about nap time and just enjoy the p and q!

I wish mine would sleep during the day. The 2yo will normally have 2 hours on days they go to nursery (they go in the mornings and she'll nap in the afternoon) but the 3yo rarely needs a nap. Luckily though they both sleep 12/13 hours at night

Don't worry about it Nelly there are no right and wrong answers. It might just be that it's darker now and his body clock is adapting slowly. Sleep is good for him, if he needs it let him sleep.

Our lo of same age used to sleep for hours when he was first placed. Maybe is stress or over stimulation of new experiences? Now at afternoon nursery so nap dropped unless in a car after school but sleeps between 12 and 14 hours at night. New experiences are tiring and boys that age are so active I wouldn't worry about it.

It is a bit unusual (says she bitterly remembering DS who dropped his nap altogether by about 2.5, and DD who thought naps were for wimps ...)
But if he's so newly placed he is very likely exhausted by all the new experiences and emotions, and extra sleep is what he needs to help him process it. If he's sleeping well at night then it's sleep he needs. The time to drop the nap will come when he doesn't sleep at night if he naps but is a grumpy bugger in the daytime without it - and you will know ALL about it when that transitional phase hits :)

If he still needs afternoon sleep in September you could always look at sending him mornings only for the first term or two.

My DD is 2.5 and also naps from about 1pm. She usually sleeps for between 1.5 and 2 hours. The last couple of weeks she's been sleeping very heavily and I've woken her after 2 hours because I worry she won't sleep in the evening. She's also VERY active and can take up to an hour to finally unwind when put to bed at night (7pm) but with the darker mornings she sleeps until 8am usually. I think she just needs it despite a lot of protestation at times!

Let him sleep. My oldest only really dropped his nap when he started school. Though he still naps at weekends.

Dd dropped her 1 hour nap when she was 2 1/2 and she is nearly 3 1/2 now. However, she had been placed over a year by that time. Five months in, I don't think I would personally drop it (but may consider reducing it), especially if he is sleeping/waking at a reasonable time. My DD goes down at 7pm (ish) and wakes about 6-7am.