FFS help me drop this last nap!

[Youdonthavetobegood]

Helllllppp. At wits end with nearly 3yo. He's been in the process of dropping his nap for about three months now. Refuses to nap in bed but is so cranky by about 3pm. Always end up chucking him in the car and driving at about midday now, where he'll sleep for half an hour and be much better- but when will it end! Surely the transition won't last much longer? I'm sick of driving round the motorway!

You need to just push through it for a couple of weeks. He will get cranky. He still needs the same amount of sleep so you will need to bring bed time earlier.

When mine were dropping there's they still sometimes has a nap every third or fourth day.

Agree though that if you do want to drop the nap, he will be very grumpy at first. If he's still 2 though, he probably needs a nap.

You just have to keep them grumpy but awake between 3pm-5pm, then distract with tea and bath time and into bed by 6.30pm.

Just tell him it's time to rest. That we go to bed for half an hour to rest, doesn't have to be sleep, just quiet time.

Don't drive with him if it's doing your head in. Persist with the rest idea.

You made need to show him resting in other situations to help him make the connection. Eventually, hell tell you he doesn't need to rest.

*he'll

A lot of 2 yo don't need a nap! Both mine dropped their last one at 18 months.

Agree - don't let him sleep. Power through with things planned all afternoon. Early tea and then bed a bit earlier for a week or so.

Why do you want him to drop the nap? Is he not sleeping well overnight? My DD turned 3 about three months ago and still usually naps on the days she's not in nursery at about 2pm. We wake her after about 40 mins (or less if she doesn't nap til 3/4pm) or so if she hasn't woke up because otherwise it starts to affect her nighttime sleep. But that doesn't so I'm quite happy for her to nap. Means she's less grumpy and difficult the rest of the day. She will nap in her cotbed at home or in the car or in the buggy, depends what we are doing.

We did flat rest.

You have to be flat (on a bed or sofa) and doing something restful (books, listening stories, transformer) sometimes they fell asleep, sometimes they didnt. But I got a break too

You need to start quiet time rather than enforced nap time or accept that he'll sometimes sleep and sometimes not. By quiet time I mean something quiet and calm that involves being still so he might fall asleep or he might not

@MeadowHay

Why do you want him to drop the nap? Is he not sleeping well overnight? My DD turned 3 about three months ago and still usually naps on the days she's not in nursery at about 2pm. We wake her after about 40 mins (or less if she doesn't nap til 3/4pm) or so if she hasn't woke up because otherwise it starts to affect her nighttime sleep. But that doesn't so I'm quite happy for her to nap. Means she's less grumpy and difficult the rest of the day. She will nap in her cotbed at home or in the car or in the buggy, depends what we are doing.

Nope would be happy for the naps to stay, but he's waking at 5 and not going down til 8ish so I think something's got to give. Plus, these days can't afford to waste petrol driving him around to sleep!

Thanks for all your suggestions. Think we might have to suck up the grumpiness for a bit and banish the nap. Just didn't expect it to take this long, my days are dominated by figuring out if and when he might sleep!

Nope would be happy for the naps to stay, but he's waking at 5 and not going down til 8ish so I think something's got to give. Plus, these days can't afford to waste petrol driving him around to sleep

I would definitely try to introduce some quite time after lunch in that case. Mine liked reading books or listening to an audio story.

I would say do something fun/distracting over the grumpy period. His body clock will adjust eventually

You've got to push through the grumpiness. Get out for some fresh air at that time and early bedtime. Mine used to need a nap every 3-4 days and still usually has one of a weekend!

Hmm, it's definitely worth a try but dropping the nap may not make any difference to the time he wakes up as that seems like the main issue here? 8pm is a normal time for a 3 yr old to go to sleep, that's the time mine goes to sleep too. Sorry if you've tried this before but have you tried a Groblind? We have blackout curtains in DD's room but as soon as it starts to get lighter in the mornings she starts waking early so we stick the Groblind up and she starts waking later again. We use it until it's dark in the mornings basically. Might be worth a try if you haven't already and apologies if you already have!

Mine is in the middle of doing this too. Will be 4 in a few months. He now has two full nursery days where he doesn't sleep. And usually another week day or two - he seems to have a moral objection to napping on a Tuesday afternoon the moment 🤨 and then does nap the other 3/4.

We're trying quiet time if he refuses to nap. He goes down at 1.30 every time and if he's still faffing by 2, we just write it off and potter in his room for a while.

We've found that a busy afternoon - with no long car journeys - followed by a short, swift bedtime creates the least hassle. He goes down at 6.30 when he doesn't nap.

A lot of 2 yo don't need a nap! Both mine dropped their last one at 18 months

@Seeline As did our eldest - just one day say ‘no it’s not nighttime’ and that was that. Never had the tiniest bit of grumpiness BUT she’s never been a big napper anyway.

OP, you might find that dropping the nap does cure the nighttime issue, but you might not. My eldest always sleeps 6.30-6.30 now and often has to be woken at that time - when I’m not in mat leave needs to be up early to get out of the house by 7.15. If she has a nap in the car for example, you can subtract almost that exact amount of sleep from her morning wake time.

But, as I say, she’s not a big napper so might just be her.

Ita rough old phase alright. I found a teaspoon of Nutella worked wonders to push through the grotty late afternoon mood.

It does sound like he's ready to drop the nap. I would start reducing the length of your drive - go for 45 mins rather than 1.5 hours.

When they drop the nap, they will be grotty. Mine took maybe 2 weeks to adjust to it? He would sometimes lie down in his cot in a dark room for a rest (with no obligation to sleep).