Almost 3 year old won't nap in bed anymore... WHY

[DarkGreen]

My toddler is almost 3, he's always napped really well in his cot and bed, until 1 month ago. He now will only nap in the car, as soon as he's in the car he will fall asleep but in his bedroom he will stay awake until bedtime if I left him!

His bedtime routine is bed for 7 asleep usually around 8 and awake af 5am sometimes a little later but never really later than 5.30am.

How do i get him napping in his bed again??

In the car he will nap for 2 hours which is what he used to nap in his bed but I am usually waking him up after 1 hour now otherwise we are sat in the car all afternoon

His too old for a nap now

This is really interesting - my DS is exactly the same, even down to waking time. He'll nap on the sofa, though, given half a chance.

I need to be stronger and stop him from napping at all, then get him in bed a bit earlier!

DS dropped his nap at 20 months, you've been really lucky! For the first few weeks he'd make it to mid afternoon then crawl into my lap and try to drop off so I had to keep moving to keep him awake, but he sleeps 7.30-8.30 at night now.

Can you transfer from car to cot? Mine is 2yrs 8 months and hasn't napped in the cot since summer, but if he falls asleep in the car I can sometimes manage a transfer and get a half hour or so to myself.

I know I'm on borrowed time, I'm lucky mine likes his sleep! It does mean you can't really be in the car from mid-afternoon onwards as they'll fall asleep too late, but it gives you a longer day to go out and about.

Ditto everyone else. DD had dropped naps by that age.

Mine dropped his nap just after his 2nd birthday.

he’s not napping in his bed any more because he doesn’t need a nap. Well, he probably does to an extent, and he will likely be knackered (and tantrumy,) by about 5, but if you persist he will adapt quickly and will hopefully sleep later in the morning.

I wouldn’t have bedtime before 7 personally and then he will hopefully sleep through until 7-ish.

Yes, he's getting old for the nap so I'd drop it and hopefully he will add the time onto his night-time sleep and get up at a more reasonable 7am or so. 5am is night-time, and I say that as someone who goes through phases of getting up myself around then.

Agree with pp mine was done with naps well by 2.5, but will still sleep in the car on occasion. Some kids (in fact some people) just sleep in cars, falling asleep in the car is not a reliable indicator of needing a nap at all!

Probably doesn’t need a nap if up at 5am!

I'm sure they must exist, but I've yet to meet a 3 year old who still naps. My 2 year old only snatches a few minutes in the car in the middle of the day.

I actually prefer it now because she goes to sleep really easily at 7am and actually sleeps for longer in a 24 hour period than when she was napping. It's also very liberating not to be tied to the house after lunch.

Accept the nap has gone and embrace the positives!

Obviously, I meant 7pm (not 7am!).

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor

You might find hell sleep past 5am without the nap.

Yep.

If he would stay awake until bedtime as you say, then just let him?

My son dropped naps when he was a young 2 and I didn't even think anything about it tbh. Lots of my friends kids had dropped naps at similar age.

One of my DC napped for 2 hours until she was 4yo, but the other two dropped theirs between 2.5 and 3yo.

My DS is 2.5.. No napping here for the past 2 months unless its a long car journey.

Generally sleeps 7 till 7ish with one wake up around 1am ish usually for a quick cuddle and back to sleep

Dropped nap = earlier bedtime
8 is late for a 3 year old
Science has actually proven that earlier bedtimes equate to later wakings, give it a go!

@Privatesector

Isn't he a bit old for a nap? He might sleep beyond 5.30am if he was more tired at night. That would finish me off tbh

Mine napped until the started school

My DS napped until he was 3.5! He only stopped because he moved up to the pre-school room at nursery and they didn’t accommodate naps - he’d often still have one on his days off nursery though. It’s not THAT unusual and I bloody love a nap myself so was quite happy for DS to keep them going as long as possible.

@Robostripes

My DS napped until he was 3.5! He only stopped because he moved up to the pre-school room at nursery and they didn’t accommodate naps - he’d often still have one on his days off nursery though. It’s not THAT unusual and I bloody love a nap myself so was quite happy for DS to keep them going as long as possible.

But it clearly is fairly unusual given so many posters are saying their child stopped at some point when they were 2. I don't think any posters are saying this our of pride - nearly everyone would rather their toddler still napped I think!

He's out grown needing a nap but will catch some zzz in the car when there is nothing to do and motion etc.

At 3 that's pretty normal.

He doesn't need a nap anymore?

Yup, sounds like naps are over, sadly for you! Usually as they are dropping they may need a nap every few days instead of daily, but given you said it was a month ago then maybe he’s past that stage.

The naps are over. We’ve just dropped them too, it’s not as bad as you think.

Sad news for you mama. Your boy is done with day time home based napping!
My daughter was done with it by 2 and my sons by 3.5
Would still sleep in buggy or car though just not at home in bed- not tired enough, too many interesting things to see and do!

I'd try drop the nap