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

I’m surprised by the amount of people saying their 2-3 year olds don’t nap. My DS is 2.5 and still sleeps 2.5-3 hours in the day and 7-7 at night!

Personally I would still offer the nap at the usual time and if he doesn’t sleep then it’s quiet time in his room with some books for whatever. I would limit any naps to 45-60 mins though if he does sleep to try get him sleeping longer at night.

@Temple29

I’m surprised by the amount of people saying their 2-3 year olds don’t nap. My DS is 2.5 and still sleeps 2.5-3 hours in the day and 7-7 at night!

Personally I would still offer the nap at the usual time and if he doesn’t sleep then it’s quiet time in his room with some books for whatever. I would limit any naps to 45-60 mins though if he does sleep to try get him sleeping longer at night.

DD never needed much sleep when small, and was never a 7 - 7 sleeper.

Sadly at 21 she now has CFS and falls asleep all the time when she shouldn't.

My nearly 3yr old is like this. She wouldn't nap in her bed for so long until I actually tucked her up on the sofa with a cuddly toy and a 'boring' show on TV (anything that isn't kids related). She dropped off and we've been doing this for months now. Turns out she got used to naps at nursery, so being around other people, it's not dark and they play music in the background.

Children of that age don’t nap, you’ve been really lucky it’s lasted this long!

Car naps don’t count btw. People of all ages fall asleep in cars. That doesn’t mean he still needs a nap.