How to know your toddler is done with naps?

[BiscuitLover3678]

Trying to work it out here

Generally one of:

1. Bedtime becoming later with a reduction in total night sleep
2. Nap refusal or the nap becoming so late in the day it’s either pointlessly short or impacts bedtime
3. New, early morning waking, again leading to a reduction in night sleep.

It started taking longer to get DD to nap than she actually slept for and then it made nap time run really late so she wasn't ready for bed until far later.

Thank you so much for replying. He’s always been a terrible sleeper so quite hard to tell. Wake time is 5:30-6:30 generally and then won’t really nap until 1 and then naturally wakes at 3. But then he’s up until around half 9!

but on days where we’ve skipped naps he’s literally falling asleep before 7 and will be up 5ish.

When they don’t do it any more. Which for mine was around 6 months

How old?

I guess I could make his nap shorter but he seems so grumpy and can be hard to wake him

2.5

Mine slept horrendously and barely napped at 6 months. Naps more now as a toddler!

Just be careful incase it’s a phase. At 25-6 months my toddler refused naps and woke frequently at night. We kept all the same routines as I was convinced he still needed it because he was so grumpy without.

I just encouraged quiet time and a lie down in cot at nap time. He actually picked it back up and now three months later is back to the normal routine. We cap it at 90 mins though I suspect he could do with longer some days

IME there is a transition phase when they sort of need a nap (tired without one) and sort of don't (it messes up bedtime when they have one). You might find he naps every other day (or similar) for a while.

Sorry, I should clarify - the phase lasted a month and we are now three months on to business as usual again

His total sleep is pretty low - roughly 10-10.5 h in 24h which is right at the lower end of normal for a 2.5 year old (average is 10-13h total in 24). 2h is definitely too long a nap at that age and with that low sleep needs. If it’s a total nightmare waking him from a nap id be tempted to fully drop it and get your 10-10.5h overnight (as you had the day he slept 7-5).

Is behaviour generally okay and meeting milestones?

Milestones are fab and behavioural generally good. Honestly sleep has been the biggest issue since birth so we’d given up on worrying about it generally as he always slept less and fought it more than any other baby we knew. He’s by far the most normal now.
I’ll try and skip nap tomorrow. It makes me nervous though as he gets so upset and grumpy. Not fun at all.