Managing the day with no naps

[Emeraldgreenjewel]

I’m not totally sure when most children drop their nap, but am wondering how this alters the day?

At the moment, the day feels quite easy as there’s a two hour ‘break’ in the middle. But it’s started to get a bit harder to get DS down for a nap and I may have to accept he will drop in the next few months.
how do you find the day with no nap?

We are transitioning out of afternoon nap. She probably sleeps every other day but she always spends at least an hour in her room. The down time is good for her and me.

We kept the same routine of lunch and then nap but now call it her "rest". Do story, tuck her in, whatever else. She can sleep or not but she must stay in bed. I fill a basket of small toys and books. Sometimes she asks for an audiobook. Build up from 10 minutes and gradually add longer each time.

I absolutely love it when they drop naps. Naps are the bane of my life. Without them, you can do absolutely anything with your day and not have to worry about when / where / how long DC needs to nap for! Ds1 is well past nap age (he dropped them at 2yo), ds2 has nearly dropped them at nearly 3yo so it's just DS3 to go (he's a baby). I actually can't wait until I don't have to think about them anymore!

I've always transitioned from nap to 'quiet time', otherwise it's a long day for all involved! I think they still need a bit of down time even if not a sleep. I definitely need a sit down/bit of peace and quiet in the middle of the day.

Just dropping them now at 3y3mo. They’ve been amazing but I’m glad they’re going actually. Gives us a lot more freedom. DS was napping every other day for the last 2-3 weeks but is now probably napping every third day. But the crucial bit is that if we have plans, he can actually make it to bedtime without one. Gets a bit loopy sometimes if he’s not had one though! Lots more TV watching as I try and calm him down.

We replaced the nap with quiet time in her bedroom as she was 3yo. I needed that hour break from DD! I only had to deal with it on weekends though as DD was in nursery/preschool in the week luckily

Oh and to add - I’ve got 6 month old twins so I don’t get a break in the middle of the day anyway which I think has helped soften the blow. Think I’d be mourning them more if they were a break from parenting!

All my children were great nappers. I had to stop my elder daughter's naps about a month before she started school, but she would occasionally be found asleep in the book corner. I would use nap time to read to the older one(s).