What should I do about napping and starting school??

[Ghoulwithadragontattoo]

My DD is not quite 4 and still naps most days (often up to 2 hours). She can go the odd day without a nap but then needs one to catch up the next day. She also sleeps 11-12 hours at night

She is due to start school in September and I'm worried about how she will cope without a nap and that being tired might stop her enjoying school. Did anyone else have a child who still needed to nap when they started school? How did you manage this? Was your child OK when they started school?

Don't be afraid to push for deferred starts or half days if u need too. There's always gonna be some ignorant people who will tell you that u are gonna ruin ur dd's entire education but reception is still alot of learning thru play nothing you can't do at home and starting kids tok early is far worse than missin a term or doing few hours :) I wish u all the best in making ur decision and for a happy dd who enjoys school :)

Thank you :)

DS (March born) was still napping at this stage. He was still having naps on some days right up until he started reception.

He managed fine. He was shattered after school for the first term but he still really enjoyed it. We kept afternoons low-key and stuck to early nights.

Our school only does one intake as 'standard' and children start at full days. However, I suspect they would be flexible if asked.

I was suprised how much DS had taken in by Christmas, even through the 'learning by play' approach. In our case I don't think it would have been a good idea to defer and then have to catch up.......

dd started reception in jan, she had not had an afternoon nap since she was 2 (just didnt want one) but she did fall asleep several times in school when she started, they dont mind and it quite common

Hi there, my dd (July born) still napped for 2 hours a day every day right up until she started reception. I was really worried about her and how she would cope. The school she is in starts reception children on half days but only for 3 weeks and then they go full time. She was completely shattered when I picked her up but the adrenaline at school kept her going there. I won't lie to you - she was a nightmare when she got home but she coped. I decided against sending her half days once all the others were half days because she is a very sensitive child and I didn't want her to think she was 'different' to any of her friends. She still napped for 2 hours or more every Saturday and Sunday and every day of each holiday right up until Christmas holidays of Year 1! She will be 6 in July and still needs a nap some weekends. You know your child - do what you think best. But my dd really struggles with tiredness and while it is difficult after school, it can work sending them full time so long as you don't add in too many after school activities (my dd did NO after school clubs and hardly any playdates in reception)

Have only read the OP so apologies if this has been said already:

I'd stop the naps at the start of the summer holidays ( at the latest) so by September she will be used to staying awake all day. You may find she is fast alseep by 5.30/ 6pm but will be worth it in the long run!

I teach Reception and have only had one child fall alseep when first starting school. They adapt very quickly!

Thanks everyone. At least it sounds like my DD won't be alone if she is struggling with tiredness.

I truly envy those of you with napping kids. My DD didn't sleep in the day after she was about 11 months old!

I would not worry about it too much and plan for her still napping as she does now in September, because she could change. Keeping it in mind is good though.

My dd still napped on days with playgroup in the morning the April before starting school, so I was worried (do as I say not as I did!). School started with half days for quite a few weeks, and so for a while it was lunch and then nap, but she just didn't need it after it a while.

If in August it's still a problem then I would ask about half days, and also bear in mind they don't have to be in school til their 5th birthday so keeping them at home on a Friday say cos they are shattered is not a huge problem.

And yes earlier bedtime. DD's bedtime went earlier once she dropped her naps anyway to 7, and then on tired days 6.30 or even earlier. DP just had to miss her (or try and get home earlier).

I think if your child is totally shattered without a nap then there is a medical need for her to do half days until she is better able to cope. If you try full days and it sends your little girl into meltdown despite early bedtimes, tell the school she is not up to full days. Enlist your GP's help if the school kicks up a fuss.

Putting a child through the misery of sleep deprivation to fit into the system is really not on. By all means try full days and see what happens - it may be the only way to know for sure whether she'll adapt - but if it doesn't work, don't stick with it.

My girls are both October born, and were both still napping the day before school. Our school has a settling in period where they did a week of mornings the a week of afternoons then a few days of mornings plus lunch the all day. If they were home in the afternoon they had a nap. Bedtime moved to pm and they napped at the weekend. We tried not to do to much at the week end and when they go just too tired at school they had a home dinner and then didn't go back in the afternoon. I only had to do that once with my youngest and maybe twice with the eldest. The school can't stop you doing this as a child doesn't have to be in school until the term after they are five. A over tired child will get the next bug and be of school for a few days anyway.
I will the time you get while she naps for the moment, It is a long time until September. Stopping the nap may also mean your younger one may also stop napping.

My little boy started school last September and had his 5th birthday the same week! However, even now he still needs lots and lots of sleep.

I have his tea ready for when he comes home from school, then bath, bed & reading. If he's really tired, lights can be out as early as 5.30pm - 6pm (in the summer I use blackout lining over my blackout curtains). He can have as much as 14 hours sleep a night and wakes up on his own in a great mood, without being tired and having me trying to prize him out of bed.

I only know of one other parent that does this and it works for her little boy as well.

I appreciate that it does seem rather alien and unnatural, and that some children might be waking up at 4.00 in the morning, but anythings worth a try!

DD stopped her naps at 2 yrs 2 months, and DS stopped his at 2 yrs 6 months.