How much does your 3/4 year old sleep??

[baabaapinksheep]

DD1 is 3.10 and sleeps for at least 12 hours at night, sometimes more if DD2 doesn't wake her up. But she is knackered by lunchtime, and looks like she needs to sleep for a few hours, which wouldn't be a problem but she won't actually sleep!

It's getting to the point where I dread taking her out in the afternoon because she is so tired, especially to anything social as she just whinges and cries the whole time. She doesn't like joining in with anything apart from with myself, DD2 and a few close friends and family, which makes it even harder to do anything, birthday parties are a nightmare. I think she would be happier to be at home all the time, looking at books, drawing and watching films, but that isn't really possible.

Does anybody else have a DC like this, and if so how on earth do you cope?!

From memory - my DS slept about 12 hours at night and had a nap (at least 1-2 hours) in the afternoon when he got home from pre-school. (Easy to organise as he is an only) - but he wouldn't be 'overtired' if we needed to go out for the occasional party/swimming lesson etc ............ it just suited me to let him have an afternoon nap - once or twice he went right through to the next morning !!

My DD (3.11yrs) sleeps 12 hrs at night and has only recently dropped her after-lunch nap. She still needs it, to be honest, but refuses to sleep. Like yours, she is wingey and lethargic in the afternoons but won't admit she's tired. I tend to plan activities for the morning and have more relaxed afternoons.

I'm assuming (hoping) this is a stage in her development and she'll soon be 100% perky all day long, ready to wind down and have quiet time early evening then sleep like an angel (fingers crossed!).

Would she have a rest even if she won't sleep? DS stopped napping when he was about 3.3 but would still go up to bed for a rest after lunch. He still does now, if we are at home and he's 4.4! He asks to go most of the time, if he didn't really want to we wouldn't make him. We read a story and then he can listen to a CD or Cbeebies podcast. He usually has about 20mins but it does make all the difference. He's often tired and whingey before (and during...) lunch but a little bit of down time sorts him out and he's ready to go again.

I might be able to persuade her to have a little lie down in bed and read a book for 20 mins, hopefully that will help. She used to have a nap on the sofa in the afternoons, up until a few months ago, but she won't now because she can see DD2 playing and just wants to join in.

If I just had her then I wouldn't mind not really doing anything in the afternoons, but DD2 has so much energy and needs to do things. She is the complete opposite of DD1, she dropped her daytime nap at about 18 months and only just sleeps 12 hours at night, but she is never tired!