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Original poster

3 year old having 3 hour naps

45 replies

Caterpillar05 · 07/08/2025 17:51

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone else is in the same boat… my 3yo has been napping for 3 hours a day, consistently, for quite a while now. His naps always used to range from 1.5 to 3 hours, but now it’s pretty much always 3 hours, and that’s with me having to wake him up most of the time. I didn’t realise this wasn’t normal until someone I had been talking to seemed surprised at this, then I done the dreaded Google search 🤦🏻‍♀️

He wakes up at 7am, goes to his childminder from 8am to 1:30pm, and then always falls asleep on the car journey home (about 30 mins). There’s no keeping him awake - he’s usually asleep within minutes and stays asleep when I lift him from his car seat and in to the house. If I try to wake him after 1–2 hours, he has a complete meltdown, screaming, kicking, crying, and it takes a good while to settle him. So I now let him go to the 3 hour mark max, but even then he’s hard to wake and I have to do it gradually or he gets angry and upset.

He used to wake multiple times in the night (regardless of napping), but now he generally sleeps through which is around 8–9 hours.

If he’s not at the childminder and I do manage to keep him from napping during the day, he ends up falling asleep at a silly time like 5pm as he can’t keep his eyes open any longer, which isn’t feasible of course.

I’m planning to call the GP tomorrow and we’re already under a paediatrician for an unrelated issue (not sleep related), though I forgot to mention this at the last appointment 😩

Just wondering… does anyone else’s toddler nap this long at this age? Is it within the realm of “normal”?

TIA

OP posts:
legoplaybook · 07/08/2025 17:52

He's sleeping 12 hours a day which is totally normal.
Most 3 year olds in this country will have stopped napping and be sleeping 11-12 hours a night.
In other countries a long nap and later bedtime is typical.

Devilsmommy · 07/08/2025 17:56

Mine does this when he's having a growth spurt or if he's under the weather. Though mine sleeps through the night for 10-11 hours and has a 1.5hr nap in the day usually. He obviously needs it if he's only getting 8-9 at night

JamesMacGill · 07/08/2025 17:59

8/9 hours isn’t enough for a 3 year old so I’m not surprised he’s having very long naps.

Original poster
Caterpillar05 · 07/08/2025 18:31

Great! I’m glad it’s nothing to be concerned about ☺️ thank you for the replies.

OP posts:
purpleme12 · 07/08/2025 18:33

It sounds like he has a late bedtime (which he would do if he's having those naps)

But if you take the amount of sleep he's having overall into consideration it sounds fine

autienotnaughty · 07/08/2025 18:54

At that age ds slept 9pm-7am and 1pm-4pm
when we dropped the nap in preparation for school he started sleeping 7pm-7am.

I figured he’d go longer at night when we dropped the nap but I liked the break in the day

Hunnh · 07/08/2025 21:11

Mine was just like this. Last one to drop the nap out of all of his peers, and only because they stopped facilitating it at pre-school. He starts school in September but will still happily sleep for hours in the day, given the opportunity. Always asleep before 8pm and gets up after 7am. He just needs a lot of sleep.

Younger sister is the exact opposite. Late to bed, early to rise, minimal naps in the day at just turned 2.

DollyMixers · 07/08/2025 21:16

My ds1 absolutely loved his naps and was an incredible sleeper (after the newborn stage!)

ds2 - has just turned 3 but has dropped his nap a few months ago, despite me trying to keep up with it! However because he’s dropped a nap he does go to bed much earlier now at 6.30pm and wake up at 6.30am so is getting the same amount of sleep as your dc. I think you just have to find out what works for you, but if they’re only having 8 hours at night then a 3 hour nap seems necessary to make up the hours so I wouldn’t worry.

Blarn · 07/08/2025 21:23

Both dds had long afternoon naps once they dropped to one nap. At 3 they were sloth sleeping 2-3 hours. About 4 months before they went to school at 4 I stopped the naps.

Bitzee · 07/08/2025 21:27

He’s making up for the lack of night sleep with the long nap. 12 hours total sleep is totally normal for a 3YO. Up to you if you want to try to tweak things so he’s sleeping more and night and less in the day but it’s doesn’t sound at all like a medical issue.

MigGril · 07/08/2025 21:27

Ds did the same at that age, in fact he was still napping when he started school at almost 5 and would sometimes have a nap after school.

I've had two extreme children as his older sister dropped her nap before she was 2. They all seem to be a bit different.

Ducksurprise · 07/08/2025 21:29

All mine did this, even at four they were having long afternoon naps.

At eight they would still willingly nap if it meant we could be up late.

Still love their sleep, all grown up now and functioning like adults.

TheBoomingVoiceofExperience · 07/08/2025 21:32

Just a warning - my oldest went from 3 hours to no naps over about a week when she was 3. I was so shell shocked!

my youngest is just over 3 and will have a nice long nap if he gets in the car after 1pm and the afternoon can be difficult then with a late bedtime. Our solution is to give him something fun to do in the car (or avoid the car!) but sometimes he is just exhausted, especially if he is doing something new.

hope that is reassuring OP.

ItsAWonderfulLifeforMe · 07/08/2025 21:34

I’m curious how he’s only getting 8 hours a night, is that even possible? That would mean bedtime at 9.30 and up at 5.30, which is really late to bed and really early up and no-where near enough sleep so it’s not surprising he needs to nap. If you reduce the nap you will need a much earlier bedtime, usual for this age would be 7/7.30

(Edit, sorry, you said he wakes up at 7am, so with 8 hours sleep at night he would be going to bed at 11pm?!!!)

Cuddlesup · 07/08/2025 22:15

If you don’t want him to have such long afternoon naps you need to get him into bed earlier. Mine were in bed at about 7pm at that age and woke up at 7am - so in total they were getting about the same amount of sleep.

Sjh15 · 08/08/2025 18:39

Caterpillar05 · 07/08/2025 18:31

Great! I’m glad it’s nothing to be concerned about ☺️ thank you for the replies.

3 hour naps + 9 hours overnight will equal most 3 year olds within 24 hours so no, not a concern xx

BeWittyRobin · 08/08/2025 18:42

All mine have only ever had one long nap never broken down into two naps as toddlers and they have always still napped at 3 years old. I only dropped the naps when it affected their sleep on a night then they would only have a 3 hr nap every few days to recharge their batteries. Xx

SJ198 · 08/08/2025 18:46

11 to 12 hours sleep total is completely normal for a 3 year old. Most people wouldn’t tolerate a 3 year old only sleeping for 8-9 hours at night so would push to shorten/drop the nap entirely. But if it suits your family then crack on. Definitely no reason to see the GP!

Emmz1510 · 08/08/2025 18:49

Sounds good to me OP. I don’t think you need to worry. If it suits him and your family life then just let him crack on.

Pineapples198 · 08/08/2025 18:50

It’s fine, active 3 year olds use a lot of energy! I used to be a childminder and the children were busy all morning, we went out to parks, they walked a long way as smaller babies etc had the pram, I often struggled to keep 2/3 year olds awake at 11:30 on the way home! They would have a good lunch then all the toddlers I looked after would go to sleep for up to 3 hours.
my youngest son also had long naps at 3 as everyone else did.

SJ198 · 08/08/2025 18:50

ItsAWonderfulLifeforMe · 07/08/2025 21:34

I’m curious how he’s only getting 8 hours a night, is that even possible? That would mean bedtime at 9.30 and up at 5.30, which is really late to bed and really early up and no-where near enough sleep so it’s not surprising he needs to nap. If you reduce the nap you will need a much earlier bedtime, usual for this age would be 7/7.30

(Edit, sorry, you said he wakes up at 7am, so with 8 hours sleep at night he would be going to bed at 11pm?!!!)

Edited

If he’s napping for 3 hours a day I’m not surprised bedtime is between 10pm and 11pm. It was hard at the time but I’m forever grateful DC1 hated naps. He dropped them at 26 months and did 11.5 hours at night. I’d cry if I had to entertain a 3 year old until 10 or 11 at night…

Kateandherbush · 08/08/2025 19:01

My son had 3 (sometimes 4!) hour afternoon naps until he was around 4 and then it slowly tailed off. He also went to bed 7 till 7! So he was sleeping LOADS, but he was and still is absolutely fine. He’s an early teen now and sleeps 10.30pm, easily to 8 or 9am if he doesn’t have school and is one of the healthiest kids I know. Never sick, never moaning he’s tired and always sleeps like a log!

comfyshoes2022 · 08/08/2025 19:16

Seems totally fine / normal! Conceivably he also isn’t asleep every bit of that period, which would also be fine.

JRM17 · 08/08/2025 19:22

My DS8 has slept 11-12 hrs a night since 8wks old but he stopped day time naps just after his 2nd birthday. By 3 he was doing full days at nursery.

NuffSaidSam · 08/08/2025 19:24

If it works for you it's fine.

If you want to move to having him sleep longer overnight I would avoid the nap and let him fall asleep at 5:30pm or whenever he can't keep his eyes open and then just inch it forward each night until it's at a time that works better for you.