When Do Toddlers Stop Napping?
“When will my toddler stop napping?” is one of the most common questions I have been asked over my years as a sleep consultant
Short answer: there’s no set age for kids to drop naptime.
It can happen as early as 24-months to as late as age 4 or 5! Though I’m willing to guess that my reader is not the lucky parent of a magical unicorn sleeper who both naps and sleeps all night at age 5. Chances are, if you are reading this, you are the parent of a toddler between 18 months and age 3 or so, and that kiddo is fighting naps, skipping them occasionally, or that nap is getting shorter and shorter.
Long Answer: when it is time to drop naps, your child will start to display at least one of the following:
1) They may fight and delay their nap more than 50% of the time
2) They might skip their nap but still seem pretty pleasant through the afternoon
3) If they take their nap, bedtime becomes a battle when it used to be smooth and easy.
4) If they take a nap, they begin a newer pattern of waking early in the mornings.
5) Your child may begin waking for long stretches (called split nights) in the middle of the night on days that they nap.
The summary is that your child is no longer sleeping at a time that they should be.
This could take the form of skipping nap, fighting bedtime, waking early, or partying in the middle of the night.
If this pattern persists for more than a week, it’s time to consider shortening or dropping their nap.
Look, I know how precious naptime is, so first and foremost, I always recommend shortening nap before you drop it. If you can preserve even 30-45 minutes, that’s a midday break for both of you.
Quiet Time
Offering some downtime each afternoon is a time to decompress and relax, even if your child no longer takes reliable naps.
Sometimes shortening nap resolves all of the other sleep problems that led to this conversation in the first place.
If that fails, eliminate nap time and pull bedtime back its normal time by 30 minutes.
If your child wants to go back and forth and nap some days but not every day, that’s okay too! See how it goes and offer a quiet time daily.
If you drop naps and the sleep issues persist, then it’s time to call in a little help. This is the perfect time to do a short, Ask-Me-Anything phone call with a sleep consultant. These calls are 45-minutes, intensively focused on the needs of your child, and will be followed up by a summary and recommendations.
