Dropping the nap

As your child enters the 3s and 4s, they may start to nap inconsistently and that's okay. Maybe they sleep during the week at daycare but not on the weekends at home. That's fine. You know how to adjust bedtime based on whether or not they nap.

There are a couple ways to tell when your child is ready to officially drop the nap completely.

1. They stop sleeping at nap time for 2 weeks.
At the time they used to nap, they have stopped sleeping for 2 weeks in a row. This is a sign that they may not need that daytime sleep anymore and it's time to switch to quiet time. Move bedtime earlier for a few nights to make sure they don't get overtired from lost daytime sleep.

2. They fall asleep late - 2:00pm or later
If you put your child down for a naps around 1:00 but they're not falling asleep until later, that's also a sign that it may be time to drop the nap. We don't want kids falling asleep for naps late because that can start to disrupt night sleep. So, skip the nap, change to quiet time and move bedtime earlier while they adjust to the loss of daytime sleep.