How much sleep is too much for a three and a half year old?

Question

My daughter normally sleeps from about 10:30-9A and takes her nap from 2-5. Most of the time. If I cut these hours down AT ALL, she will become beyond cranky. And she only wakes up when I wake her up. She is not overly active, unless, of course, I don't want her to be. And the worst part is, I am 28 weeks pregnant, which means alot of dr app. I don't drive, so every app. has to do around my hubby's work schedule, which is right at her nap time. She can't not take a nap...She's a real heathen. But don't want to upset her whole schedule. Is this too much sleep? Too little? And how do I skip a nap without skipping out on my sanity?

Answer 1

I nannied for two families with a total of 4 girls at or close to this age. Each had their own sleep needs and habits. One was completely fine not having a nap by the time she was 2. Of course she also slept longer at night. Her sister needed a 1.5hr nap until she was 4 even though she only slept 30 min less at night than her sister.  Two of the girls were twins and one needed a full 3 hr nap until she was 4, only gave it up because preschool interfered, and the crankiness reigned for at least another 6mths. Meanwhile her sister was down to just "quiet time" by the time she was 3 1/2.  They slept the same number of hours at night. Now my 2 1/2 year old son is just starting to show signs that the nap time will soon be a thing of the past, but right now he sleeps anywhere from 1hr to 3hrs depending on how big a day it was with the average falling around 1 1/2 hrs. He averages 10-12hrs of sleep each night.  Every child is different. Your daughter's crankiness is a sure sign that naps are still very necessary for her. I second the other poster's suggestion of *shifting* her hours if that will help you with other schedule conflicts such as doctors appointments. If you have the luxury of time, I suggest making the shift in 15-30min bites. (if she goes to sleep at 2 right now, try putting her down at 1:30-1:45 tomorrow, then 1:15-1:30 2 days after that and so on.) This has worked very well for me when adjusting my charges nap schedules to fit with gym classes and nursery school schedules. Hope that helps!  

Answer 2

3-year-olds need a lot of sleep; she's totally normal. I think the problem isn't nap but night-time sleep. I'd recommend putting her to bed by 8 pm at the latest, preferably 7:30 or even 7. She will probably wake up around 7 or 7:30 a.m. Then make nap earlier, maybe right after lunch. This will help her go to sleep earlier at night. I doubt she'd nap more than 1.5 hours if she gets a good night's (12 hours) sleep.  

Good luck!

Answer 3

most little kids go to bed late and get up pretty early becasue they r so active thats not to much if when theres less she is cranky just make sure she active and almost hyper! full of energy!