Is it normal for a three year old to not take naps?

Question

The only naps my daughter has had in the last few weeks is on the way home from work. It's a 40 minute drive. Other than that, nobody can convince her to take any naps. She sleeps good at night from 8:30 to 6:30, which is 10 hours. Is this enough sleep for her? Anybody else have (or had) a 3 year old that suddenly stopped taking naps? What did you do about it?

Answer 1

ha my 3 year old sister never takes naps unless we are in the car either.

and half the time she doesnt even go to bed until midnight and she gets up at like 8:30

so i'd say it's pretty common

Answer 2

My 23 month old goes to gymnastics pratice with twins that just turned 3 yrs old and mommy and daddy told me they don't take naps. I think it is ok as long as she isn't grumpy during the day. OMG what would I do if my daughter didn't take a nap on the weekends. I don't even want to think about that yet. I still nap with her. I have to to keep my energy up to run after her all day.

Answer 3

i think this is normal..i have a 3 yr old who does not nap during the day and hasnt since he was 1 1/2...but he sleeps long at night 10-12 hrs so i mean what can you do...you cant force a child to sleep if they arent tired right?....and as long as shes getting sleep at night i wouldnt worry about it...

Answer 4

its normal depending on the amount of sleep they get at night. my sister for example never took naps when she was that age. Its good that she takes naps on the 40 min drive.

Answer 5

YES!!!! My daughter hates naps (she's 3 and a half) and we just put her to bed at about 9 and she sleeps till about 7. It seems to be more than enough sleep. Some children just stop naps early.

Answer 6

Hi, of course this is ok!!! she is sleeping through the night so that is enough. I have A 2YR old who is at a childminders 5 days a week and i found that when they had not been out he didnt nap as if they didnt tire him out. so that could be one reason. But now my little boy doesnt nap anyway hes lively all the time. Also that 40 minutes shes getting on the way home is plenty, my boy only used to take a 20minute nap anyway. So she sounds like she gets more sleep than my little one and hes full of energy and very healthy, hope this helps and dont worry, i know its hard as all us mums worry about everything but she will be fine. It could just be a phase. x

Answer 7

My daughter stop taking naps about that age! As long as she is not grumpy all day i just let her be. She goes to bed better at night and sleeps all night! I wouldnt worry!

Answer 8

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Answer 9

My son, almost 4 now, only takes naps when he's sitting still.  If we don't make him sit down, he'll keep going all day.  If I want him to nap, and he just wants to run around and play, I put on a Batman cartoon, and he'll be asleep in 10 minutes.  I don't usually bother.  He goes to bed earlier if I don't make him nap.  

Answer 10

Yes it is normal for a three year old not to take naps. I do not know any three year olds at all, but I am sure she is not the only one.

Answer 11

I'm a nanny/sitter to a lot of preschoolers, and yes it's normal for a three-year-old to sometimes not take naps.  I'd warn against thinking you're done with afternoon naps, though, as many children go through nap and no-nap cycles for weeks or months.  At least encourage some quiet time at the appropriate time every day (in room with books and quiet toys), so that the kid will sleep is she needs it.

A lot of kids/parents discover that the child survives the day without a nap at this stage.  I will warn that just because the kid 'survives' the day doesn't mean she wouldn't be a happier/better behaved/better rested kid with a little rest or nap mid-day.

Final thought:  once the kid gets to school, many preschools and kindergartens require a nap or at least a quiet kid for an hour or so in the afternoon, so this training will come in handy!

Answer 12

Well it depends....if your toddler starts to get mood swings, then mabye a nap a day would hep. A toddler at the age of 3 doesn't need naps if they are active during the day. Just make sure they get plenty of rest at night. A good bedtime would be at 8:00 if they don't have naps during the day.

I HOPE THIS HELPS!!!

Answer 13

well my youngest sister is 5 and the only naps she takes is on the way home from work with my mom or from school, which is like 10 mintues and 5 minutes, she stays up till 10, 10:30 watching t.v. and wakes at 7, shes doing fine

Answer 14

I would like to think that is enough sleep for her. I have a cousin who just turned three and she doesn't take regular naps, if she is crabby my aunt will try to put her down but it is almost impossible. As long as she does not seem to be crabby or extremely tired, I would think that she is doing fine. If she does seem tired, you could just have her watch TV or listen to music, just give her some down time if you think she would need it.

Answer 15

My daughter stopped taking naps at 2! In the beginning it was a nightmare, but after a while we got on a different schedule and things work out perfectly. 10 hours is plenty of sleep for you little one! Good luck!