There are a lot of transitions in childhood that are all about timing and some of them, like potty training, breatmilk/bottle weaning, giving up the pacifier, and moving to a toddler bed are parent led. The parent often decides when it’s time for these transitions and how to implement them.
Giving up nap time is another one of those choices that I think is parent led, though like other transitions, children will often start to show signs of being ready.
I, for one, hold on to nap time as long as possible but obviously there comes a time when children no longer need the day-time sleep and this is how I decide when that time has come:
Evening crankiness. If my children are consistently a hot mess by dinner time when they don’t nap, they still need it. If they can regularly hold it together until their normal bedtime then maybe they’re ready to give up the afternoon sleep.
Trouble sleeping at night. I’m not talking about the child that fights going to bed, the child that stays wired until 10 or 11 o’clock or the child that constantly comes out of his/her room; these are just bad bedtime habits. I’m talking about the child that lays down easily at their normal bedtime, ready for sleep then just can’t fall asleep.
Car naps. This is my golden determiner: If my kid can consistently and easily stay awake for a 1-2 hour drive during their normal nap time, they probably don’t need that afternoon sleep (and chances are they haven’t been sleeping at nap time anyways). But if s/he gets drowsy after 30 or 60 minutes of being strapped down in the car on a regular basis, that is my prime indicator that his/her little body still needs that daily rest time.
Things that I don’t factor in:
Early waking. Kids wake up early for lots of different reasons and in my experience, this usually indicates a lack of good sleep, not that they’re getting too much.
Fighting nap or bedtime. Just because a child doesn’t want to lay down to sleep, has nothing to do with whether or not they need to sleep. Young children are wired to push boundaries and test their independence, they learn by trying to get their way; whether or not they do is up to the parent.
