Does 3 Year Old Still Need Nap?

yes, in my opinion they do even if it's just resting watching a movie, they need to "recharge" their batteries. My son is 7 and he's just now stopped on the weekend taking naps, some days he still will go lay down on his own.

I think it depends on the child. My oldest was 2yrs old when she quit taking a nap, but my youngest was 4 when she quit taking a nap. Without the nap my daughter went to bed around 8 every night.

We had to stop naps for my 3 year old son because when he naps for 2 hours then he doesn't want to go to bed till 11 pm. We developed a shorter rest time for 30 minutes to an hour in length. At rest time he has to lay down and relax. Sometimes he relaxes with a toy or reading books. Now he will go to bed earlier for us.

L., every child is different. The book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth discusses sleep in a purely biological manner and it does say that most children lose the need to nap around this age. I'd say as long as he's getting about 12-13 hours of sleep a day, he's going to be fine and do what you think is best!

Hello L.,
My daughter took a nap until she was 4, my son took a nap until he was about 3 1/2 I had to cut it out because he was starting a semi all day preschool, (9am - 2pm). Bedtime at our house has always been between 8 and 8:30, except for summertime then it between 8 and 9. I need time to myself and time with my husband without the kids listening in on our converstaions or just quite time. It is easier to set a bedtime around 8 when they are younger than when it is school time and they have to start going to bed earlier to get up earlier.
If your son doesn't act like he needs a nap cut it out and put him to bed earlier. He map still fall asleep sometimes in the afternoon, but let him decide if he is tired.
Good luck,
Michelle

Hi L.,

My son stopped taking a nap around 3 and now my daughter is 3 and she also. Some days she will take a nap and others she won't. But if she does take one it is harder to get her to go to bed. So if we are going somewhere that evening I will get her to take a nap but if not I will have her go to bed by 8:30 or 9 pm. Hope this helps just go with the flow :) W.

One of my sons just turned 3 at the end of May. He hasn't taken a nap for about a year. Which really is fine with me cause he goes to bed at 7pm. On the other hand my now 6 year old. He took naps untill he start all day kindergarten. It was not that I would make him. He would just lay down on the couch and go to sleep. At the time his bedtime was 8pm. I moved up bedtime since my husband is in Iraq. Durning the summer their bedtime is 8pm.

I'm at that in between time with my youngest now. I would just let him go without but often he would be asleep before supper and restless all night. I do my best to get some "quiet time" in at some time and limit his nap to a short time to avoid the crabby baby between then and bed time. If he doesn't actually nap then his mind has still had a rest.

My daughter stopped taking naps around 3. Her bed time is between 7:30 and 8 and she sleeps until 6:30 or 7... she's never slept as much as guidelines suggest. On the rare occasion that she falls asleep in the car for as little as 15 minutes, she will lay in bed without falling asleep until 10 or later. I would go ahead and move his bed time up and skip nap time (do a 15-20 minute "rest" time instead). If he happens to fall asleep, he needed it... but you might need to adjust bedtime that night.

The rule of thumb I was given years ago is if the child can function through out the day without getting fussy, crabby, or anything showing signs of fatigue then they don't need a nap. My 3 1/2 yr old still takes a nap about 85-90% of the time. She gets really crabby an hour or two before bedtime if she doesn't. However, my oldest who's now 6 1/2yrs. hasn't taken naps for about 3 years. She was the only one in her daycare class that didn't so they told her to rest her body. And that's what I started doing for her. She had the option of either going to sleep or having a couple hours to rest, relax, and calm down.
So I'd say just kind of go by what their bodies and actions say. If your little one's showing fatigue at night then make sure there's a naptime. Other wise there could be a good transition of just resting their body for awhile then move to going through the day and having just a bedtime.
Best of Luck!
P.S. I just saw everyone talking about their bedtimes. My kids go to bed around 8:30 or 9. If it's been a hectic day then it's 8. During school, it's 8-8:30. So if you're figuring it's about 6:30 or 7 when my 3 yr old starts acting up if she's tired from not having a nap.

I don't have a child that age, but my best friend does, and they are facing the fact that if she naps too long, she won't go to sleep till eleven or midnight, so they are having to cut the nap down or out.