Dropping the Nap - an Overly Tired Three Year Old

i can tell you what we do. my son is 3 and NEEDS his naps. so. we get up at 6 or 6:15, to go to daycare. nap is 12:30 till 2:30 or whenever he wakes up. bedtime is always by 8 pm. this is almost exactly the 12 hours recommended. and yes, i can tell too when he skips. happily that is not that often. but it does happen.

you mentioned you do your same routine every day, but then you mention about ten different tactics you've tried. that's not consistency. it's likely he's in there waiting in anticipation for that hour or two, to see what mommy's going to try next. maybe she'll let me have toys soon! maybe she'll come in and cuddle with me soon! so, i would not keep talking to him/cuddling with him during nap time. i would not allow him to play. i would insist on him being IN his bed with no toys. and i would insist on quiet. mostly this takes care of it for my son. if i really want a nap myself and want to ensure that he sleeps so that i can, i take him to the park or another physical activity, so i know he's good and worn out. do this a few days in a row (heavy on the physical activity in the morning) and if you stick to the same routine, i bet he'll take more naps.

the other tactic i use (when i don't feel he's going to nap, and i'm just wiped out and need it myself), i will let him come into my bed with me and we will watch a movie. correction - he will watch a movie, i will SLEEP. and he is really good about being quiet and laying still so that i can. it's awesome! but i only use this once in awhile, i don't want him depending on that or expecting it all the time. this way it also makes it very special for us both, and we both love the cuddle/quiet bonding time.

good luck!

I know if another posting I read that someone would give their child a protein snack before bed to help keep the calmness. Maybe try that. Good Luck!!

How about you ALL nap at the same time?

I have 2 kids... from the time I brought home my 2nd child after being born... when he had his nap or was sleeping at a time which was also about the time my older child had her nap... we ALL napped. I synchronized it that way.

My son is 3.5, and he still naps everyday. He need it. Otherwise he gets all amped/fussy too. He goes to bed just fine... at about 8:30pm. He naps for 2 hours in the afternoon.

I and my kids "napped" at the same time... and that became our routine. EVERYTHING is off and quiet at that time. I tell them Mommy needs to nap too... and then we do so.

All the best,
Susan

wow, you have tried it all. At 3, he may just be done w/ naps. Maybe you can have him have his quiet time with you guys- watch a video, read books, color -something quiet... tough one, but it might just be the transition from nap to no nap. How many hrs does he get of sleep at night?

I hope you get a better answer than the one I'm about to give, but in my experience it can just be a rough transition out of naps. With my daughter, who is now 7, she started to fight naps when she was just over 3. I would tell her that she just had to lay down for a time, not even fall asleep. But she fought that too--I think she knew that if she laid down quietly she would fall asleep. So she still really was tired, but she was awake enough to fight hard not to have a nap. So we gave them up and she was very cranky over the nap-time range and if we happened to be in the car at that time she would totally fall asleep. Gradually that cranky/manic time got less, and later until around age 5 she obviously didn't get tired until bed time. I would keep the "rest time" and put some firm boundaries into place (time outs for instance) to keep your younger son safe.

Wow--you sure have tried a lot of different tactics in O. month!

I'd just pick O. routine & stick with it. can you set a small alarm clock for O. hour and explain that he needs to stay in bed quietly til the alarm rings? (If he falls asleep--obviously, sneak in & turn it off sooner).
If he is exhausted, just start your bedtime routine about 45 min earlier that night.