Why won't my 4 year old nap?

At 3.5 my son stopped too. Even if I have him out at the park, running around - go to the beach etc.... he will not nap.

but of course my kid goes to bed at 7:30 and gets up around 7:00 or 8:00 am so that is why I know he does not nap. Napping is nice especially for us but when they dont do it - you cant exactly force them to sleep. If you need a break put them in for quiet time for about 30 min to an hour.

But dont worry about him sleeping. It is totally normal for them not to nap at this age. Some people also require less sleep than others. In general it is a good idea for them to get 12 hours of sleep - like adults they say 8 - but if I sleep ofr 8 hours I feel like crap I require only 5. So IMO I think it really does vary from kid to kid.

Good Luck

If my daughter's father screamed at me that would be the LAST thing on this earth he did. Some 4 year olds need to nap some don't. I suggest you tell your child's father to communicate with you through your lawyers only from now on that way there is no screaming, he may want to think twice everytime he has to pay his lawyer $250 to scream at you LOL And butterflykisses is wrong. not ALL pre schools or Daycares make 4 year olds take naps. The preschool mydaughter will be attending doesn't even have "nap time". They do have "quiet time" where they get a story but there is no napping.

HI...I have a 4 yr old as well and she was always napping for me at home, when she started preschool, she would nap about 10-15 min and eventually stopped napping all together, i was told that as a child gets older then tend not to sleep on the afternoon, at home when she is there we have quiet time for her...she is in her room and she can play in thre or read a book but she has to be quiet...it has worked for us wonderfully, she also has a hard time getting to sleep in the evenings no matter what you try....but she has a bedtime at 7pm, and you can hear her playing on her bed sometimes tell 10 at night....if they need 12hrs of sleep they would have it..but what child at 4 will have 12 hrs...i may wish mine did but she doesnt...each child is different....

Anne

Many toddlers give up their naps and it just sounds like your 4 year old is doing fine without an afternoon nap. If he's not showing signs of being tired, then he probably just simply doens't require that extra rest.

I know many ladies who's 2 and 3 year olds have given up their naps, so it's no surprise that your 4 year old doesn't want a nap anymore.

I don't think there is a problem. Naps becoming less frequent and eventually disappear when the child is ready. My son will be 3 at the end of June and hasn't napped since last summer.

Hi Ana,

I also have a four year old in preschool. I prefer him not to nap and at his age it is normal for them to drop their need for a day time nap and that way he is ready to sleep by 8.30pm at latest. If your little man is still wide awake at this time perhaps he is not using enough energy up through the day??

Every child is different, I have 3 boys and each of them need different amounts of sleep to be at their best. Perhaps look at increasing his physical activity through out the day. I hope this helps.

they grow out of naps about that age but if you just put him in his room with the room dimmed a little and just tell him he must rest or lay in bed for so long, (he can play quietly with a book ect) 20 mins he is resting put a timer on, my 4 year old foster child most of the time fell asleep and took a short nap before the timer went off sometimes she didnt, but she was in a better mood if she rested for the 20 mins mid afternoon. try that and see if it helps if he is a little cranky

Kids do outgrow their naps around 3-4 years old, that is completely normal. There is no problem with outgrowing naps :)

my daughter will turn for the end of may and she hasnt nappedsince like 2 1/2 years olds..... i am pretty much used to it....the older they get .... they dont nap no more

not every child comes from the same cookie cutter. Maybe he doensn't need the nap, otherwise, if he were sleepy, he'd sleep. try putting him to bed a little earlier, and wake him up earlier. change his sleep cycle up a little. My grandmother used to always " a well rested baby, rests well".