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With both kids we dropped naps cold turkey - one was 3.5, the second was closer to 3. They still had naps at daycare which were hit or miss, and I actually found that they kind of needed them - like, if they had a long weekend by day 3 of no naps they were a little nuts - but on the other hand it was nice to not have to schedule all our outings around nap time.

Our preschool decided for them. Due to the change over between preschool and aftercare, mine weren’t getting a nap time. Both of them were about 3 months from turning 3. We supported this anyway as at that age if they napped, even if we capped it/made it as early as possible, they were going to bed super late, like not asleep till 9:30 sometimes even 10. Both had a few rough weeks of adjustment; melt downs or needing like a quick 10 min nap around 5pm. But after that they were totally good. My 1st actually rarely even naps in the car, while my middle would pass out in car rides longer than 5 min

@meadow: do they fall asleep during naptime at daycare? My almost 6 year old still naps lol! (He is in half day K so it works out) I would try separating them during naptime and see if they fall asleep—one in your bed and one in their own bed. If they still don’t fall asleep, then you have your answer!

DS1 was always an awesome sleeper and napper and he dropped gradually before he started JK (3 years and 10 months old) It became like he would only nap 1x on the weekend and then not at all. When he started school he napped a couple weekends and then that was it for good. We enforced quiet time and still do, but now we usually schedule swim lessons during that time for him so he doesn't disturb 18mo DS2 during his nap. He’s gone through phases where he fought it but we did various things like have him watch the iPad, setting his alarm for when he could come out, listening to music, etc but there’s no way I’m not taking that time for a break for us however I can get it. Somehow, my friends daughter still naps consistently and she’s almost 6!

@meadow: my son is a late August 2016 baby, I think he’s a couple months younger than your guys. He started dropping his one nap last spring, intermittently he just was clearly not tired at all. We’d keep him in his crib and after an hour he’d just start shouting that he wanted out, and he’d go to bed early those nights and have great night sleep. Over Easter (when he was 2y8m) we traveled to my hometown and he didn’t nap once the whole week, after that he was just done with it. I think we could have expended a lot of effort to fight it but it would have been at the expense of at solid 7:30 bedtime which I place a lot of value in. I didn’t read everything but sounds like maybe they’ve had a good run but are just not needing it anymore ?

Heh. Enjoy the fact yours napped this long. We've been nap free since about 2.5. He would nap for 2 hours but it was almost always an hour or more spent trying to get him to sleep and then bed time would become super late (like 11pm or midnight)

I finally got tired of the struggle to get him to nap and it took me a bit to commit to dropping naps. We started with a rule of no naps after 4pm and there first couple no nap days were a little rough. But with in a couple of weeks life got so much better and so much less stress. No more struggling to take a nap. No more struggling at bed time. And bed time was quick because he was so tired.

We now wake around 8am and go to bed around 8pm. Maybe once every two weeks there would be a day we'd nap but they're getting rare and farther apart. His last couple of naps have been short to - only 45 minutes ish instead of a couple hours. I think those few nap days are just about gone.

My son didn’t stop napping consistently until he was 4, but naps were always all or nothing. He either napped for 2+ hours or not at all. He’ll still nap occasionally if we’ve had a few particularly busy days or late nights. If he doesn’t nap then he has quiet time in his room and he expects this now. We started small, like 15 minutes or so. But now he usually plays in his room by himself for an hour or more. I always leave his water and a small snack in his room so he really doesn’t have reason to come ask me anything. Can you start small with quiet time or try to do it separately? I think a break is so important for my mental health. And for him to get a break and play independently too.

We’re currently going through this with our 2.5 year old. She naps at daycare during the week, but bedtime is later because of it. I skip naps on the weekends and she goes to bed easier, so I guess she’s easing into the no nap routine. She’s the polar opposite of our first who was still taking three hour naps at her age. I’m sad about the naps, but skipping them does make bedtime so much easier!

I hear you on the quiet time dilemma too. Our oldest was always great with quiet time, but now that she and her sister share a room I’m not sure how it’ll work. I’m not pushing it now, but plan to this summer when I’m home with them.

@LemonJack: my kids share a room and our eldest does quiet time in our bedroom. They do not do quiet time well together. I tried once or twice.

My kids gave up naps at 2.5, just before. My younger kid could still use a nap though, but just refuses. Neither sleeps extra to make up for the nap either. 7-6 if we’re lucky.