Thanks. I'm a mom who jealously protects his nap, so this situation is kind of throwing me for a loop. I've talked to one mom and she tells me the children adjust -- the nap eventually disappears and they go to bed super early. I guess I just want more reassurance that it actually works out ok, especially because it sounds "odd" to me that a 3-year-old goes all day without sleeping, poor guy! :) Or, maybe hear from a mom who pushed the nap super early to give them an hour before school (e.g., 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.)? I will try to give them a call today as well, good idea. Thanks!

I`m sorry I have not had this experience for myself. The only experience I have had is as a pre-school teacher. The kids that took afternoon naps were very tired in the PM class. However these kids only attended school either 2 or 3 days a week. Since your son is going 5 days this may not be a huge issue for him. He is more likely to adjust with this consistent level of pre-school.

Okay, so i run a daycare facility that consist of 140 children from the ages of 6 weeks to 12 years but they are all separated. What ends up happening is that your child will adjust to the not napping and they will go to bed earlier. You as a parent is suggested to stick to a schedule for your child at home as well so that there is no resting time that is missed. Its either that or you enroll your child in daycare full time and he gets his nap there .. good luck

My daughter is the same age as your son and basically on the same schedule. I'd have a hard time with letting go of the afternoon nap too.

Have you talked to the preschool about your concerns? Does the preschool at least offer a rest time or quiet time? I can't imagine that they wouldn't let him lie down for a bit if he was tired.

I like vacekd1001's suggestion about weening him down from the afternoon nap before preschool starts because I'm sure the first couple weeks will be hard otherwise. You might find that he will go down for a nap in the morning once he is on his new schedule. Or if you're really lucky, he might end up sleeping later in the morning. ;-)

Thanks, this helps give me some peace of mind. I'm glad to hear they adjust and are able to function well. Seems like most kids just lose the nap altogether, so I'll avoid trying to move his nap to a super early time and instead push his nap slowly throughout the summer with the hope that by the time school starts, he will be used to his new routine. Thanks everyone!

Hi SM Mom,My girls are going to pre'k morning for me is best they go from8 to 11:15 Am five days of week and they take a nap in the afternoon I think is best to send the kids in the morning because they are going to start a schedule when start the school all day and I think too is more easy because they have more time to spend in the home,to take nap,to do the homework and to play too.I believe too so the kids eventually dissapear the nap time,because in the school they are more alert and actives and when they go home they go tired and sleep more early.Try to change the schedule,to help your kid adapt to the changes in the future.

Thanks Mamachela. I agree, afternoon programs aren't ideal. Unfortunately, this is the only spot we could find, so we have to make the time work by adjusting his schedule. I think it's this first year that will be an adjustment for him -- next year should be ok. From what I've read, seems 75% of toddlers drop their afternoon nap by age 4 anyway. I think my plan is to incrementally extend his awake hours throughout the summer so that come September, it won't be such a shock to nap after 4 p.m. or not at all. And perhaps there will be an added bonus of him sleeping in! :)

Do what you believe is more easy for your kid and more comfortable,but try to keep awake in the hours so he's going to be in the school,so he can change his routine with all the new escolar schedule.Good luck.

SM-Mom- I think that's a great idea. My daughter sometimes doesn't go down for a nap until after 4pm. We let her sleep until 5 or 5:30 on those days and she ends up going to bed around 8-8:30. It sounds late for a toddler but being able to be flexible in her schedule makes room for a lot more for us. Not to mention, she usually sleeps really well on those nights.

It all depends on your son's temperament and how he deals with nap transition. My son was in a similar situation. He went to an afternoon preschool (1-4pm) when he just turned 3 yrs old. At the time, he was fighting his afternoon nap (typically between 1 - 3pm) and I thought that he would just "outgrow" his need for the mid-day nap when he started school. Well, it didn't really work out for us. He got so overtired towards the mid afternoon that he tended to act out physically in school. I did suggest that he find a "quiet" place to lie down or read a book when he felt tired but it didn't help b/c there's too much distraction at school. I also tried to nap him before school but it was hard to get him to nap that early consistently and it didn't help that much. So after 4 months, I had to move him to another preschool with a morning program. Almost immediately, his physical aggression was gone. Other than trying to push a kid one time early on, his teachers said that he has not shown any aggression towards his classmates. I was so relieved and I really believe the time of the day made a huge difference in his experience at school.

Now that he is older, 3 yr and 8 months, he seems to be fine without a mid-day nap. He may still fall asleep in the late afternoon after a busy day but his behavior does not deteriorate as much if he does not take a nap as it did when he was younger.

Your son may respond to lack to sleep differently and the transition from nap to no nap may not be as tough for him. If he is pretty mellow and mature for his age, he may be able to wind himself down at school when he's tired. My son could not slow himself down. He just got more stimulated and hyper as the afternoon progressed.

My friend's son dropped his nap when he started an afternoon preschool program before he turned 3. He did not have any problems at school. So I don't want you to feel discouraged. You know your son the best. I just want to share my experience.

Good luck to you and let us know how he adjusts when school starts.

Yes, that's really my concern -- his temperment. Lots of people say their children stopped napping at 2.5yrs and that they really fought the nap, but my son actually passes out every day and sleeps for 2-2.5 hours. It's hard for me to imagine him doing well on a schedule with no nap for the entire day. He becomes very whiny and needy as he approaches nap time (1:30pm). Maybe things will change in the next 7 months???

If not and since we can't find an alternative preschool, then what are your thoughts on either (a) pushing his entire schedule up 2 hours (so he naps at least one hour from 11:30am-12:30pm) or (b) pushing his entire schedule back 3 hours (so he naps after preschool from 4:30pm-5:30pm)? You suggested that you didn't have much success trying to get your toddler to nap BEFORE school? Did he have a late wakeup? Just trying to figure out in which direction we push everything...