Starting pre-K with a non napper

[daviddale3]

Hi all, I’ve posted here about my 8 month old but now I need some advice on my almost 4 year old. She’ll be 4 in 2 weeks. She is going to start disability pre-K next week. She hasn’t napped for about a year but the pre-K class has nap time. I told the teacher that she doesn’t nap and the teacher acted surprised - but as far as I know it’s not unusual for 3-4 year olds to not need a nap right? Anyway she said all the kids in her class nap and my daughter probably will too due to the stimulation of being in school. I’m really worried that she WILL fall asleep during nap time and it will screw up her night sleep. She currently sleeps from about 7:30 pm to 6/6:30 am every night and I don’t want to screw that up. Does anyone have any advice or similar experiences?

 

[fldad]

@daviddale3 Our public 3K and preK have about a 50 minute nap period scheduled—that’s scheduled, mind, so if it takes you 10 min to fall asleep and some kids start stirring and making noise 10 min early, you’ve only got a half hour of sleep in there. Basically a power nap… My 3K kid, who normally IS a good long napper at home, hasn’t managed to fall asleep yet at school. Instead he basically does quiet time on the cots. So if she really doesn’t need the nap, I wouldn’t worry — she’ll probably just stay awake. That said, my kid comes home from the day (8:20 to 3 or 8:20 to 5 depending on if he goes to afterschool care) just WIPED OUT, happy but a liiiittle manic with fatigue. I know he is younger, but school really is very stimulating so the teacher’s probably right that a small nap wouldn’t hurt to give the kids a break and a rest! Going to school hasn’t changed my son’s sleeping through the night, though we often try for an earlier bedtime on school days knowing he didn’t nap.

I wouldn’t worry in advance about naps and nighttime sleep, to be honest. She might not nap. She might, and nighttime sleep could well be fine. She might nap and things get screwy, but you find that bumping bedtime back to 8 does the trick. I think you just gotta see how it goes.

 

[daviddale3]

@fldad Thanks so much for that insight! You’re right, I’ll just see what happens and adjust as necessary. I am one of those people who worries about everything in advance lol

 

[fldad]

@daviddale3 I am finding that even when you gain that more relaxed second-time-mom attitude with a new baby, you never quite lose the FTM worry aspect with your first lol! After all, you/they're still doing everything for the first time! Hope it goes well.

 

[grace4nan]

@daviddale3 Every pre-school I've heard of calls it nap time but it's really quiet/nap time. As in half the class will quietly read books, the other half will nap. They will definitely give her the opportunity to fall asleep, it's up to her to take it if that makes sense.

 

[andray]

@daviddale3 No advice but strange that they acted surprised? My 3 year old doesn’t nap anymore. Usually he will at preschool but many of the older kids don’t. Very normal.

 

[daviddale3]

@andray That’s what I thought too. I tried to hang on to the last nap as long as possible but right around when she turned 3 my daughter just stopped sleeping for her nap. I eventually just started giving her books in her bed so she could have quiet time. I definitely didn’t force her to drop it early lol