Naps past napping age

[DocDCT]

Many parents on this forum assume that once their kids get past the age of daily naps, they just won't be able to sleep anymore during the day.
However, there are some days at Disney when a nap may be good for anyone: maybe it's the first day after a night on the plane, or you planned both a late night and an early morning or whatever.
My question is: are your (older) kids able to understand that they need a nap when it's really the case, or do they always refuse to sleep even when they are really tired?
Probably a 3 years old is not very reasonable, but I guess it should be possible to convince a 10 years old.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Um, I'm 38 and still regularly take naps, so I guess I don't understand the "past napping age" thing.

That being sad, we go back to the room for naps/pool mid-day and DH and I sleep, and we tell our older two to at least "rest" even if they don't sleep. The mid-day recharge is good for everyone.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I'm about ready to take a nap today, and I'm not at Disney.

I used to be able to convince our son to "rest." After he woke up, we would go about our day.

If you want the kids to nap or rest at Disney, just head back to the resort.

 

[ShellieMimi]

A 3yo is going to pass out. A 10yo might opt for quiet time with an iPad or whatever instead. They may then suffer the consequences of being exhausted later in the day & might choose differently next time. "Rest" will generally sound better than "nap."

 

[wilkeliza]

I'm 28 and I nap when ever I can haha. I never got this idea that napping stops at a certain age. I have a few friends and family who don't understand it but I say heck if I'm tired why not take a nap. It is not as "okay" in the park if kids don't have a stroller but we go back to the resort and everyone takes a nap or at least rests a little with a book if anyone is being particularly cranky.

 

[AngiTN]

If we are tired we nap, be it the 9 yo DGD or the 53 yo me

 

[loves to dive]

We just go back to the room and rest. Even when my son was little around 3, more often than not it was me napping and him watching cartoons. We still go back to the room in the middle of the day some days, he is 36 I just turned 60, sometimes one or both of us will nap, sometimes we just rest.

 

[DisneyChris2016]

Every kid is different. DS11 will nap whenever he is tired, but wakes up every day by 6:00AM. DD9 never seems to GET tired. DD6 won't nap no matter how tired she is unless she falls asleep in the car. DH42 will sleep anytime, anywhere. We just wing it.

 

[Daniela Rose]

We had a Saturday night family party to go to a couple of weeks ago. We took our 3 1/2 year old. I told her if she wanted to come with us (730-midnight) she had to take a nap first. Well she napped for two hours and lasted the whole party.

 

[Klayfish]

Yep, we are the same. I'm 44, turning 45 next week, and I'm all in for a nap. My kids are 13, 9, 9. While we can't "force" them to take a nap, we very strongly suggest it. We tell them that we're going back to the condo and that mom and dad are taking a nap. So their rule is in their bedroom with the door closed. We strongly suggest they nap. They learned the hard way that it's a good idea...one time they chose to just play on their phones and were exhausted that night. Now, they will start off playing on their phones, but at some point go to sleep because we have to wake them up when we get up from our nap.

 

[siestakeys04]

I'm 45 and you don't have to beg me to sleep.... when we took our kids the first time they were 6 and 10 they were so exhausted I didn't have to say one word they were out. They didn't even want to get up one morning because they were to tired.

 

[monorailsilver]

We ALL nap. The last time we went was 4 years ago. My kids were 12, 9 and 7...I think. But they were out of napping stage. We wake early and return afternoon lunch and shut the curtains and nap for 2-3 hours. No one is miserable, we are out of the hot summer sun and are ready for night time. Everyone, well minus my son, it's always my son, falls right to sleep. Regardless it's lights out, no TV/device and no talking.

Pool days we do not do a nap.

 

[jvz82]

I must be in the minority because I don't like naps! I always feel worse after them.

My oldest two (6 and 8) haven't napped for years, not even in the car. So we went back to the hotel during the afternoon for a break. We all laid in our beds in the dark. I told the oldest two that I wanted them to rest, but if they were still awake when the little ones fell asleep they could watch videos on my phone. My 2 year old and husband fell asleep immediately. It took my 4 year old forever (he doesn't typically nap either) but I knew he needed to nap or he'd be ridiculously crabby. Finally he slept and the older 2 just quietly watched TV on my phone, and I edited pictures on my computer!

Strangely enough, it was the 3 nappers who were spent at the end of the night. My older two and I made it into the wee hours of the night, lol. So I do think it depends on the kid (and adult). A break is nice, but not everyone needs to sleep.

 

[LovesTimone]

Don't say it.... shhhh.... Nap... then the battle begins. NOOOOO NAP'S

DH and I when our DD's were little, we would head back to the room, to get some pool time, and rest, and clean up for dinner. After letting them paddle around for around a hour they would be so tired that we would normally end up carrying one of them

 

[kboo]

Last year when ODD was 4.5 we still napped/rested. She wanted to stay up and watch fireworks, and so we told her she'd have to sleep, not just rest, and she did. The baby, of course, slept. Then in January we were in Hawaii, and she went to bed early every night due to the jet lag and never napped. I think it's possible to get them to nap and we are going to try for the midday break again and make it a Disney "tradition". (FWIW, my parents did this with us when I was 8-12 and my sister was 0-4, and I almost always fell asleep for a little while, and then we got to stay out LATE for parades and fireworks.)

 

[kohlby]

It wouldn't work for our family but that doesn't mean it won't work for some. I come from a long line of terrible nappers. I couldn't nap even when I had just had a baby that was keeping me up all night. I am incapable of napping. I cut out napping by 2 years old and the ability never came back. My brothers were the same way. My mum and her sisters were the same way. All three of my kids cut it out early too and it never came back. Actually, at Disney, it was even work for them as toddlers! My husband, however, can nap.

 

[PrncessA]

We take afternoon breaks, which usually include my husband and I napping and the kids (10 & 12) just relaxing and watching cartoons now. When my husband and I went on our adults only trip we took a nap most days! LOL

 

[DisneyCAL]

We took our just turned 5 year olds almost 2 years ago and they napped while on the trip (not at home). The parks are exhausting at times and they'll feel it. Just telling them to lay down for a little, closing the shades in the room and having quiet time....they'll fall asleep. And so might you.Our pattern was parks, nap, swim, dinner/parks and it worked great.

 

[OnThisMagicNight]

My oldest is about to turn 5 and only occasionally naps at home now. I'm still planning (and hoping) for him to nap every day during our trip next month because otherwise we won't be able to stay out late and see the fireworks, etc. (he is one miserable kid when he is tired!) I'm hoping he will be tired enough from his mornings in the parks that he won't resist (and 2 year old DS will be napping anyway, so that should help.) I've already set the expectation with him that although we don't always ask him to take a nap at home now that he's getting older, he will need to take one in Disney because otherwise he'll be too tired to stay awake at night and see the fireworks. We've always done midday breaks for naps and find it really helps all of us to feel refreshed and enjoy the evenings.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

A trick I learned from my parents (because it worked like a charm on me): "Okay, you think you don't need to nap. Prove it to me. If you just lie on this bed with your eyes closed for 10 minutes, you can get up and play and we won't complain."

Never made it.