Sleep Associations

Here’s a 3 year old sleep schedule that’ll make the transition from toddler to preschooler bearable. It also makes for happy well-rested children.

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I have had 5 three year olds…

And, I’ve worked with many hundreds more as a certified sleep consultant.

We often think we have sleeping all figured out when they’re babies and they finally sleep through the night. Then, we get through the 4 month sleep regression, then a 2 year sleep regression… and then… for goodness’ sake…

We’ve got the sleeping transitions that occur when our little ones are 3.

So saddle up… this post will help you figure out wake times, bedtimes, nap times, and how to drop that afternoon nap if your little one is ready.

The 3 Year Old Sleep Schedule You’ll Be Able To Keep

Without further ado…. let’s dive in.

A Sample 3 Year Old Sleep Schedule

Your child’s schedule will be whatever works for your family. I have a stay at home mom schedule so I’ll share mine here as a starting point. I currently have a 3 year old and this is his 3 year old sleep routine.

This is what my son’s days look like, more or less.

You’ll notice I don’t have every hour or even every two hour block laid out, but the “bones” of the routine (wake up, eat, nap, eat, bed) I do.

• 7:30 a.m. | Wake up, come out, eat breakfast
• 8:00 a.m. | Read aloud time with older siblings (I homeschool, here are homeschooling pros and cons if you’re considering it)

• 8:45 a.m. | Outdoor play

• 11:00 a.m. | Cartoons and/or independent play

• 12:00 p.m. | Eat lunch then free play

• 1:00 p.m. | Nap or rest time (he still naps nearly every day)

• 3:00 p.m. | Come out of room, have snack, free play

• 5:30 p.m. | Dinner, bath, bedtime routine, etc.

• 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. | Bed

Whether he “seems tired” or not at 1 p.m. or bedtime, he goes to the crib anyway. 9 times out of 10 he’ll fall asleep quickly.

Wake Time – Get A Clock? (Important For 3 Year Olds!)

So, your 3 year old’s wake up time will vary depending on their situation.

If they go to daycare.

If they’re in preschool.

Or, if they are at home with you. 

There’s no need to create a random time just to have one, but the goal is to have a normal time that you shoot for each day that your child can sleep to.

Or, if it suits you, a time that you are OK with your child waking up.

The reason this is important is because whatever time they start waking up routinely is the time they’ll keep.

With the sleeping changes that come during the 3 year of your little one’s life, it’s important they start the day fairly regularly.

You may choose any time that suits your family, but get your child used to staying in their room and entertaining themselves for a short period of time.

Hold The Bones Of Your 3 Year Old’s Sleep Routine

If your 3 year old is starting to take shorter naps or skip naps, then the sleep schedule can lose all shape. 

This isn’t necessarily bad, but beware. 

Things get HAIRY if we throw the routine to the wayside and just go with whatever happens.

What ends up happening is the child will not fall asleep until 4:00 p.m. then will wake up at 5:30 p.m. to eat then run around overtired until 10:30 p.m. and then either wake up super early or end up sleeping late.

Only to repeat the chaos the next day. 

So how do we avoid an overtired preschooler?

Keep the bones of the routine.

Keep the wake up time similar in the morning, wake your child up if they sleep much past the normal time. They will then be able to make up for that at naptime or early bedtime.

Don’t let your child take a nap late into the early evening.

If your child falls asleep late for the nap (after, say, 3:30 p.m.) give your child an hour or so and then wake them up. This way they’ll be able to go to bed at the normal time.

Wake your 3-year-old up if they sleep too late.

If your regular bedtime is 7:30 p.m., wake your child up by 3:30 p.m. so they will be tired by their regular bedtime. Sleeping too late will cause bedtime battles which can contribute to nightmares and night terrors.

Keep mealtimes and snack times similar.

Your child’s body will metabolize to the times you feed them. Remember getting hungry every day at the exact time that lunch is served? Keep the meal times as constant as you did before.

How To Drop Your Child’s Afternoon Nap

No 3-year-old sleep schedule post would be complete without talking about how to drop the afternoon nap.

It is very common during this year of life for your child to stop napping.

Here’s how my children have dropped their afternoon nap, for a point of reference.

Remember, each child has their own particular sleep needs.

• My first child dropped naps about 3.5 years of age. She went from daily naps to 4 times a week, to 3, to 2, to 1 or barely none. She continued rest time each day at 1 p.m. as per before and, even still today at 7, will take the occasional nap.

• My second child continued napping nearly every day until Kindergarten. Even sometimes he’d come home from school and nap. Now he’s 6 and will very occasionally nap in the afternoons if he’s been out late. He was always a sleepy baby.

• My third child dropped his nap around 3.5 years of age. He went from 7 naps a week to 5 to 3 to 1 to barely any. He’ll sleep now in the afternoon once every two weeks or so, but still has rest time at 1 p.m. in his room now at the age of 5.

• My fourth child, at 3 years and 10 months old and still took an afternoon nap every day.  He would often only sleep from around 1 until 2:30 or 3, occasionally until 3:30. He could miss a nap if we’re going to go somewhere, but he still needs it.

• My fifth child napped until he was 4 years old.

Don’t Drop Rest-Time For Your 3 Year Old

If you think your child is starting to not need naps every day, put them in their bed anyway. This is called quiet time or rest time.

Give them some soft toys, a few books, and put them down for a nap. If they aren’t tired they won’t sleep. And, if they are, they will.

They may even read for a while then fall off into sleep for a bit.

➡️ If you think they don’t need a nap and stop putting them down for this altogether, this is a recipe for overtiredness. Even if they don’t fall asleep, they’ll have quiet and rest.

It could be time to start a Quiet/Rest Routine.

The more overtired a toddler is, the more likely they are to have confusion arousal at night which you really want to avoid if possible. This includes night terrors, some nightmares, and even sleepwalking. It’s much more likely during a transitional period when they are dropping naps and adjusting their nighttime sleep.

Wake Your 3 Year Old Up If They Fall Asleep Later

If your little starts to fall asleep later in the afternoon than normal, like past 3 p.m. say, then don’t let them sleep until they wake up. 

They may not be tired at 1 p.m. but crash later.

If you let them sleep until 6 p.m. then they won’t go to bed until much later and then on and on and on. Let them have a bit of sleep and then wake them up in time for an early dinner, then put them to bed at a normal time.

➡️ They may lie in bed awake at night for a while, singing, talking, etc. and not falling straight asleep. This is normal as they are transitioning into a new sleep schedule, and that’s okay.

Wait For Fewer Than 2 Naps A Week To Fully Drop

Before you agree that your child doesn’t need any more naps… wait until they are taking fewer than 2 naps for a few weeks at a time… and watch their behavior.

You’ll notice if they are fine without a nap or reeling from the transition to less sleep.

• Are they content throughout the day or very irritable?
• Do they fall asleep the minute you put them in a car or are they alert?
• Do they start having a repeat of baby witching hours in the early evening or are they able to make it to bedtime okay?
• What is their overall mood? Positive or struggling?

Of course, there are other factors at work here, but if your child is resisting naps yet still clearly exhausted, do not give up rest time. 

Move Bedtime Slightly Forward If Naps Are Missed

So… I know I said not to move around the routine too much – and I stick to this! – but there’s no harm in moving bedtime up 30 minutes or so if the nap has been missed.

If your child is exhausted and worn out, what they need is sleep. 

Expect It To Be Rocky, Expect It To Settle

Know that the transition from an afternoon nap to no afternoon nap will not always be smooth sailing and easy.

Some days they’ll throw tantrums left and right and be defiant and all manner of other things.

Symptoms of overtiredness. 

Just stick with them, keep your boundaries, and watch things fall into place as the new normal takes over.

3-year-old sleep issues…

Many moms feel that sleep issues should be over by the time their child is 3. I agree! But that ain’t always how it plays out, ha. Nope. Sometimes the issues continue.

Let’s quickly touch on some issues that may arise in your 3 year old’s sleep schedule.

Your 3 year old takes a nap some days and not others

This is okay, and it’s normal. It will, however, mean that bedtime seems to move up a bit depending on the day. Say your little one actually has rest time instead of taking an afternoon nap. If this happens a couple of days in a row then your child may also be exhausted at bedtime.

In this case, I’d move bedtime up 30 minutes or so. This means you can do a relaxing wind down routine and let your 3 year old catch up on some sleep.

3 year olds may occasionally nap for a long time

Because your preschooler may eventually drop the afternoon nap, there will be some days on and days off. This can look like Monday and Tuesday there was rest time instead of nap time. Then Wednesday, a nap!

You still do want to wake a napping toddler if the nap is going to interrupt bedtime. If bedtime is 7pm, you want to wake up your toddler by 3:30pm at the latest. Typically. If there was a very active event, vacation, or some late nights, you may not need to.

But on the whole, don’t let your preschooler nap too long. It’ll interrupt bedtime. Or it’ll do the next thing…

Your 3 year old starts waking up in the night

If your 3 year old’s sleep schedule feels like a mystery and there is some night waking… take heart. Typically 3 year olds only need a certain amount of time in the bed. If your child is getting over 12 or 13 hours a day (including the nap) then there may be some night waking.

Your 3 year old might wake up at 7am, go down for a nap at 1pm, wake up at 4 pm, then go to bed at 7pm. By 1pm your child may wake up and stay awake for an hour or two! This is fairly typical and means that the nap is too long.

Solution: shorten the afternoon nap or move bedtime back slightly.

Your 3 year old fights a nap until naptime is almost over… AND THEN falls asleep

This is a gem. Boy, these precious kids. You put your child down for a nap at naptime. There is playing and singing and games and just when you think rest time is over… the nap has started.

The temptation is very strong to let the child sleep. I discourage this! I mean sure, 30 minutes is fine, but don’t let an hour or two nap start when the nap is supposed to be ending. This will push back bedtime. Your 3 year old will get overtired.

Get a second wind.

And then it’ll be off to the races.

Solution: make sure naptime is over 4 hours before you want to put your 3 year old to bed.