Seven years old is the age where deciding whether to continue to give your child a nap or not becomes prevalent. I guess you could say that everyone takes naps no matter their age, but we want to get more specific than that.
Do 7 year-olds take naps? Naps typically end for most children between the ages of 3 and 5 years old. 7 year-olds are officially in all-day school and don’t have a designated nap time anymore during the day. It is not bad for your 7-year-old to take the occasional nap if needed. Most 7 year-olds will have trouble going to sleep at bedtime if given a nap during the day. A designated “quiet-time” is recommended instead.
Even at my age, I need a nap every once in a while. Depending on how much your child sleeps the night before, how active they are during the day, and if they’re sick or not, the necessity for a nap will change will change. There are many factors that go into stopping naps for 7-year-olds.
Naps for 7 year-olds
While my nephew was a toddler, I would babysit him during the day. Let me tell you, nap time was a dream come true for me! That kid was active and busy. As he’s grown, the nap has become less important because he’s better able to regulate his activity.
Seven-year-olds don’t require consistent napping like a 2-year-old would. The have reached a point their life where they will start going to school and having other activities that require full alertness throughout the day. If your 7-year-old is still taking a nap every single day then it may be time to start thinking about how to change their routine.
It’s easier to stop the consistent napping when they start going to school. A lot of schools still practice Kindergarten napping, but your child will be able to slowly wean off of that the more active they are.
Routine is key for kids, so it may seem impossible to get your child to give up their nap. For others, it may seem impossible to actually get your kid to rest. Everyone is different!
The thought of taking away your child’s nap may seem intimidating, but don’t worry because naps naturally will become shorter as they get older. A 3-year-old will typically take a longer nap than a 5-year-old. Most kids are done with naps completely by the time they hit 6 or 7 at the most.
It’s important to have your child off of a consistent napping schedule by the time they start grade school.
Sleep is Good
I don’t want anyone to think that I am anti-nap. Kids nap to begin with because they are growing and developing. Sleep is vital to our overall health, and it’s important to give our children that time when they’re very young.
Napping is definitely important for infants and toddlers, but as your child grows, it become less important for them to take consistent naps. As they develop, they are better able to regulate their body’s needs. A good night’s sleep becomes the most important sleeping time in a child’s life.
This chain of development is different in every child but the statistics show that it’s normal for naps to stop between the ages of three and five. We love and need sleep, but we need and are able to function perfectly well without naps the older we get.
Quiet Time
A lot of parents have found that substituting their children’s nap time with a designated “quiet time” has helped in the transition.
A quiet time is really just what it sounds like. It’s a specific hour of the day where your child goes into their room and does a calm activity. Quiet time allows time for your child to slow down, recharge, and to think. Kids are very active and they need to be provided opportunities to do a wide range of activities that require different levels of attention.
Popular quiet time activities include:
- Reading
- Coloring
- Building activities
- Playdough
- Workbooks
- Learning games
Quiet time can be a time to do an activity that doesn’t involve running, jumping, or being loud. Quiet time is every 7-year-old parent’s dream. It allows them to work with their hands, improve their reading skills, or use their brain to create or think through problems.
These moments can be important for your child because it provides a good spectrum of activities and skills. Quiet time can help your child sit through school better because they would have practiced and got used to the idea at home.
This is not a perfect science, but it has worked for a lot of parents and their kids. Learn and discover what’s best for your family and develop a quiet time from there.
School
The napping age range is 3-5 when parents start allowing their children to stop taking naps. These ages are in preparation for going to full-time school.
Seven year-olds are usually in first or second grade. Without a designated time for them to go to sleep during the day, they are able to get used to not taking naps every day.
Once they hit 1st grade standing, they will need to be able to make it through an entire school day without a nap. This may be hard for some kids if they aren’t used to not taking a nap.
It is better to start weaning them off naps before they start all-day school so it is easier for them to stay awake and happy throughout the entire school day.
For those of us who have been around young kids, we know that it is harder for them to regulate their emotions. Lack of sleep seems like a nightmare because then they can’t concentrate, become irritable and upset, and are hard to comfort at that level of tired.
The good news is that humans are incredibly good at adapting to situations. Taking your kid off napping may seem challenging at first when you have bad days, but it will get easier because they will quickly become accustomed to the new routines and will no longer need one to stay alert, happy, and active throughout the day.
Too Tired to Stay Awake
A full nights sleep is more beneficial than a nap when you have to choose between the two. Allow your child to take a “power nap” as I like to call them. Depending on your own discretion all your 7-ear-old to sleep for an hour and them get them up to do something.
Too much sleep is not a definite indicator that your child has a problem. If you are worried, contact your Pediatrician or preferred medical specialist.
During this time in their lives, 7-year-olds are growing and transitioning in their life. They are going from consistent napping to having to learn, participate, and staying awake all day long.
This regime can take a lot out of them at the beginning. The great thing about being young is their ability to bounce back quickly. After the new routine is implemented for a few weeks, it will be easier for your child to stay away all day with a good mood and positive outcomes.
Related Questions
How much sleep does a 7-year-old need? A 7-year-old will usually no longer take naps, so they need anywhere from 9-12 hours of sleep during the night. Every child is different, but it’s important to allow your 7-year-old enough sleep to make it through an entire day. Too much sleep can almost be as bad as too little sleep, so it’s important to be attentive and regulate the sleep your child has as needed.
Do 7-year-olds have nap time during school? When a child hits 7-years-old, they are usually in First or Second grade and will not have a nap time. Children are expected to stay awake and learn throughout these years because they have begun full-time school. It’s important to stop naps in enough time for them to make it through the day without any negative effects for them.
