Adjusting Sleep for Playgroups & Scheduled Activities for Infants and Toddlers: Part II
By Robynn Yip, Certified Gentle Sleep Coach®
(Part II) As a Hong Kong-based mother, I understand and live the struggles of modern parenting living in a city, and I also understand how polarized the world is right now with social media and how extreme opinions on both sides can create anxiety and confusion with all things from parenting to politics. I share all of this with love, and with the expectation that this may not resonate with every parent, nor does it have to. We all simply have to do what works for us. With that said, I would love to bring up a type of question that I get asked way too often:
"I need to let our 3 year old drop his nap, because it would work much better with his daytime activity schedule. What is your best advice as to how we can navigate this?"
These questions come up quite often as the school year starts up again. If you ask any sleep expert, they would tell you the same thing: do not drop the nap just because it fits the schedule better - observe whether your child is truly ready to drop it. Observe whether your child is truly ready to drop it, or whether the schedule should be adjusted around sleep needs.
For a 3 year old, most children still need a nap. At this age, many toddlers can look “ready” to give it up simply because they resist it, but that often reflects timing, overtiredness, developmental change, or a need for a nap reset rather than true nap drop readiness.
Adjust the day around sleep, not the other way around.
I would be very cautious about dropping the nap at 24-36 months unless there are clear, consistent signs that your child no longer needs it - it does take some trial-and-error, and consistent observation. In most cases, a nap is still biologically important at this age, and removing it too early can lead to overtiredness, more night wakings, early morning waking, and a crankier child overall. If the daytime activity schedule is the issue, I would try to protect the nap first and adjust the day around sleep, not the other way around.
Best advice for navigating it
Look for true readiness signs, not just convenience: consistent nap refusal for 2 to 3 weeks, no sleepiness at midday, bedtime becoming very late even with a normal nap, and good mood and night sleep without the nap.
Try a schedule shift first: move nap earlier, shift activities after nap, or create a quieter midday window so the nap can still happen.
Protect an early bedtime if the nap is short or skipped.
Use a temporary “nap or quiet time” approach instead of forcing a drop immediately.
Watch the full 24-hour sleep picture: if night sleep becomes worse, the nap was probably still needed.
Expect a transition phase: many toddlers at this age go through nap resistance without being truly ready to stop napping.
Practical example
If the nap is currently causing a conflict with an activity class, I’d usually suggest: keep the nap, shift the class if possible, or do the class on some days and preserve nap on others. If that’s impossible, aim for a short restorative nap in the stroller or car as a bridge, but avoid making a permanent drop based only on schedule convenience. You may also potentially adjust their regular wakeup time, so that your child naps before the class instead of after. This option may not be possible for every child, and if you see that sleep is getting worse and schedules start to go off the rails because of it, then it is a clear sign that your original nap schedule needs to be prioritized over the class schedule.
Gentle bottom line
At 24-36 months, I would usually preserve the nap unless the child clearly shows they are genuinely ready to outgrow it. In sleep consulting, the child’s developmental sleep need comes first, and the schedule should bend around that whenever possible.
