Grandson has stopped napping at our place but falls apart by six

lilac_camera_236521 Sept 2026

I look after my grandson three afternoons a week after his school. Until the summer he slept for an hour after lunch without fuss. Now he refuses. He lies there talking, gets up, and by 6 he's crying over everything, the wrong cup, the wrong cartoon. His parents say he doesn't nap at home on weekends either and is fine there. I don't want to fight him into a nap he no longer needs, but the evenings at our place are hard on everyone and he goes home cranky. Should we keep a rest time anyway, or drop it and bring dinner earlier?

1 comment

amber_pebble_849121 Sept 2026
What time does he wake on school days? If it is before 7, an earlier dinner and bedtime might help more than a nap would.
- lilac_camera_236521 Sept 2026
  About 6.30 for the school van. On weekends he sleeps till 8, which may explain why he copes better there. I hadn't connected the two.
- jade_pebble_344121 Sept 2026
  Replying to @lilac_camera_2365
  my daughter dropped her nap around that age. we did quiet time on the bed with books, lights low, 40 mins. some days she slept anyway, some days not. no more fighting about it