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September 10, 2026
Last updated: July 2026
Children aged 3 to 5 need 10 to 13 hours of good-quality sleep in every 24-hour period, according to both Raising Children Network and the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network (NSW Health). Some preschoolers still need a daytime nap of around an hour to reach that total. Others get there through a longer, unbroken night's sleep alone, with no nap at all. There's no single right pattern, only a range, and a child who wakes with reasonable energy, settles for bed without a nightly battle, and isn't chronically tired during the day is probably getting what they need.
Napping itself becomes patchy through the preschool years. Roughly a quarter of children stop napping by age 3, another half drop it somewhere between 3 and 4, and most have stopped altogether by 5. If your child has recently given up their day nap, that's a normal developmental shift, not a problem to fix. It usually does mean an earlier bedtime and swapping the nap for a genuine quiet-time alternative, not nothing at all. This guide covers how much sleep to expect, the signs your child needs more, what helps once the nap disappears, and how Kings Road Long Day Preschool in Castle Hill supports that transition.
Most children aged 3 to 5 need 10 to 13 hours of sleep across each 24-hour period, made up of night sleep plus, for some children, a daytime nap of around an hour. Both Raising Children Network and the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network (part of NSW Health) put the range at 10 to 13 hours, and both note that some preschoolers will still nap at this age while others won't. Every child is different, and the exact figure that suits yours can sit anywhere in that band.
Rather than fixating on the clock, it helps to look at how your child seems during the day. Raising Children Network's own guidance is that a child is probably getting enough sleep if they have reasonable energy, feel refreshed, wake up independently at a sensible time, and aren't complaining of tiredness. If any of that isn't true, sleep is worth looking at, alongside your child's broader developmental milestones for 3 to 5 year olds, since sleep, growth and daytime behaviour are closely linked at this age.
Tiredness in preschoolers shows up in fairly recognisable ways, and catching it early makes bedtime easier. According to the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, common signs of a tired child include:
Overtiredness looks different again, and can be confusing because it often looks like the opposite of tired. Watch for sudden bursts of energy or hyperactivity, tantrums that seem out of proportion to what triggered them, and a child who resists bedtime hard despite clearly needing sleep. Responding to the early, quieter signs, rather than waiting for a meltdown, tends to make settling far easier.
Most children stop day-napping somewhere between 3 and 5 years old, though the exact age varies a lot from child to child. Raising Children Network puts rough figures on it: about a quarter of children stop napping by age 3, another half drop the nap between 3 and 4, and most children have stopped altogether by 5, provided they're getting enough sleep overnight. Naps themselves range widely too, from as short as 20 minutes to around 2 hours, depending on age.
None of this is a strict schedule to aim for. Some children genuinely need a nap right up until they start school, and that's entirely normal too. It's a gradual, individual shift, not a milestone with a fixed date.
Once a child stops napping, a quiet, low-stimulation rest period still matters, even without sleep. A period of calm, solo downtime, such as looking at books or resting quietly in dim light, gives a preschooler's body and mind a break in the middle of a long day, and it's worth keeping even after the actual sleeping stops.
If dropping the nap is making bedtime harder, not easier, that's a common and fixable snag. Raising Children Network's suggestion is straightforward: if your child isn't tired at bedtime or is struggling to fall asleep, try a shorter nap earlier in the day, straight after lunch, instead of cutting rest out altogether. Some families find an earlier bedtime does the same job with less resistance, since a child who's dropped their nap is often ready for sleep 30 to 60 minutes sooner than before.
No. In NSW, an approved long day care or preschool service must have policies that accommodate each child's individual sleep and rest needs, not apply one nap time to every child in the room. Regulation 84A of the Education and Care Services National Regulations requires services to take reasonable steps to meet each child's sleep and rest needs, with regard to their age, developmental stage and individual circumstances, while regulation 168 requires a documented sleep and rest policy covering exactly how that happens.
ACECQA's own guidance on this is direct: children who don't want to sleep should be given opportunities for quiet play, while children who do want to sleep can do so undisturbed. In practice, that means a child who has dropped their nap shouldn't be expected to lie still doing nothing, and a child who still needs to sleep shouldn't be woken or rushed through rest time to fit a group schedule.
A few consistent habits do more for preschooler sleep than any single trick. Worth trying:
If sleep problems are persistent, or if your child snores heavily, gasps, or seems to stop breathing during sleep, it's worth raising with your GP rather than waiting it out.
A 4 year old needs roughly 10 to 13 hours of sleep across each 24-hour period, whether that's made up of night sleep alone or night sleep plus a shorter daytime nap. This range comes from both Raising Children Network and the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network (NSW Health).
There's a wide spread. Around a quarter of children have stopped napping by age 3, another half stop between 3 and 4, and most children have given up the day nap altogether by age 5.
Yes. While most children have stopped napping by 5, some still need one, and that's within the normal range too. The right amount of sleep is the one that leaves your particular child rested, not a figure that applies evenly to every child the same age.
Try a shorter nap earlier in the day, straight after lunch instead of mid-afternoon, or simply move bedtime earlier. A child who has dropped their nap is often ready for sleep 30 to 60 minutes sooner than they used to be.
No. Like every approved long day care service in NSW, Kings Road Long Day Preschool must meet each child's individual sleep and rest needs under the national regulations. It doesn't put the whole class down at once. Children who no longer nap are offered quiet, low-key alternatives instead.
See your GP if sleep problems are ongoing and affecting your child's wellbeing, if your child snores heavily or seems to gasp or stop breathing during sleep, or if you're simply worried and want it checked. A GP can also help rule out a medical cause behind sudden changes in sleep.
Sleep and rest needs are individual, and that's how we treat them here. Like every approved service in NSW, we're required to meet each child's own sleep and rest needs, not run a single fixed nap time for the whole room. In a small centre it's easier to actually know which of the Wallaby and Kangaroo classes' children still nap and which have moved on to quiet time. Our approach sits inside the broader Learning for Life philosophy: children are known individually, not managed as a group. If mealtimes are also a source of daily friction at home, our guide to fussy eating in preschoolers covers similar everyday-care ground.
If you'd like to see how a Castle Hill long day care service supports children's individual routines, from rest and quiet time through to the rest of the day, we'd love to show you around. Book a tour of Kings Road Long Day Preschool, or get in touch with any questions.
