A 3-year-old who wakes at 7:00 AM and naps for about 1.5 hours should go to bed around 8:15 PM, within a window of 7:45 to 8:45 PM. On a day with no nap, bedtime moves to about 6:45 PM. Both aim for about 12 hours of sleep in 24 hours, inside the 10 to 13 hours (naps included) the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends for ages 3 to 5. Each time includes about 15 minutes to fall asleep.
These are the same numbers the kids bedtime calculator gives for a 3-year-old. The nap is the big variable at this age, so the charts below give a bedtime for each nap length.
Free toolSleep Needs by AgeRecommended hours for every age, from newborns to over-65s.What time should a 3-year-old go to bed?
Take the wake-up time, count back 12 hours and 15 minutes, then add back the length of today's nap. For a 7:00 AM wake-up and a 1.5-hour nap, that's 8:15 PM.
| Wake-up time | No nap | 1-hour nap | 1.5-hour nap | 2-hour nap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 AM | 5:45 PM | 6:45 PM | 7:15 PM | 7:45 PM |
| 6:30 AM | 6:15 PM | 7:15 PM | 7:45 PM | 8:15 PM |
| 7:00 AM | 6:45 PM | 7:45 PM | 8:15 PM | 8:45 PM |
| 7:30 AM | 7:15 PM | 8:15 PM | 8:45 PM | 9:15 PM |
At this age, aim to land within about 30 minutes either side of the time in the chart. A child who naps longer goes to bed later, minute for minute, so the 24-hour total stays about the same.
What time should a 3-year-old go to bed and wake up?
A common, workable schedule is up at 7:00 AM, a 1.5-hour nap after lunch, and in bed by 8:15 PM. That gives about 10.5 hours at night plus the nap.
Here's how the night splits for different nap lengths, on a 12-hour daily total:
| Nap | Sleep at night | Bedtime for a 7:00 AM wake-up |
|---|---|---|
| None | 12 h | 6:45 PM |
| 1 hour | 11 h | 7:45 PM |
| 1.5 hours | 10.5 h | 8:15 PM |
| 2 hours | 10 h | 8:45 PM |
If your child naturally wakes at 6:00 AM no matter what, don't fight it with a later bedtime. Move the whole schedule an hour earlier instead, using the 6:00 AM row above.
What time should a 3-year-old go to bed with no nap?
Without a nap, a 3-year-old who wakes at 7:00 AM should go to bed around 6:45 PM, or 6:15 PM for a 6:30 AM wake-up. That's early, and it's meant to be: all of the day's sleep now has to fit into the night.
The AASM's 10-hour minimum would technically allow a bedtime as late as 8:45 PM for a 7:00 AM wake-up, but that's the floor, not a target. A tired 3-year-old kept up two hours past their usual time often has a harder evening, not an easier one.
Many 3-year-olds are in the middle of dropping the nap. A review of napping studies from around the world found that fewer than 2.5% of children stop napping before age 2, while about 94% have stopped by age 5, with the preschool years showing the most variation. So it's normal to have nap days and no-nap days in the same week. On no-nap days, use the left-hand column. On nap days, use the column that matches how long they actually slept.
Signs the nap is starting to cost night sleep:
- Lying awake in bed for 30 minutes or more on nap days
- Bedtime battles that only happen after a nap
- Very early waking after a long afternoon nap
If you see these, try a shorter nap, an earlier nap that ends by about 3:00 PM, or swap the nap for an hour of quiet time in their room.
How much sleep does a 3-year-old need at night?
A 3-year-old needs 10 to 13 hours of sleep in 24 hours, including naps. How much of that comes at night depends on the nap: with a 1.5-hour nap, about 10.5 hours at night is typical; with no nap, closer to 12.
For younger children, the ranges and nap counts are in how much sleep a toddler needs. For other ages, the sleep needs by age calculator gives the recommended hours for every age group.
Making a 3-year-old bedtime work
A short, predictable routine every night is one of the best tools you have at this age. In a study of more than 10,000 children up to age 5 across 13 countries, a consistent bedtime routine was linked to earlier bedtimes, falling asleep faster, fewer night wakings and more sleep, and the more nights a week families kept it, the better the results.
- Keep it to 20 to 30 minutes and in the same order: bath, pajamas, teeth, two books, lights out.
- Dim the lights in the last half hour and keep screens out of it.
- Offer small choices (which pajamas, which book), not whether bedtime happens.
- Use the same words at lights-out every night. Three-year-olds love knowing what comes next.
The full step-by-step version is in bedtime routine for kids. Bedtimes for ages 4 and 5 are in what time should a 5-year-old go to bed.
When to talk to your pediatrician
Check with your pediatrician if your child snores loudly most nights or has pauses or gasps in breathing while asleep, is very sleepy or unusually irritable during the day despite enough time in bed, or has trouble falling or staying asleep that goes on for weeks.