[rach3975]

My almost-5 year old is the same way. We DO NOT let him nap if we can help it. If he takes any nap in the afternoon, even 15 minutes, he is up 2-3 extra hours at night. On any day with a nap, he ends up getting several hours less sleep than if we'd forced him to stay awake in the afternoon. So I'm comfortable waking him up ASAP (if he falls asleep in the car) or making him stay awake (when we're home) because I know it will ultimately lead to him being better rested.

When he was about 3.5 we had to cut out his nap because he couldn't fall asleep until 10 at night. As soon as we cut it out, he started falling asleep by 7:30. On days he really needed something, we let him sleep 10-15 minutes in the car. It was enough to improve his mood, and he coped better with being woken from a car nap than a home nap. (We can't let him take those short naps anymore, but it was a good transition back when he was first giving up the nap.) 1.5 years later, he still falls asleep easily by 8pm as long as he doesn't nap.