2 Year Old Won't Nap

i agree with the previous posting. it's time for a big girl bed - my daughter went into a twin bed at 24 months, and though it's a transition, she loves her big girl bed. also, i would try to see if your daughter is getting enough physical activity in the morning hours to wear herself out a bit. days when we're not as active, my daughter isn't as tired, and will sometimes fight her nap. i try to be sure we get outside for a walk or run around, dance inside to music for a while, roll around and tickle, or chase each other around the house... something to get her a bit more tired.

fighting naps is one way to exercise independence!!! they NEED naps at this age still - and they need the sleep to grow. i have a gate on my daughter's door, but when she gets out of her bed, i SILENTLY walk into her room, pick her up and put her back in bed. i am sure to not say a word, because as soon as i do, my DD thinks that there is room for negotiation - there is not. she knows from us talking about what is expected at nap time that she is to stay in her bed. she gets a book and her stuffed animal in her bed at nap time too, so she can quietly sit and look at her book, but can NOT get out of bed. there are days i don't have to go in at all, and other days i have to go in there 10 times! just depends.

when my daughter gets overtired, she fights sleep even more and actually sleeps less - she wakes in the night, sometimes has night terrors, etc., it's a vicious cycle. so we really try to stay on her schedule as much as possible. life gets in the way sometimes, and if she misses a nap or two, there is a price to pay.

believe me, nothing is perfect. there are days when she just won't fall asleep. i still expect her to stay on her bed and this can last about an hour or hour/half - she is looking at books and resting, but not sleeping, so i am sure to adjust her bedtime that night to have her go to bed anywhere from 30-45 minutes earlier than normal. she needs the sleep!

hope this helps! oh- one thing we really were happy about was the fact that we bought my daughter a day bed (twin bed), so with the guard up on the one open side, it's like a huge crib... we think this really helped in the transition to a big girl bed, especially since we did it when she was younger (24 months). something to think about as you shop for a new bed for your daughter, if that's what you decide to do. good luck to you... :)

Hi M.!

I also agree with the two previous postings. However, they do not work for us. My son is two and he will not take naps anymore. I have a 5 yr old daughter who is not in school yet so it makes it hard for him to even have quiet time. If I force naps, then bedtime is a nightmare and he's up until 11 or 12. So I've decided not to force naps. He goes to bed around 9:00 and usually sleeps until about 9:00 in the morning.

I have two friends who also have 2 yr olds and they don't do naps anymore either due to the nightmare at bedtime. I sure miss nap time! I'm a WAHM and when I first started working from home I was able to get a couple hours of work in while he napped and my daughter would have quiet time and watch a movie or something. Now everything has changed.

Good Luck!

My 33 month old is in a similar situation. I just try to pay attention to her cues, and see if she is needing a nap on that day. She usually naps about twice a week. On nights she naps, she goes to bed around 8, and on no nap nights, she goes to bed around 7. She gets up between 6:30 and 7:30 regardless of when she goes to sleep. Yesterday she desperately needed a nap, but it just didn't work out due to a crazy day! (baby shower, unexpected company, and the arrival of our baby chicks in the mail--4 days early!) Anyway, we had an early dinner and bath, and she was in bed by 5:45 and asleep before 6:15. Then she was up at 6:30 this morning. For her, I find she needs 12-13 hours a night. She usually gets around 12 (7-7) but needs a couple naps a week to make up a little extra sleep.

On days she doesn't nap, I have her play quietly in her room for 30 minutes or so by herself. She can read, do puzzles, etc... You might try quiet time, and having a couple naps a week and see how that goes. I am pregnant, and needing to nap occasionally, and some days I will let her choose one book or toy, and we will lay down in my bed for 30 minutes together. She earns gum if she lays quietly! It usually works pretty well, and I get to be off my feet for awhile!

Good luck--the transition is really tough!

All 3 of my kids gave up napping at around 2. We established "quiet time" in their room for 30-45 minutes. They can play quietly with their toys, but could not leave the room. I would often find them asleep on the floor with cars in hand at the end of the time period. re: climbing out of bed--my daughter did this and really could have hurt herself DIVING out of bed. We purchased a toddler bed and this did the trick. Good luck!!

HI M.,
My daughter who is now 3 gave up her naps just before she turned 2 as well. At first it was hard on me because I was pregnant and I really wanted to take a nap too LOL! But at this point if she got a nap she was up til midnight! So we just let her go without naps. But I do insist she gets quiet time in the middle of the day and I make her lay down and watch a movie. Either on my bed or on the couch but that way I get a bit of a break to get other things done. In the evening right about dinner time she is a bit cranky so we either let her watch a 1/2 hr video like veggie Tales so she can settle down. Then we make her sit at the table and at least attempt to eat dinner. 2-4yr olds have very poor appitites so if she eats anything I'll take that. Then at 7:30-8 I put her to bed and she's usually asleep pretty quick!

Being that your daughter is climbing out of her crib you need to put her into a bed. Toddler beds are good and cheaper in cost but I would just get her a twin bed and make her feel like abig girl in a big girl bed. Kids are demanding selfish things that need all of us all the time at first and slowly they gain more and more independance. But don't expect any breaks for a long time. If you really need some sit down time, schedule play date with other mom's with kids your daughter's age and meet at a park where the kids can play and you can sit and chat or read. I have 5 kids and just when I think I get a minute to sit down one of them is getting me up again. You wouldn't believe how long its taken me to type this! So chill out about being cranky and needing breaks, your child needs you and your the only one who's there for her so love her don't resent her. I know my kids love to "Help" me so break out a yoga dvd and do yoga together when she should be napping. Have fun with your time together and enjoy it!

C. C

My daughter, 26 months, goes through phases where she doesn't want to nap. It's possible her 2-year molars are coming in or she is experiencing some separating anxiety. Children at this age also have wildly active imaginations and can scare themselves pretty easily.

I have a friend whose 2 1/2 year old was still sleeping in a crib...then one day he refused to sleep in it. She couldn't get him to sleep until she finally decided to get him a toddler bed. As soon as they got it set up he was sleeping beautifully once again.

When we first went to a toddler bed, I would go through our regular routine, then the second I left her room she got out of bed and would play for a good 45 minutes, quietly in her room before crashing on the floor.. I never made a big deal about her staying in bed...now she is a pro and goes right to sleep.

Good luck...it's a challenge, especially when you are pregnant and tired yourself. I completely understand...we will be attempting potty-training in the next couple months and I am pregnant....little worried about how that might go....

Hi M.,

My daughter quit taking naps before she was 2, but when she did she would sleep for 3 hours and we could not get her down until 11pm. It was horrible, now that we cut out her naps she goes down between 7 and 830 and she will sleep until 830 the next morning. Yes the 6 pm is a bare but you try to find something to entertain them even if it is an upbeat toddler song, then dinner a bath and bed.

If she is too much of a bare at her nap time i told my daughter that she needs to lay down for quiet time for 30 minutes but she doesnt have to sleep . She usually falls asleep 25% of the time.

I would reccomend you getting a toddler bed for your child, So he/she doesn't hurt themself climbing out.

I hope this helps and gl

When our now almost 2 year old decided to take a flying leap out of her crib a few months ago we turned her crib into the toddler bed pretty quickly. (Her crib is the convertible type.) You might want to consider getting your little one into a "big girl" bed.

Many afternoons my daughter protests taking a nap. She cries after I tuck her in and give hugs and kisses. However, my daughter knows that I will not give in and the protests usually end before I have even made it to the bottom of the stairs. I know sometimes she plays before she sleeps, but I also know that all the time she eventually sleeps. She gets her nap/quiet time and I get a breather. Ignoring the protests only work if you are consistent. And she may really protest the first time you do it. I know it is hard to listen to them cry, it breaks your heart. What I do is set a specific time, and every time it is different so my daughter doesn't learn how far to push it. If she is still crying after that set time I go in, and with as few words as possible I let my daughter know it is nap time. I rarely have to go back and comfort her because like I said her protests usually end before I have even made it to the bottom of the stairs. I strongly feel this is because my daughter has learned that mommy isn't a push over. That doesn't mean that I don't comfort her at all. You are the mom and you know the different cries, if my daughter has ever cried that hurt cry you can bet that I go flying up those stairs.

Don't know if she'll go for it, but I've been using a sleep sack with my same-age daughter since she was one and it's been great. Not only is it a sleep cue - she can't climb out! Now she's never tried because it's been so long, but it might still work with your daughter. Guess that doesn't help too much on the crying thing. My daughter's been kind of resisting naps lately as well, and I totally understand what you mean about the mom stress. Ugh. I'm just willing to give up the nap yet!!

I remember how difficult it was for me when my daughter went through a similar stage. She stopped napping at 15 months and was moved to a toddler bed becaue she kept hurting herself. After much frustartion I started a new routine called quiet time. She didn't have to nap but she needed to play in her room. After a few bumps it went well and we kept that routine up till she was 3. We did it at old naptime. I knew she was tired and sometimes she would fall asleep on the floor while playing. Structured naps never worked for her. Good luck!

Both of my kids quit napping as soon as they turned two. That was the end, no more napping.

It's time for a toddler bed if she's getting out of the crib!

Hello,
It's probably a phase and I'd continue to be diligent and insist on a nap. However, it sounds like she is not quite ready to go down. I might try pushing it back 15 minutes or so (or longer) and see if that helps. If she doesn't take a nap then push bedtime back to 5:30 / 6. I'd keep trying to make naps happen and the days they don't bedtime is earlier. Sleep is so important for everything to work better.

If this doesn't work just make bedtime earlier. I've found that when kids are truly ready to get rid of their naps is when the nap it screws up bedtime by hours. That's when naps are no longer a viable option. Keep trying.. my son didn't lose his naps until he was about 3 1/2 but I know others lost theirs closer to three. I think it's really about how a nap affects bedtime and that's the key.

I agree with others.. move to a bed if he can climb out. When I moved to a bed -- initially mattress on the floor I made it very clear I would only do this if he knew the rules and would stay in his bed and not get off the mattress at sleep time. This was sucessful for us.

Good luck
L.

The fact she can climb out of the crib and has gotten hurt you need to get rid of the crib ASAP, go buy a twin bed set, not expensive and she won't outgrow it as fast as a toddler bed.

Second. maybe change the time of her nap. If she is a bear by 6pm, put her to bed then. When my son gave up naps around 3, our agreement was no more naps but he had to be in bed by 6:30. It was early, however he slept all the way through until 7am the next morning and I knew he needed that sleep. 12.5 hours was enough for him. At around 2 and a half your daughter should be getting around 13 or so hours all together, if not in naps all night.

Let her pitch a fit, which is what she is doing. If you give in the battle will never stop. Put a baby gate on the room so she cannot get out of the room or put the backwards kid protective knob covers on her side of the room. You need to be tough that if she doesn't want to sleep that is fine but she needs to have "quiet" time no matter what.

Kids give up naps at all different ages, if she cannot nap you cannot force her but you can make her have downtime, where she is to sit quietly in her room, read a book, lay down and do something quiet.

Get rid of the crib, get her on a new routine or put her to bed a lot earlier. My four year old is now up to 7:15 at night, which he needs to be in bed at that time, always goes to sleep and sleeps until 7am every morning. If she won't do the sleep during the day you have to adjust it so she gets it all at night.

My 30 month old figured out how to climb out of her crib about a month ago and at that time decided she would rather play than nap. I told her to stay in her room for quiet time for 1 hour. We tried for a week and it bombed - she wouldn't stay, she trashed her room, climbed up on her dresser, etc. Not to mention that whe was miserable not having her normal about of sleep. She's just not ready to give up the nap (although some kids at this age really are.)

I bought a crib tent from babies r us - it velcros right onto the crib and they cannot escape. She actually loves it because shes feels like she's camping, and she is back to taking 2-3 hour naps and is such a happy toddler again!

The way to tell if a child is done with naps is this: If they take a nap and their 'go to sleep' time gets pushed back, then they are probably done with the napping as they are getting too much sleep. IF the bed time rolls earlier then they still need the nap. You know this though.

My DD used to fight me tooth and nail on naps, but I'd put her in her room and forced 'quiet time'. After a couple weeks, she started napping again. Then it turned to napping every other day or so, until she finally gave it up altogether. She was 39mos.

DS was the opposite. He quit cold turkey at 33 mo's and never looked back.

I hope you get a lot of answers to this, because it's certainly not an unusual situation. When my children were babies they all decided at about this age that they didn't need naps; of course, that wasn't exactly true. They needed rest, and so did I!

What I did was to establish a rest time, as opposed to a nap time. They could play and read and sing, and I put some toys and a lot of books on their beds. They could make quiet - more or less - noise, but (Rule #1) they had to stay on the bed, with their feet off the floor, and (Rule #2) they had to keep "resting" until the kitchen timer went off.

It worked fairly well! I could put my feet up (or catch up), they felt like "big kids," and if they fell asleep - well, that wasn't my fault.

On the other hand, my daughter-in-law, who is a terrific mom, has never worried about nap time; when her girls decided to do without it, she let them do it, and says they fell into a different good sleep schedule after a few weeks.

One of the difficult things about this transition is that most moms are so tired themselves. You might think about whether there's a way you can get to bed earlier at night and get yourself more rest. Yes, I know, that's mission impossible, but at least give it some thought!

You might try letting her have a bed instead of the crib. We also tell our boys that they don't have to sleep, but they do need to lay down. They may "read" one or two books while they rest. Usually works for us. 90% of the time even our 5 yo sleeps, so we have to be careful or bedtime is hard. GL!