Hi, Thanks in advance for your help! We've recently noticed that if our 21/2 year old rests during the day, no matter what time, and even for a short amount of time, he stays up until 11 or midnight at night. So, we tried skipping his rest during the day. He's exhausted and very very challenging by 5:30 or 6 and ready for bed by 7. I'm feeling like it's not healthy to basically keep him up when he's tired by the late afternoon, but staying up until 11 or 12 just so he rests isn't the answer either. Anyone been here?
Every kid is different, so if someone says their child naps and goes to bed early, good for them. lol.
My daughter naps and goes to bed at 8. She is 2 1/2. My son however, who is now 6, stopped napping around this time. He would just rest instead with a quiet time or books, but go to bed early...around 7:30. Worked fine for us since he still slept till his usual morning time. Plus, it gave mommy and daddy alone time in the evening!
Keeping him up is not unhealthy for him - keep doing that and he'll adjust - it may take a little time but he will adjust.....
My 2 year old has days like that and when she skips naps we just put her down for bed an hour to hour and half earlier. She sleeps a little more restlessly on those days, but she still sleeps till around 8:30 the next morning (giving her 13 hours of sleep at night. Sounds like he is in one of those in between stages where he is almost ready to give up napping.
Sounds like you are hitting that hard time where they still need a bit of a nap, but then they stay up. You might try a couple of things...one would be a nap every other day or so. More rest, but maybe not so much that he stays up at night. Another thing would be to make sure he doesn't nap more than about an hour in the afternoon when he rests, and lastly, just a rest time (no nap). Maybe just some time laying on the sofa and sining softly while you cook dinner or time in bed looking at a book or doing a puzzle, but no nap.
Definitely would not take the nap away - kids this age need it or it will affect their learning and attitude. Is he getting up late in the morning? Our two year old gets up at 7am at the latest, takes a nap sometime after lunch. Her bedtime is 8pm; however, I sometimes hear her playing or singing in bed until 9pm. I notice that on the weekends when she sleeps a bit later in the morning that it is harder to put her down at night and doesn't fall asleep right away. You may want to try waking him up a bit early in the morning. Good luck!
I just read a response about "playng hard". I agree with that as well; the more active day my 2 year old has the more tired she is at the end of the day. They need to be challenged during the day just like we do.
There is a very fine line between napping and staying up late because of it or not napping-being fussy and going to bed on time.
We went through it twice-but here is what I came up with...
My children are 7 and 4 now. If they're super active during the day-like swimming or playdates and the like then I will allow a nap but I won't let them nap for as long as they want. I let them start out in a dark room but an hour later I open curtains or blinds to let in the brightest natural light I can and they typically wake up on their own soon after without being grumpy at me for shaking them awake.
On a boring day with no major activities I don't allow a nap and will instead give them some sort of busy work to keep them going-play-doh, painting, benda-roos-something a little out of the norm. Bedtime around here is 8PM sharp! Latest ours go to bed is 9pm and that's for special circumstances.
Mine wake up with the sun and always have. My youngest is something of a night owl like me but she's learning to stay in bed even if she can't sleep-just quiet rest is still beneficial if only to keep mommy and daddy's sanity intact!
Hang in there- you'll find the right balance for your son eventually. It takes time to figure out what works for ya'll. :)
Every child is different so my best advice would be that you just try some different things and see what works for him.
That being said, my son had the same problem. He wasn't sleepy at nap time and took forever to fall asleep and then he would be up half the night. I stopped making him take naps at about 2 1/2 but we would have a "rest time". I made the house quiet and he usually had to stay in his room with the lights turned down, but he could have books or quiet toys and he could sit up or lie down he just couldn't be up and around. It took some time for him to get used to, but then he would do it willingly and he would come out of his room when he was rested. (I sent him back only if he had rested less than 15-20 min) On days when he needed a nap he would take one. And, the best part is, he would go to bed on time and so could I :)
Healthy Sleep Habits Healthy Child will give you more advice than you need and will help you reprogram your little guy!
This question brings back memories!!! I had the same late night problem with both my boys when we started dropping the afternoon nap because they were not able to go to sleep at night until late. During this transition, we just put them to bed earlier. I made sure I had dinner around 5:30, then bath, then bed. Even though they would go to bed earlier, they still would wake up at the same time in the am. Good luck and don't worry, it passes quicker then you think.
My almost 4 year old is still up after midnight and hasn't had a nap today. It is somewhat unusual circumstances b/c big cousins are visiting. I wish I had an answer for you. We have our dd play hard and she gets really grumpy around 5:00 but refuses to let herself take a nap. She literally bounces off the walls after that between screams to keep from getting still. If she gets still, she goes to sleep. Can we say every Sunday night on the way to worship. I wish you luck and me too. LOL
I think the key to kids sleeping is activities. When their brains are active and they have a lot of outdoor time and physical activities a good hot cooked meal they all konk out after lunch. The oler ones 3 yr sleep harder and longer. Play activities with other children park activities maybe at night after dinner. A warm bath to calm them down and I have never had trouble with any of the kids sleeping. I had a mom that would not allow her kids to sleep and at my day care they did. The little boy especially was so worn out he took two a day. I gave them up because of this disagreement over sleep and slow to pay. I felt sorry for a child so tired all the time. The state requires rest if not sleep for all children. Not more then 3 hours and that depends on their needs. Little ones want two naps one maybe an hr morning and after lunch least 1-2 hrs. So I would do what I could to play hard with him, read, outside even a walk in the evenings when it is cooler. God Bless and good luck. G. W
I don't have that problem. My 2 year old wakes up at 8:00, naps from 1-3 and goes to sleep at 7:30. But, I will recommend that you read the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.
Perhaps he's taking his rest time too late? Maybe you could let him nap earlier in the day. I'm not sure because I don't know his "sleepy clues."
I can tell you what my kids do:
6-6:30am wake up
11:30-1:30 nap
7:30 bedtime
It works for us. They wake up early, nap early, go to bed early and we're all happy campers.
My 3.5 year old gave up regular naps around that time for the same reason. Just push up bedtime for him to 7. It may be a bit inconvient for you, but it beats having a toddler up until midnight.
