Napping Toddler

I think every kid is different. My daughter quit taking her naps when she was 2 but my son however still takes them and he is almost 3. If he does well without them then I wouldn't stress about it to much. But if he is grouchy in the evenings then maybe you could try waking him up a little earlier in the mornings that way when nap time rolls around he will be tired.

Hi. My youngest quit napping when he was about 2.5. I guess he hit that phase that he felt he did not need sleep or he was going to miss something lol. Now I don't let him take naps at all. After thinking he was fine falling asleep, I found out he will stay up till after midnight with even a 30 minute nap anytime after noon.
C.

My son is three and a half and still naps. He goes right to sleep at daycare, but at home on the weekends I noticed that he was talking to himself for hours to keep himself awake. About a month ago I started laying with him after his story and he falls right to sleep now. It takes about 15 minutes, but it's worth the 2 hour nap that follows, and no cranky child later. I would suggest you decide whether he needs naps or not by his mood when he doesn't have one. Good luck!

I'm from the "old school" of thought...I think at 2 and a half, he should still be napping for a bit in the afternoon. If he's getting enough outside/inside playtime, he should be tuckered out! I'm big on being consistant with children's schedules (I'm still flexible, too). They thrive on having set mealtimes,playtimes, and yes, naptimes and bedtimes. If he thinks that Momma "thinks" it's playtime, he won't go to sleep.Be firm in your tone. My youngest is 4 and a half and still takes a nap a couple of days a week when he's wiped out from morning Pre-K. If he doesn't sleep, I still have him rest with a few books, and set the timer for an hour. If only to get an hour for "Momma to re-group"!
P.S. Some kids just don't take naps! Good Luck!:)

Hello, I have a 2 year 3 month old son and he has started fighting naptime since I had my daughter in June. We still do quiet time in his room if he won't nap. He is not in his crib anymore so sometimes he will play for the entire time or play for about an hour and when I am getting ready to get him out he falls asleep, othertimes I go in there 2 or 3 times and ask him to please lay down and he will finally go to sleep. I think a lot if it is that he doesn't want to miss out on anything and then I wonder if he needs the naps but when he doens't get the naps and even sometimes with the quiet time, he gets really cranky and sometimes goes to sleep early in the evenings so that tells me he isn't ready to give them up yet even if he thinks he is. Hope this helps some. I think it can also depend on the activity they have in the first part of the day. When we are more lazy he fights harder than on the days were we are going and playing hard all morning.

my oldest quit napping at 18 months and was fine all day and slept well through the night. He still doesn't require a lot of sleep as a teenager. I would still have those few hours of quiet time though and kept his normal schedule but instead of his nap, I would put up the baby gate to his room with the door open so I could still hear him and check on him. He would play with his toys in his room and sometimes would fall asleep but didn't always fall asleep. He learned to be independent with having those few hours of alone time and he never fussed about having to be in his room for naptime but I didn't care if he went to sleep or not as long as he had his quiet playtime and I could get some housework done as that was usually my time to get things done. He loved to look at books and by age 2 he loved to do puzzles. He has always been a very fast learner. by the time he was 3 I didn't even put him in his room for those hours, he would sit at the table and do 100 piece puzzles or write his letters on his magna-doodle for hours and would keep himself content as I had a colicky baby when he was 3 and he did very well with being patient and playing by himself while I was dealing with her fussing everyday for 5 1/2 months. I did take special time for him in the mornings when she wasn't fussing and do things he wanted to do like read him a book, help me cook, play outside, or even watch a movie together.

my daughter took naps until she was 4 years old. She seemed to need them and would get cranky if she didn't get them.

my youngest son took naps until he was about 2 1/2.

They all slept through the night by 8 weeks and would usually go to bed at 8:30 or 9 and wake up in the morning around 8:30.

Every child is different and all of my kids liked to have their independent time to themselves so they didn't mind playing in their rooms by themselves when they weren't sleepy for a nap. When they were babies and would wake up in the mornings in their cribs, I would let them play for 15-20 min before I went to get them. I had a baby monitor and loved hearing them coo and play in the mornings. They would talk to things on the wall or the toys hanging on the crib. I think it helped them be more independent and they never did hit that clingy stage where they had to be in the same room with me all the time or hang on my leg when cooking dinner. I have seen other babies do this at about a year and the parents have a hard time leaving them with anyone or getting anything done because the baby requires so much attention.

Hi K.! My 2 kids were VERY different, my daugghter (20 mos older than my son) always took naps, even when she was in morning kindergarten she came home and napped, but my son was a different story! He stopped napping when he was around 2 1/2 and he was fine without it. After trying for a week to get him to settle down and fall asleep I gave up. Bedtime was 8:00 for both and they both woke early in the morning, around 6:00. My daughter just required more sleep than he did...and she still does! (she's 27 now)lol.

Every child is different. My oldest took naps all the way till she was about 4years old. But my middle child was a hand full to get down for a nap. Around 2 and half years old she just didn't want to anymore. You just need to look at. Is she tried around nap time (fussy and crying)I would really use your own judgement. What I did was make her lay down and rest even if it was putting on a movie. But she could not get up because if she did then the movie would be turned off. And sometimes she would fall asleep watching the movie. I know when she went to daycare they wanted them to fall asleep and if she didn't she couldn't play or the owner would make her put the blanket over her head. That just wasn't right I didn't care if she didn't fall asleep or not. All she had to do was rest. They will give up sometime. Just use your own judgement.

my daughter is two and still naps. I do however remember when I was little we had a sitter the put us down for nap I also had naptime in Kindergarden. I don't know that any of us really slept at that time just had a little down time. With my daughter we put her down for an hour and if she has not fallen asleep we let her up till bed time. most times she falls asleep. Though we do have times where she stays awake and we let her get up an play. It gives us the much needed hour and her the recharge to chill a little.

My daughter is 2 years and 3 months old right now, and she still takes naps. She is tired enough that she usually takes a morning nap and a short afternoon nap. I don't think that my older 2 kids took naps after the age of 3. I also remember taking naps in kindergarten when I was younger, but most schools don't do that anymore. When my kids were in preschool (4-5 years old), however, they did require a rest period for all kids to lay down. Some would sleep, some wouldn't. It pretty much depends on the child and how active they are. Enjoy the naps while they last!

Looks like you've had lots of ideas, and I'll be honest. I didn't read them all, so sorry if this was already given. But I'd try every other day. At 2 they still need the extra sleep, but probably not EVERY day. My sister's twins (2.5) are going through the same thing and if she forces the nap, they don't go to bed at night. I'd try every other day...

Good luck,
~K.

I have a little girl that just turned 3 in August. I still put your down for afternoon naps only. She does not always sleep, but I still have her lay and rest. For the most part though she will go to sleep.

i dunno if there is any help my son will be two i a couple of weeks and i have a very hard time getting him to nap even when he really need it and knows hes tired he fights till the end!

I would not at all worry about the daytime naps..I'd be more concerned about not going to sleep at night. My kids except for the youngest where not napping at 2..but we did have a quiet time.....or the sitter did during the week....and we kept the routine on the weekends.
If the routine isn't contiued in the weekends, that might be the problem....
I don't think the nap itself is necessary...but the quiet time might be what your sanity needs.
Barb

i have found that physical activity works well like a walk before nap time to wear them out.

My daughter did the same thing around 2, and then she started taking naps again. She will be 3 on Monday and she doesn't take naps very often. She has been falling asleep on her own on the couch the last few days though. What I do when she is really grumpy, is I will put her in her room for quiet time. If she falls asleep, then great, if not, at least she has had time to unwind a little bit and relax. It is usually what she needs to recharge her batteries, and she is good to go until bedtime! :)