19 Month Old Stopped Napping

Hi,
Both of my boys were around 19 months/2 years old when they gave up naps. I think it is important for you to still try "quiet" time. It could be laying in their bed, playing quietly in their room etc. What we did though, was we put them to bed earlier at night. They would go to bed around 7:30. They get up at 6:00/6:30 in the morning but it has worked out nice. They are both 7 and 5 and still go to bed around 7/7:30 at night!

When my son was about that age, and he decided that playing was more fun then sleep, I forced him to go to sleep. I brought him into our bedroom to "watch cartoons." I would tell him mommy is tired, and the tv had to be on really quiet. I would pick a quiet cartoon, or movie, and pat his tummy. When he fell asleep I would move him to his room. This was the only way, and it took alomost 1hour to get him to go to sleep, but after that he would sleep for a good 2hrs. I hope things work out...good luck!

I have 5 kids and one of them did the same thing(the others napped until they started Kindergarten). I would just put her in her room anyway at nap time and turn on soft music and give her some quiet toys. I made her stay in there for the usual nap time. Some days she would get tired of playing and fall asleep...others, she would not. It might take a little time for her to get used to but this is what worked wonderful for us. We continued like this till she was in Kindergarten. Now she is finishing first grade and still likes to go in her room and read or play with toys by herself for some quiet time.

How active is she in the morning before her nap? If it were me, I would try two things. #1 take any tv time away and spend time outdoors running - jumping - playing. Is there a park close by? Hey, it's worth a try and will be lots of fun! #2 no sweets in the morning (including fruit and sugary cereal).

Give it a few days and see what happens. I encourage you to not give up on the naps! My 2 & 4 year old still take a 2 to 3 hour nap in the afternoon and it keeps me SANE! LOL

All the best...

Hi J.--
Here's an idea to ensure some good quality downtime without having to enforce sleep. Trty taking time out of your day to have some cozy time with your daughter and read! Simple rhythmic poetry, nursery rhymes or fairy tales for 20 minutes or so. Either the sound of your voice could settle her into a nap or just being physically quiet could do what a nap could do. Enjoy this quiet time and create some wonderful memories for you both. My sons are now 25 (all grown up, married and a wonderful dad to 2 sons) and 14 years old and both were read to when they were just not into day napping anymore...
D.

Oh my, little guys need 12+ hours of sleep to do the best growing & developing. I have gotten products from this company called Native Remedies and they have natural products for sleep issues as well. My son (6) takes some of there ADHD products with great results. Look at their website. Natural is the best way to go and you will get your needed nap or mommy time in as well. Best of luck.

my daughter did the same thing, at about the same age she just didnt want to nap anymore shes 3 now and she still dosent nap! i make sure that everyday she lays down to rest for a little while but she just dosent nap

i agree with most of the other posts. Keep her very active in the morning, and lay her down anyway. If she is laying there quietly, its still a routine and she may end up sleeping. Also, you need a break and time to get things done, and she will learn that she needs to rest at this time. So, it sounds like you are doing ok with it! Good luck.

My great-grandson who is a 27 months old has done the same thing but my daughter who watches him during the day still puts him in his crib and feels this gives him some downtime even though he is not napping. You can't make them sleep but the quiet time is good for babies. She may eventually start napping again, but don't worry about it if she doesn't