26 Month Old Won't Nap

Sounds like nap time is over. He's sleeping through the night and going to bed a really good time. It gives you time to have a little evening life.

There's nothing wrong with some quiet play time in his room, so you can rest. Install a dutch door (door cut in half), so you can close the bottom and still let his room be open on top. You can hear what was happening and feel comfortable to rest.

I'm so amazed at how many sleep issues there are on this Web site! You are certainly not alone. The days that my 2.5 year old won't nap, I'll put in his car seat and take him for a drive around the neighborhood. It usually does the trick. That's my last resort though, and I try tiring him out at the playground, reading books, and laying down with him. I hope you find something that works for you and him! Best wishes.

You could tell him it is quiet time, and even if he doesn't want to nap, he has to go to bed or room for however long you want him to. I have friends with 4 yr old twins and they've done this for a few years- they aren't usually big nappers either. Sometimes they sleep if they are tired. Otherwise at least it is downtime - for them and their parents!

E.

Hi M.,
You might want to try moving his bedtime even earlier to 7:00. If your son is overtired at nap time, his adrenaline will kick in and make it nearly impossible for him to fall asleep at nap time. You might also want to try putting him down for his nap earlier -- 12:30, 12:00. Moving his nap later will only make the problem worse. He could be growing out of his nap, but having watched not just my son but also dozens of kids of his preschool (starts at age two) go through this, many kids stop napping gradually, but all the two year-olds at his school (about 30 kids) napped until they were closer to three, at which point some started dropping naps a few days a week while others would not sleep during the week but would take 3 hour plus naps on weekend days. Our son stopped napping at 11 months (the same age I stopped napping -- permanently). I could have decided that 11 months is just when both of us were ready to stop napping, but I just couldn't believe that. Both my instincts and everything I had read said otherwise. I found a sleep expert through my pediatrician's office (my friend had also recommended the same person). It turns out we were over soothing our son at nap time. The expert told us to simply turn off the light, pull his shades, read one book to him (not in his bed) while he held his favorite stuffy, put him in his crib/bed, tell him to have a good rest (never say the words sleep or nap), tell him that I would be in the house the whole time he rested, and leave. She also stressed the importance of noticing the very first signs that he was tired and start that brief process immediately, before his adrenaline kicked in. Often, we didn't wait for any signs because it was nap time, and the adrenaline can kick in so quickly. This literally worked the first day we tried it. Another thing that helped when our son was closer to your son's age, is that we told him that his favorite stuffed animal, Monkey (ok, not the most creative namer!), needed to rest. We asked our son to keep quiet for Monkey, and inevitably our son would fall asleep. Finally, you might want to check out the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby." It is written by a doctor who ran (runs?) the sleep clinic at the U of Chicago Med Center. While the author, Weissbluth, can be a bit extreme on the cry it out stuff, his book contains a ton of information about how much sleep kids need at different ages, what happens to brain development during naps, the percentage of kids at various ages with certain bedtimes and hours of sleep, and strategies for various sleep problems in the context of actual cases. Again, you might need to ignore one or two things where, for us, he went a bit too far, but we found almost everything else in the book informative and helpful. Also, you might want to check with your pediatrician's office about finding a sleep expert. Ours didn't even charge us because, from our brief phone consult, she could easily tell what we were doing wrong (singing and rocking and not sending the appropriate signals, e.g., darkening the room a bit first, that it was time to rest before we read to him). Then poof! Gone were the half-hour walks around the neighborhood trying to get him to fall asleep, etc. Trust your intuition (and the numbers). Your son likely does need his nap still. Do not try to move his nap later so that he will be more tired. That strategy will have the opposite effect because his adrenaline will spike (Weissbluth's book explains this well). As the doc says, "Sleep begets sleep." The more rested your child is, the more easily he will sleep. This might sound counterintuitive but because of how adrenaline works, an overtired child has a much harder time sleeping. You were smart to move his bedtime earlier!
Good luck, and I hope some of this helps!
K.

Hi, I only agree with the ladies that said to try other things to get him to keep napping. At his age they do need a lot of sleep. He should sleep 11-12 hours at night and also a nap of at least an hour, if not 2 hours. I think the best advice you have recieved yet is the girl who said to check out the book by the sleep professional. Sleep is SO important to kids. They can definitely learn to deal without them, but you will have a happier and healthier baby if you can figure out a way to keep him napping.

Also, sometimes it's just a phase. If I took the signs you are having right now of him not sleeping as signs he was "done" with naps, my dd would have stopped taking naps at 11 months, 17 months, and 21 months. But she was just going through phases. She is a great napper again, and because I was percestant those phases didn't last very long, maybe a week or two. Good luck!

I would check his diet. Too much sugar or sodium can keep kids awake. So make sure there's not a lot of salt in the foods he's eating at lunch time. Nitrates or MSG can also do it...processed foods like hot dogs, canned soup, take out, or even the toddler foods from supermarkets...

Bananas and potatoes can help take out the salt in the body and may help him rest easier. Dilute his juice if he's drinking a lot of it. Maybe give him warm milk after his meal.

If he used to sleeping fine, I don't think it's a sleep issue. So check what he's eating for lunch. That might be the answer. Another thing, too much TV or video games can overstimulate kids as well.

Good luck!

he just might be ready to give up th naps..

I know I am never ready to give up naptime LOL
but it doesn't mean they aren't.

If he's not too cranky in the afternoon I wouldn't worry about it. But I would encourage quiet time.

Try putting him sleep at 7:00 and then the nap regular time the next day. It's ok if he just rests, the quiet time counts. When they start learning so much they get strung out and need even more sleep to get relaxed enough to nap! shoot from 12 - 14 hours of sleep a day. Worked for me. I had one that napped until he was 4 and another until 3.

good luck!

Hi M.,
It sounds as if your little one is getting enough sleep during the night. As long as you can (and want) to stay on the same wake and sleep times, I wouldn't try to force a nap. Instead, try offering him a choice of a nap or quiet time in his room. He can stay in his room with the door closed or slightly ajar, playing quietly while you rest on the couch, make calls, do housework or whatever. This worked well with my son and helped him learn how to play by himself.

Good luck!
K. N

My daughter stopped napping at 24 months.... I was sad and missed those nap days. But he body said no... We always had a very regimented nap daily, but she just stopped sleeping. I even tried driving her around forever, these days this would be too costly with the gas rates...

For the 1st 6 months of these missed naps she would get super cranky and we could expect fit around 5pm, it was awful, but eventually she adjusted...

My doctor said some children start to not needing naps at this time and to put her to be a bit earlier...

She then would go to be at 7pm in the winter and by 8 in the S. when it stays light later. I missed the naps but I was able to put her to be earlier...

Good Luck,
S.

maintain your rest time, explain he has to stay in his room quietly untilyou get him. if he is tired, he'll sleep, even quiet down timewill be good for him.

When my son started resisting naptime, I would lay down with him, read a story, and then tell him he had to be still and quiet for five minutes before we could get up and play again- I even set a timer, so when it beeped he could get up. For about a month, it worked and he fell asleep, but then it stopped working and I stopped trying.

HI M.!

I think it might be time to give up the regular naps. At least according to your son :o)

My first boy napped through Kindergarten. My youngest stopped napping around his 2nd birthday, so I think it's normal. He started napping about every 3-4 days instead... unexpectedly. Which became his new norm.

I would just keep doing what you're doing. It sounds like he's getting enough sleep at night which is half the battle. When he's tired....he'll fall asleep :o)

Good Luck

N.

When my son did this I just kept our nap time routine up. Somedays he slept, somedays he read, other days he did both. But it was quiet time for him. Now he is back to napping about 1/2 hour later. It lasted about a week when he was just before 2 years.

L

My daughter stopped napping at an early age too, I don't think there's any way to force it. If he's sleeping a full night, you are very lucky and he's probably getting enough sleep. Early bedtime is good. She started napping again once in a while when she started preschool as I think she was mentally tired.

In my experience, I've found you can't force a baby (or toddler, for that matter) to nap. This comes from a mother who tried to do just that with her nine month old last fall and after many tears from both of our eyes, I gave up pushing and guess what? He started to nap on his own! :) One "trick" I have now that he's older (18 months) is to take him to a park and let him run around for an hour or so in the morning and then watch for his cues that it's naptime. He's changed his sleeping patterns probably as many times as he is old in months! I think as long as yours is getting some quiet time to himself (which it sounds like he is), you're doing great. Good luck with your little one.

Sounds like "nap time" may be turning into "relax time". All my boys did this. Since he's sleeping great at night and not completely having a meltdown during the day he may be ready to forgo the midday slumber.
I would suggest having a "relax time" with him instead. Lay down and read a book or two together, then leave him to "rest" for 30 minutes. He may fall asleep every once in a while, but more than likely you'll be letting him out of bed in 30 minutes.

You just can't force a child to sleep if their body says "no".

Don't give up hope yet! I think you are doing the right thing by letting him stay there for an hour and a half or so. He will probably get the message that this is still expected of him and that this is still quiet time and important for him. my 4-year-old did this once in a while for a couple weeks at a time but when I stuck to her still having that quiet time she would eventually fall back into her normal napping routine. Sometimes this happens when there is some milestone occuring for them or times of excitement, learning, etc. I think there little world gets so exciting sometimes that they don't want to miss a minute of it! my little girl finally did officially give up her nap time about 5 months ago :( ....but she still takes an hour and a half quiet time...watching a show, reading books, quietly coloring, etc. I finally realized she was officially not needing her nap when she would be laying awake in bed at night until sometimes as late as 10 p.m.(bedtime is 8 p.m.) on the days that she DID take a nap. But I do hope your little cutie-pie falls back into his nap routine. I know nap time is highly prized! good luck! :)

If he's getting 11-12 hours of sleep each night I wouldn't worry too much about it. He's a little person and some of us just require more sleep than others. I can understand your dilemma because I used to count on those nap times to have a few hours of peace and quiet, and sort out my thoughts. Why don't you try having him lay on the sofa and read to him. Sleep may sneak up on him when he's sitting close to you all comfy.

If that doesn't work, try an earlier bedtime. He probably will wake earlier in the morning but would feel sleepy by afternoon. Good Luck my dear.

Remember, it takes all kinds of kids to make an average. Your son may be ready to quit napping. My son just turned three and has been not sleeping during the day for several days out of the week. Every day that we are home I do have him lay down for about an hour to rest. I tell him he needs to try to take a nap and if he doesn't fall asleep he can get up at 2:00. Even if he doesn't fall asleep, he is really good about staying in bed and giving me a bit of quiet time to myself which is the main reason I like him to take naps.

I know all moms dont want to hear this but...he maybe starting to drop his naps. If he not fussy late in the day...he maybe dropping his nap. My daughter started to drop her nap at 18 months...but I started to drive her after lunch and she would fall asleep in the car. Did that for a year and a half until she started preschool at 3. Couldnt do that now with gas prices. I had to break my son from his naps at about 3 and 3 mos because he slept right through the time I had to pick up my first grader from school. Every kids different...my third is just like her big sister and hates to nap :0) ...she naps really early in the at 10:30 to 12n...because most of the time I am running around town getting family things done and I look back and she is asleep.
Keep his bed time consistant and have some quite time during the day even if he dosent sleep. Turn off the tv and read to him...or something like that....good luck

M.,

I had twins my first pregnancy and they stopped napping altogether about the same age. They were great sleepers and woke up in the morning around 9-9:30 so they were not ready for any nap at 1:00p. I faught with them longer than they would nap if I ever got them to go to sleep. I did the same thing, walks, park, swimming, etc. it never worked. He might not require the naps anymore. I stopped fighting with the girls and they would go to bed around 7:30pm,so I had 3 hours of quiet time to do laundry or read or just spend time with hubby watching a movie. If I did get the nap in, it would be 3-4pm, sleep 1-1 1/2h and they would want to stay up till Midnight. Take your son's cues and go with it. They tell you generally when they are ready for new or different things.
Put him to bed early, stop the nap and have quiet time in the evening.
good luck

It sounds as if he is done with napping - but he sounds like a great sleeper at night! Try shifting to quiet time after lunch.
An hour or two of quiet activities in his crib/room. Just don't get into a battle insisting that he nap - he's moving on to a new stage.

Hi M. -

I'm having the same trouble with my 30 month old. She's been doing this since she was 26 months. We try to at least leave her in her room to have 'quiet time' because we need it just as much as she does. I haven't figured out why she's not wanting to nap. I'm also having a harder time getting her to sleep at night, it sometimes takes her an hour to an hour and a half to actually go to sleep. I wish I had words of wisdom but I'm in the same boat. Let me know if you get any good information! Hang in there!! D.

In my opinion your son is getting plenty of sleep during the night. If you are attached to the napping, how about putting him to bed later or waking him up earlier? My daughter is 16 months and sleeps 11-12 hours including her nap. Many kids her age sleep more than her, but every kid is different. At 26 months 11-12 hours is enough sleep for sure. If he is happy, no reason to try to make him sleep more, right?

Hi,

I am a mom of 2 kids 2 years and 4 years. I guess your soon doen not need that nap anymore!!, but if you still want him to take a nap, you can try to increase his activities, run around with a ball and give him a long tum bath . If he takes milk give him room temperature milk. If all this does not work , and he is not cranky till his bedtime , stop worrying.

take care