Help with 2 Year Old Not Napping and Screaming or Crying Durring Quiet Time

Has your daughter always done this, or did she used to nap in the afternoon?

I think if she goes to bed well at night with a routine, you can adapt that routine to have her napping in the afternoon. I'm sure she still needs a nap, even if she sleeps 12 hours at night.

If she just recently gave up her nap, maybe it's a phase from the addition of having a new baby at home. I'm sorry I couldn't offer more advice. I just home my 2-year-old doesn't lose his nap soon (I'm due with our second baby today).

Hi J.,

I have been with children for thirty years, and I have never had a two year old who didn't need a nap. Everyone that comes to my house takes a nap...we as adults like to take naps, so children should definitely take a nap, or two.

I believe that you will find that if you start giving your two year old a nap you will have a much happier child and a happier you. Don't put her to bed with things to play with, this keeps her brain too active, and less likely to go to sleep. That is like letting children watch a movie in hopes that they will fall asleep...a few will, but most will not.

C.

My sister used an "oven timer" for quiet time. She set it for 1 hr or whatever, then she told her son that he needs to stay in his bed until it buzzes. Then he can get up. He got used to that. Then the timer was the "bad guy" and not her. Just treat it like a fact of life: you need to stay in bed until the timer goes off. That's just the way it is. Good luck!

You should be the one that knows whether or not your daughter needs a nap. Is she acting tired, cranky or whinier than usual? If not then the 20 minute rest should be enough.

You could also look at it this way...

If she's not getting enough sleep her body will tell her and you just might find her asleep on the floor in the middle of her toys!

That's what happened in our house. My son refused to nap around that age too. I let him. He was sleeping 12 or 13 hours a night and wasn't tired unless we were busy.

Then I would give him an hour to play on the family room floor with blocks, or books, or cars and within 10 minutes he'd be asleep on the floor.

Just remember that picking a sleeping child off the floor can be hard on your back. Lift with your knees!

Good luck.

20 minutes is a long timg for a 2 year old to be in one place. Unless you are also sleeping. Get her up and tell her she needs to play quietly until her sibbling gets up.

Also, you could set a timer and tell her she needs to be quiet until it goes off and maybe ad a minute every couple of days until you get her to the point you want her in her room.

Then reward her for being quiest, by maybe reading her a book.

Why not try a different kind of quiet time? I have three kids 10, 4, and 3. When my middle child quit napping, I would put my youngest down, read to him for 20 minutes just enough time to make sure she fell asleep, and then would let him pick out a movie. I'd give him his sippy cup of milk, a snack, his blanket, and let him watch the movie while I got some work done or got some time to myself. Sometimes he would come to see what I was doing or ask for something more, but for the most part, I got a nice long break. None of my kids took naps after they turned two. It was like a light bulb flipped on. They just stopped needing one. Bed time is 9pm every night, and they wake up between 8 and 830 every morning. My oldest is the only one who wakes up earlier, 715, and he goes down stairs and watches cartoons until he knows it is time to get ready for school. He gets himself dressed, his own lunch made, and watches the clock himself to make sure he is at his bus stop on time. He will be 11 next month. I am sometimes awake before he goes, but even if I am he is responsible to still do all those things. Of course he has missed the bus and I have driven him to school when needed, but it is so good for him to learn these things now and not be dependent on others. Sorry off track a little. I would also give him a chance to fall back to sleep on his own if she wakes him up. If he is tired it should not take long him long to fall back asleep on his own. It is something they have to learn how to do anyway. If we always help them fall asleep they will not learn how to do it on their own. Of course at 4 months you do not just want to let the cry, but let him for a couple minutes, then quietly walk in and comfort him and then walk back out and see if he then goes to sleep pn his own.