My daughter is 2-12, and until about two weeks ago was pretty good about a nap, which was about an hour and a half. There have been times she'd resist it or only sleep a short time, but it always resolved after a few days. But now, she always puts up a fuss, and I can't leave the room till she's asleep (she can crawl out now, so I need to police her). She only naps 40 minutes and then she's up—though she does wake up cranky and tired. Once she's past that, she does not seem especially tired until right before bed, and then it is only a little rambunctious (a sign she's ready), not really tired. She now takes at least a half hour to fall asleep, and up until the same two week period she was out almost immediately. She is also waking up earlier by about half an hour. Her night sleep is about 11 hours, from the time she finally falls asleep till she first asks to be picked up in the morning.
Does this mean she's done, do you think? I have been trying to force the issue, to make sure she's not just fighting what she needs, but today she would not sleep at all, even though I stayed and tried to make her lie quietly for at least 20 minutes.
Thanks!
S.
Thats really up to you since you are the parent and the one in charge. Not behaving at nap time, is not behaving, you discipline that the way you would discipline other bad behavior, I would tell her you don't have to go to sleep just rest. You can't force any child to sleep, BUT you can inforce her to obey what you tell her. J.
My daughter napped almost until kindergarten started. Yes, she fought it, but she needed it. I would lie down with her until she was asleep. At daycare, they did allow her to have a book by her cot so that if she didn't fall asleep she could quietly look at the book. Most days she napped. I believe kids need a nap or at least a quiet time in the middle of a long day. It's typical from what I hear from other parents that kids fight naps at about the age your daugher is now. I would keep your routines in place.
she may be done, she may not. you could tell her she doesnt have to sleep but she does have to have "quiet time" which would be staying in bed, but maybe having a doll or stuffed animal to play with etc. my niece and nephew took a daily nap up until they started kindergarden. and during the summer, at least 3 or 4 times a week they would take a nap. it just depends on the child. some days my 2 1/2 year old fights his nap, but as long as he is being quiet and getting some down time I leave him be. it is harder for us simply because we just moved the twins into his room and they all take a nap at the same time, the twins are 11 months old and have gone to just 1 nap a day. so I worry that he will wake up his brothers. I know my son isnt ready to skip the nap totally because the days he wont sleep he has a major meltdown at around 6 or so and he is just so tired the rest of the day. we are a family of sleepers, we all get super cranky if we dont get enough sleep in.
I do not believe naps should be done. You can not force them to sleep. But rest is never a bad thing. I have 4 children all day everyday. Only several of my kids are part-time. So I have 4 preschool age boys that come and go on different days and I have 2 little ones that are each 1 years old. My preschool age boys enjoy naps, always sleep, and they still sleep just fine at home at night. My 1 year olds, not so much. I play music for them and keep them in cribs in a room separate from my sleepers. But I am expecting them to take better naps over time. It's all about consistency. Keeping the same schedule every single day will give them the tools they need. Our bodies heal when we sleep! Our mental health relies upon good sleep.
She can at least have quiet time.. That means she stays in her bed or her room with the lights off and some quiet music or a book on CD. She can look at books or play quietly while in her bed. .
As our daughter got older, I used to tell her, "Mommy needs a nap, come read to me" She would pick a book or 2 and "read to me" Sometimes she even fell asleep.
Our daughter did not like feeling like she was missing out on anything.
Of course she wasn't, I was cleaning or working on the computer, but I guess she imagined I was having a party or something.
What time do you put her to bed? If you put her to bed early, that may be why she doesn't need the nap. I would back up her bedtime to 9:00 (not all at once) and see if that makes a difference.
If that's not the issue, find out what your local school does for kindergarten. Do they require nap time? If they do, you can't force her to sleep if she can't sleep, but you should force her to have quiet time in her room.
It sounds like she is still in a crib. I would continue to stay with her to get her to nap until you switch her to a bed. Then, don't allow her to come out of her room. You will make it so much easier for her if she is used to "quiet time" once she gets to kindergarten.
Good luck!
Dawn
Hi S.,
Well our daughter totally quit naps right at age 2. One day, that was it and I had to face that my little nap respite was over :) What I did do, however, is I put her to bed about an hour earlier in the evening and this worked out perfectly. Good luck. It's sad when the naps end, mostly for mama!
When it becomes a battle. At that point it's counter productive to try & force the nap - because no one is resting. Instill a quiet or movie hour in place of the nap.
...when you need and want a nap yourself but can't take one, because they're STILL running around non-stop even though you put them in bed!! LOL.
im assuming she is in a crib since you said she can crawl out. Have you thought of getting her a big girl bed so you can gate off the room so she can't get out and put her in her room for quiet time. Lay her on the bed with some books to look at and cannot make any noise. Make sure she stays on her bed and i bet she will fall asleep. My kids were done with naps at 3 1/2 4 before then we would have melt downs (plural) all evening. If they can make it to bedtime and go down easily then they are ready to be done with naps.
You'll know.
There was a point where my son would skip days (I just didn't want to put 60 minutes into getting a 60 minute nap out of him! Though I did at first, like a dolt!)
So, he kind of went to every other day, or a few naps per week then gradually stopped those as well.
On the days he "skipped" his nap, I'd put him to bed earlier that night.
You know her & when she "needs" a nap.
Sigh....it's a sad day when those daily naps head south!
can't get the kids to bed before 8 pm....if you put the child to bed and three hours later they are still up ...naps need to go.
