I have a 2 year old who typically sleeps through the night and has 1 afternoon nap. He is pretty good about sleeping and usually goes down for a nap without issue. Since we dropped the binky a few months ago, he does take longer to calm himself and relax but then sleeps for a good 1 1/2 to 2 hours on most days. It has been several days in a row now that he has not napped at all. He is quite happy in the crib talking and singing, but then is cranky and tired around dinnertime. So, just having some "downtime" isn't good enough. He did the head-bobbing thing the other day while out for an afternoon wagon ride, so I know he still needs the rest. I've tried the bribing sort of thing by saying something that he can do afterwards if he takes a nap, but that hasn't worked either. I know I've been a bit spoiled by his good naps, but this is coming out of nowhere and he still seems to need it. Nothing else seems to be out of sorts with him. Any advice?
Hi J.,
I've been there. Just stay with it and put him to be earlier if you need. My experience has been that my daughter, who is almost four, has moved in and out of these phases since around the same age. A friend gave me this advice long ago and it's worked out well. Now, she'll have a nap or quiet time for an hour and she knows it.
Good luck!
M.
My daughter will be 2 at the end of May.....2 days last week- she didnt NAP. Today It took her 1 hour and 20 minutes to fall asleep(and I had to give her some juice).Im hoping this is a phase....I lokk foward to hearing some responses...Sorry Im not much help...
I would work on it and use some soothing music and try getting into the routine of rubbing his back or his head. My son (who is 2 1/2) asks for his belly to be rubbed and I have some music that I use on his old Ocean Wonders Fish Tank that used to hang on the crib. Many daycares use these techniquest and it does help them calm down, sometimes they need the help to "wind down" so they can recharge their little batteries!
My daughter (now almost 8) suddenly stopped naps at 2 also. Nothing I did would convince her. She could also escape her bed and room. Try a later nap or earlier bed time. This too shall pass.
good luck
H.
HI J.,
My daughter (who is now 7) was two when she stopped taking her daily nap. It took me awhile to figure out she was done for good, as I thought toddlers needed naps for a long time - but she was. On desperate days I would take her for a ride (she used to get cranky at dinner time too) and sometimes she would konk out - but then transferring became an issue. My son - who just turned three last week still seems to need, and do well, with his daily nap. I hope this helps.
M.
We go off and on with the naps with my son (almost 3). If he is not willing to nap, maintain that same time for "quiet time" in bed. Much of the time that quiet time can turn into a nap. If my son doesn't nap, I put him to bed a little bit earlier that night. After a couple days of not napping, he usually gets too tired a starts napping again. I have noticed not following routine one day can mess up the following couple days with napping. You could also try shifting the time of the nap an hour later. That might work. 2-3 year olds typically should get a total of 12-16 hours sleep over the course of a day. Hope this helps!
My daughter stopped napping when I weaned her at 3 years old (sort of like taking the binky away). She was napping 3 hours and then going to bed around 9ish and sleeping until morning. When she stopped napping, she started going to bed earlier--around 7. Is it possible to get your son to go to bed earlier or perhaps sleep in more (most kids don't want to sleep in though)? Just a thought. Hope it helps.
My daughter is 8 years old now, but I have a 17 month old son right now and I'm trying to get the nap time and bed time ritual down myself. So I'm definitely not an expert.
E.
