Sleeping Trouble with 2 1/2 Year Old

My kids stopped napping at 2yr. At about 5pm they would be very tired but would sleep better if they didn't have a nap.

I only read the beginning of a few post's which they tell you to rid of nap time....as if!!!! I have twin 2 1/2 year olds and if they don't have an afternoon nap, they will fall asleep a 5pm (there bed time is 7:30 -8). We had a hard time when they went from a crib to toddler bed, then a bed without rails...they were CRAZY with the freedom!! I would lay on the bedroom floor trying to make them stay in their beds (2 nights only), then I slept outside their bedroom to make sure they didn't get out of their room (4 nights...ugh!!! one of my son's is just naturally awake in the middle of the night). Throughout this entire process, they would open their bedroom door, scream (for fun) and yell (for fun) and slam the door (for fun). I finally put a baby gate up at their door so they are able to open the door (no anxiety about feeling trapped), but cannot actually get out.
Long story longer...it takes time. Baby gate is key!!! If you do use the gate, DO NOT GO TO HIM WHEN HE STARTS SCREAMING OR CRYING! It may last for 1 minute or 45 minutes, but he can see out and he knows what he is doing...trying to get mommy at any cost!
Hope this helps!!!
Good luck!
XX

Hi L.,
I'm sorry I don't have the answer to your question, but I wanted to let you know that you are not alone. My 2 year old girl does the same thing. She used to get out of her room and I just kept bring her to her bed until she start staying in her room and we just hear her singing, lol.
But she goes back and forward with this, there are days that she would go sleep very easy and other that I have to keep coming, others she would go sleep very easy and wake up in the middle of the night, etc.
I don't think take way the naps is always the best option, for some reazon, when my daughter doesn't take her naps she has more trouble falling as sleep.
What works most of the time for me is getting her tired during the day, make sure she has her tummy full, send her to bed, hope it would be one of those days that she goes to sleep without a problem, other way comeback when I can hear she is tired enough and lay her down and sing a song and kiss her front and eyes as I am singing, it "almost" works everytime.

My 2.5 yo son has been doing the same thing (only for naps too!) for the last few weeks. I can't figure out why, and he's more than tired at bedtime esp when he plays instead of napping. Unless he's being really loud and is in danger of waking his baby sister, we leave him alone. We figure when it's too dark to do any playing, he'll climb back into bed and fall asleep. Only problem is that he never sleeps past 5:30 in the morning so he's losing a lot of sleep. I suggest that you put him to bed- maybe a bit earlier if you're worried about the lost sleep- and let him do his own thing. I'm hoping this is yet another stage that will pass!

I went throught the same thing with my daughter, now 3. If you can handle it, cut out the nap. By the end of the day your son will be so exhausted that bedtime SHOULD be easier. Sometimes we still have a problem with our daughter, but not like before. Good luck!

Sometimes it does take a bit for a toddler to settle down for bedtime. I don't tihnk 45 minutes is that long, if that 45 minutes is bath, teeth, jammies, books, bed. You said now he stays up but in his bed....HOORAY!! I would let him be. To help him settle you could try giving hm a chewable calcium supplement about an hour before bed. Calcium is a natural "calmer downer"...hence the warm cup of milk before bed...it's not an old wives tale! Just be fair but firm and consistent with the bedtime routine. He will get it. No worries!

If I were you I'd try to get rid of the naps then he will be nice and tired by the time bedtime comes around. Or if you don't want to do that then make the naps either alot earlier or shorter. Good luck! Hope this helps.

Stop laying with him.
Consistency is crucial. Take him back to his bed. The first couple of times it's okay to talk to him by saying 'it's bedtime and you need to stay in bed'. After that, no verbal exchange at all
Tune in to Supernanny when it airs again. she deals with this stuff all the time. You will lose out on mommy time at first, until your son gets the idea you mean business.
And no waiting outside the door either. He probably realizes that!

Move bed time up to 7pm (this is not unreasonable for his age, even if he went right to bed), 9pm is way too late. Be sure his room is distraction free. Remove all the toys and books. Use a fan or other white noise and be sure the curtains are as dark as possible. Keep doing what you're doing about putting him back to bed. Don't feel the need to hover over him, but keep checking up on what he's doing if its been quiet for a few minuets. Don't talk or argue with him, just silently put him back into bed each time he escapes.

Best wishe!

Oh, I am a big believer in Mommy time - it is necessary to my family's overall well-being! :)
It sounds like your son might be ready to phase his nap out. When my boys get to this age/phase, I move up the nap time and shorten it, and then move their bedtime up earlier. Instead of the normal 2-3 hour nap from approx. 1-4 PM, they get a nap from 12:30-2 PM or something like that (and then gradually shorten the time). Then, come 7 or 7:30 PM, they are exhausted and ready to go to bed w/o a fight.
After transition to a big boy bed, I also close my boys' bedroom doors and put a child lock on the inside door handle - I've always closed the bedroom doors @ night, so this was not a new thing to them. Apparently, this is not "common practice" among other parents I talk to though, so I don't know if this would work for you or not. (My boys are 4 and 2.5 and share a room; oldest is in a toddler bed, middle is in a crib still, and youngest is in a crib in his own room for now)
Putting kids back into bed should be a quick and boring interaction - no talking, soothing, debating, etc.

Good luck, Mama, I hope you find something that works for you!

Hi L.,

I agree with some of the other moms here about maybe getting rid of the nap time (OR, like one mom said, just making them shorter or sooner.) Both my kids gave up their nap times young; my son was 2.5 and my daughter was 2. At first, I was nervous about not getting my "me" time during the day, but when they gave up their naps, they went to bed much earlier (between 7:30 and 8), and I LOVED the amount of "me" time I had during the evening! I'm not sure what time your son wakes up in the morning, but you might even consider waking him up earlier. Some kids just need less sleep than others; I know my kids always have! Good luck to you!

Daylight savings time is probably part of the problem. Do you have shades or drapes to block out the light. Active kids don't want to go to bed, especially on summer nights. Very normal. My daughter used to get a lot of reading done, sitting in a chair outside her boys' room with the door open until they fell asleep. They're grown now and she survived. They're both still night owls but it's not her problem anymore! You can try some kind of reward system or books on tape. These are other things that have worked in our family. Hang in there, Mama! This is just so normal!

You can try the getting ready for bed at 8pm, also have you thought about gettng rid of nap time? I know not something most of us want ot hear, lol. My daughter hadnt taken regular naps since she was about that age (only when she was really worn out or we had a busy day) and it helped a lot with her bedtimes. Just a thought :)

I let my daughter do her own thing as long as she's quiet and stays in her room. If it takes her a little extra time playing in the dark before she wants to go to sleep, that's her business. She's (almost) always in her bed in the morning.