Two Year Old Giving up Nap

My daughter gave up naps at 2 as well. I was very disappointed, and am still jealous of my friends whose children napped until 3 or 4. I tried to force her to nap, but it just became a huge battle for us, and did more harm than good. I then moved on just to quiet time - sitting on the couch with her reading quietly for a while. She didn't sleep but at least her body rested a bit. That worked. She kept her same bedtime, though. And after her body adjusted to not having the nap, the crankiness went away too. Some kids are just done early, I guess. Good luck!

Hi J. :_
In my experience, by the time a child is 2, naps are more for moms than for the child! With that in mind, my mother, my daughter, and I told/tell our children and grandchildren that there needs to be a quiet time every day for mom and child. We tell our children that they must go to their room and be quiet for an hour. During that time, they must stay on their bed. They may read/look at books, or they may lay down. However, there is no playing, and no crying. This is resting/quiet time for the house. This way, whether the child sleeps or not, they get a rest, and so do you! And in reality, isn't that the most important thing for you as a mom of a 2 year old?
Happy resting.
A.

Have a scheduled nap time or " quiet time" let your child choose if she would like to sleep during that time or just relax. I have a child like that and some times he even chooses to cry or sit and sing. But he soon learned that I would not come get him just because he was bored. It is rest time. Of course we did not just let him stay in there in cry at first we worked him up to it. But she knows if she cries long enough you will go get her.

there is a huge range of giving up the nap. for me, #1 napped until 4. #2 stopped napping around 20mos (yeah, i didn't like that much) #3 stopped at 28 mos. For me, it was the bed time thing. They'd stay up to late if they had a nap. 10-11 at night and it would be a fight to keep them in bed. w/o a nap asleep before 8-and I get a break at night.

Hi, J.,

I get the feeling on this board that my family is the exception to the rule. My younger son, who is nearly 2, has NEVER regularly taken naps. My elder son, who just turned 3, wants to take a two-hour nap in the mid- to late-afternoon.

I relate to how you feel, especially as I still nurse my younger son and attend school part-time. For the first few months of my younger son's life, I thought that I, along with my mother and mother-in-law, might go insane from my son's constant crying, feeding, and sleeplessness. (My husband was out of the country.) Fortunately, my younger son calmed down and now doesn't cry constantly. I still don't get deep sleep for very long periods (my sleep is interrupted a few times each night) but I feel less "strung out."

It seems as though nursery schools that employ "quiet time," a designated time, usually after lunch, that the kids may sleep or read in their cots but not run around, are quite successful in convincing kids to physically rest. That approach might be worth trying.

Good luck,
Lynne E

My son stopped napping at 17 months! About the same time that he started jumping over the rail of his crib. He was never a big sleeper anyway. I tried pooping him out to get him to take a nap, but I was the one who got tired!
Good luck!

My son gave up naps around the same time. If he napped he wouldn't go to sleep at night. Once in a while he would still nap but it had to be before 1pm or again no sleep at night. There is not too much you can do to get them to nap once they're done with them. Since you have the baby too, maybe find something quiet for your daughter to do while the baby is napping - like watching a video. This way she will rest even if she's not sleeping.

Good luck.

She's probably done napping (OH NOOOOOOO! I can hear you saying now!) but try having her do "quiet time". You make the rules: She has to stay in her room, but she can play, read, etc. or she has to stay on her bed or whatever works for you. Set the timer. For the first few days, just try it for 15 minutes. Gradually increase the time (she probably won't notice the increase once she figures out some interesting things to do by herself) and before you know it, you'll be up to one hour! (My daughter would get EVERYTHING out and play in her room, so be ready for clean up time afterward!) When my daughter dropped her nap, she would literally fall asleep in her soup at 6:30pm and sleep all night!

My daughter stopped napping when she was 2.5 years. There are some days that are rougher than others. What we do is have a quiet time from around noon to 2. That is the time for her to play quietly, read books, etc. She goes to bed between 6:30 and 7:30 and sleeps 12-14 hours.
I followed that book as well(and am using it again with our newborn)however we found that when she would take a nap she wouldn't go to bed until 10pm, then the next day would be a nightmare because she didn't get enough sleep.

Good luck!

Hi J., If you want her to nap, then you can't give her the power to give up naps, that's not for her to decide, by allowing her to decide is giving her power she is not meant to have. At 2 my kids were not on a schdule for naps, I did on a need for nap bassis, like if we were out all day with a tiring activity, something like that. However all my daycare kids lay down at nap time, no less than 2 hours, if you are getting her up after an hour of crying then she's still in control, because she is using the crying to control the nap issue. Weather any other moms children stoped napping at 2, has nothing to do with the rules in your house and your desires for your your children. Not all kids need naps at 2, you said she gets cranky, so she In would say she is one of the ones who do need a nap at 2. Hope this helps. J. L.

when i read this, i felt less alone. we are in the same exact boat. we try everyday to get her to nap. it's frustrating, i can empathize with you. a friend told me to try a nap routine and not give up. so that's what we do. announce to the toddler what's going on, put the baby down, then tackle the toddler.

I've known tons of kids who are nap free at 2. Mine had given up his morning nap by then, but kept his afternoon nap until 3.

One thing WE did was to tell him he didn't have to sleep, but he had to lay down and rest. 90% of the time he would pass out, but the permission not to HAVE to sleep seemed to be key there. He didn't WANT to sleep, but he needed to. At two they're starting to have the mental/emotional milestone thing of trying to integrate independence & "wants" with their lives and needs, and what' WE'RE telling them to do. Pretty much the foundations for the "terrible twos" (we had the terrible 3's...but that's us).

One thing I WISH we had done, that I found out later that other's do, is to institute "quiet time" in the place of a name being given up. AKA... half an hour to an hour of time by themselves in their rooms to look at books/play quietly with toys/etc. That way mummy still had time to herself, and the child started learning independent play.

Another thing to keep an eye out for is teething. They start to get those molars in right about now (can take a few months of budding/partial erupting). I'd try a half dose-full dose of tylenol with lunch, and see if all of a sudden naptime goes back to normal, before you try anything drastic.

Also, (2 more things)

1) an hour is a LONG time to cry. If you've got the screaming meemees, try the going in after 15 and laying him down, rubbing his back. A lot of the time, if they're throwing a fit like that, they just get so wrapped up in the fit they can't stop without help. So crying, comfort, leave, crying, comfort leave, that sort of thing...until he gets some sleep. Even if he DIDN'T need a nap before crying for an hour, after an hour of crying ANYONE needs a nap.

2) At about 1 & a half my son dead stopped being sleepy after eating. He got WIRED instead. To this day (7yo)...feeding him is like plugging him into an electric socket. You might try some serious romping time, then some warm milk/hot chocolate and a book, THEN the nap.

Good Luck!

Oh, yes, J.. My daughter stopped her naps around her second birthday. At first I was bummed, then I actually was relieved. We were firm on the napping at home, not in the car or during family activities, so we were always rushing home to accommodate the nap. When it was gone, we moved bedtime up by an hour and all was good. In fact, it created more time for my husband and I to connect in the evening. You see, it can be a good thing! :]

me and a couple friends with girls the same age are going through the same thing where our (almost) 2 yr old is resisting naps. She still needs it though. Don't give in, but keep trying and know you are not alone ;-)

J.,

Dont worry! We, as mamas, tend to worry and make problems where there are none!
My four yr old girl did the very same thing. Babies will sleep when they need it. To this day, she can get up at 8:30am and stay up until 10pm or even later if I'm up. I was so worried I asked my dad, who's a Dr, if she's OK. He said she just doesnt require as much sleep as I do! It's crazy. I tried to get her down for naps, and to bed earlier but she will lay there awake. So over time I just let her hang out, to a point, until I could see signs of being tired. She's fine.

Wendy