2 Year Old Not Napping...

We switched my son to a toddler bed at age 3. He is now 3 1/2. Since the switch he does not take regular naps. I insist he have some down time during the day so we put him in his room but he often gets up to play. He has some books and quiet toys in his room. I've decided as long as he is playing quietly I'm fine with that. Many days he does well without a nap. However, he will get tired and cranky about an hour before his normal bedtime so we look for the cues and put him to bed earlier when necessary. We have a baby gate at his bedroom door so he stays in his bedroom.

Thinking back, I noticed he was napping less often before the switch to the bed. Your daughter may not need regular naps if her nighttime sleep is sufficient. Maybe you could alter her nighttime sleep and either get her up 30-60 minutes earlier or put her to bed 30-60 minutes later and see if that helps with naptime.

Hi D.,

Your daughter may not need to take naps anymore. Most children wean themselves of naps sometime around 2.5 to 4 years of age. Some earlier than others. My son is 28 months and is starting to show signs that he doesnt' need a nap. 2 or 3 days a week, I can't get him to go down. I usually try to get him to play quietly in his room on days when he won't nap - so that even though he isn't napping, he gets some "down time". You can try putting her down later (say 3:30 if she is showing signs of being tired at 4), but that may mess up her bed time. I think putting her to bed earlier and giving her quiet time during the day is probably your best option.

J.
A Mother's Boutique
www.mothersboutique.com

Some two year olds grow out of naps earlier than others...I would maybe make a slight adjustment to her schedule, and have her have at least one hour of a "quiet" activity in her room, in her bed...when my son does not feel like napping (and I am lucky: he is three and a half and naps every day from 1-3pm) I still tell him we need quiet time, time to give our eyes and bodies a rest and sometimes I lay down with him until he falls asleep. It usually only takes about 25 minutes and he is off in dreamland. Maybe you can also make a "cozy spot" where you lay out her sleeping bag in her room, with some stuffed animals she likes, her favorite books and tell her she needs to read her dolls and animals a little nap time story...that may make her tired too. Good luck!!

My son was 2 1/2 when we moved him to a bed and we had the same trouble. At first, I kept going and putting him back into bed and telling him he had to stay there, of course he would get out again anyway. I finally just put a gate up at his door and left him there for the duration of nap time, crying or not. He started taking naps again but it took quite a few days maybe even more than a week it all seems to be a blur now. I think it is definately the novelty of the new bed and being able to get up and out and trying to determine where Mom draws the line. She probably really does need the nap even though she is active.

Good luck!

When we first moved our daughter to her toddler bed, we kept her crib in her room for a week or two. We explained that big girls stay in their bed unless there was an emergency or she had to go potty. If she were to get out of bed for any other reason, she had to go back to her crib. She DID test us to see if we meant businees, but we only had to put her back in the crib a handful of times. From then on out we told her we would leave her monitor on and she would call for us before she put her feet on the floor. It worked really well for us. If she did not nap, she would at least get an hour of "rest" while lying down. We let her take a few animals and a favorite book to bed with her too. When we did finally move her crib to storage, we just simply told her the following; "Just because the crib is no longer here, it doesn't mean the rules change. If you get out, we will bring the crib back." She wanted her bed so badly and now hated the crib, that we never again had a problem. She went at least a year or two before she would get out without calling. If you can keep her lying in her bed, she will probably fall asleep. If she doesn't fall asleep, at least you both get some "down time", where she is at least resting and not running around. Good luck. I know what you are going through, My two and a half year old son recently stopped taking his naps too.

That is about the same age my son stopped napping. He would still nap if he had a big day, wasn't feeling well, or just needed it, but not most days. On the upside, he went to bed at 7:30 pm and was asleep quickly and easily for a change. You can try to reinstitute napping, but you cannot MAKE anyone sleep. Try making a rule about having quiet time so that you get a break.

Good luck,
L.

when my boys got to the point where they did not want a nap anymore and I felt they still needed one (or I NEEDED them to take one LOL) I would give them a couple books and tell them that they did not HAVE to sleep, but they should lay there and rest or look at the books but they MUST be quiet for awhile. They usually fell asleep after a frew minutes anyway and it was less of a fight when they did not feel forced to try and sleep when they wanted to run around and play

good luck