18 Month Old Doesn't Nap

Hi,
Thought I would share a little something I would do when I had that same problem.
First no full blown play time 30 mins prior to napping. Settle down with a warm snack and a book to read. Even color or something away from the tv. Put on a little soft background music. Do that for about 30 mins. Then tell your little one it's time for a nap. This will take about 2 weeks time but once they realize it's time to settle down and you get the routine in place it will be much easier, and you may not even have to resort to the reading. Although the reading time is good for them.
Hope this helps. Oh one more thing. No late night bedtimes.
Roxy

1 mom found this helpful

I used to try the same thing for my son, and then realized that he just doesn't want to nap. He thinks that he might miss to much. He's almost 2 1/2 and hasn't napped since he was an infant. His brain function and alertness are just fine. THe only thing that I have done in order to get him to rest is to lay him on the couch with his cup and turn off the lights, put on something for him to watch, and let him relax.

How much sleep is she getting at night? That would be my first question. If she's sleeping in excess of 12 hours, she just may not *need* the naps anymore.

My dd stopped napping all together before her 2nd birthday. I worried constantly, but she gets the "required" number of hours during the night... so I stopped worrying.

I had trouble with my son sleeping. I started to really play with him and ware him out. then I would lay him down and play soft music and let him work it out. He Some times would fuss, cry and screem but I just ignored him and he learned to lay down. hope this helps.

Try Robbie The Rabbit CD. It's hemi-sync music (like the human heartbeat). It's suppose to help them get to sleep and have deeper more restful sleep. Google it on the internet and you'll find where you can order it. Good luck! You could also see if the local library has it so he can try it before he buys it.

B.

Is the little girl full of extra energy? Naps aren't always needed by the child. If your friend can get her to sit quietly in her room for an hour without the screaming and yelling, that's as good as a nap. I agree with the tip of no overstimulation right before nap. Are there other behaviors that may show the child as extra hyper? Good Luck! Let us know what works.

Hi M.,
I have 4 kids and I had one that didn't take naps at all, and everytime I tried to put him to nap time, he would just climb hiself right out of the crib, every time. so I was told to take hime to the park and let him run his energy out, and that's what I did, even though I was dead tired, i manged to get him excited about it and let him run himself crazy, up and down slides in and out of swings, and just around and around he would run, and once I seen him slowing down some, I would try to keep that upbeat going for him, and once he got into the car and I started it up and got around the corner, he was out like a lightbulb. and he would sleep so soundly for the next few hours, sometimes so long I had to go and check on him. maybe find a water park, they love to play in the water, even just a warm bath got him to sleep as well. but the park always did the trick, and you yourself will be tired as well.so if you can or want to give it a shot, try it at least once and see how it goes. even now with my kids 13.11 and 8 yrs old, we still do the same thing, except we go directly after school, then they are tired when it is time to get to bed, and sleep. hope this helps.
D.*Ü*

My son is just slightly older, and my goodness does he get over-stimulated! I discovered we had bad naptime or bedtime experiences when he was simply overstimulated. So now I quiet things down-no music, loud toys, or movies 20-30 minutes before naptime. He gets into his sleep schedule, and goes down fine on those days (the ones where I don't forget!) I also try to do naps following a lunch or big snack so his belly is full. My son gets VERY uncordinated (even bangs into walls!), so I hear on this one.

Well, I think as long as the child is sleeping enough in the night, going without a nap isn't a huge deal. Although you did mention the child gets clumsy. My daughter quit napping at that age and she was (and still is) a bundle of energy! But she slept well thru the night, so it wasn't a problem other than keeping up with her! I think that the fact that he is standing outside the door and telling her to go to sleep might be a hinderance. One thing I might suggest is a CD of soothing songs. We used to get our daughter to sleep at night with one when she was a baby. Maybe if he put a little CD player in her room with some soothing, soft songs, that might help.

My 2.5 yr old dosnt take naps either. He just dosnt like to. He will sit and watch something that I put on the TV and relax and sometimes if he is really tired he will fall asleep. I am a SAHM so I let him sleep as long as he wants in the mornings. I figure if he needs his sleep he will get it. I dont want to fight with him by making him take a nap. His brain function is fine in fact he is a lot smarter then my 11 yr old, and my nieces were at his age. He knows colors already and can count to 5 so I figure he is ok. I wouldnt stress out to much, just like with eating he will sleep when he needs to. Hope this helps some and good luck!

A.