2 Year Old Naptime

With my 2 1/2 year old, I have to sit in her room with her at nap time. I don't do anything with her. I tell her goodnight, give her a kiss and keep my back to her while I play the d.s. or read or play on the laptop. If she sits up, I don't look her in the face. I just lay her down, say "It's time to sleep now." and go back to what I'm doing. Some days it takes 2 seconds, some days it takes 30 minutes, but she always goes to sleep. I could have done away with the naps but I know that she needs them b/c she gets so cranky without them. I have noticed though, that she goes down A LOT easier if I wear her out first and then wind her down with some books on the couch. Good luck!

If this is her only nap for the day, I would stick to what you're doing. It actually sounds like your doing everything you can to get her to rest and consistency just might pay off after a while. What about even extending it more to 2 hours? Maybe then she wouldn't have the energy to fight for so long. If this is one out of two naps, I would drop the first one.

Books on CD? Let her be on her bed (crib and watch a 60 min soothing DVD?
It's sad when the naps go south. I'd keep your "quiet time going for 60-90 mins and institute earlier bedtime when she doesn't nap. (Small, sweet consequence for the rest of the day spent with a cranky tired toddler!)

What if you are in the car coming back from someplace at naptime? I have a 4 year old who could use a nap sometimes but hasn't willingly taken one since he was 2.5 to 3 (about the time he moved out of the crib). Sometimes the car trick works and sometimes he will fall asleep if I let him "rest" and watch a video. I wish I had a great idea for this because I could use one myself some days!

Maybe she's ready to give up her nap. My oldest quit taking naps just before he turned 3 and my other son is 2y 3m and is close to giving up his nap. He'll nap 3 or 4 times a week. I LOVE nap time, but I think nap days are coming to an end. When my 2 year old does nap, I make my 4 year old have "quiet time" (play a game, read books, watch tv, etc). It gives him a little rest and keeps a quiet environment for my 2 year old.

Mine quit napping around that time - and he has never napped at day care no matter what the other kids did. He wears out around 6:30 so we take a bath and I pop in Care Bears and he is out for the night.

With my other (now grown) kids - I wore them out in the morning and they all napped until they were 4 or so - but they had each other to play with. My little one has only me so he doesn't burn as much energy during the day.

My two older children were great nappers. My third stopped naps at 12 months and my 4th stopped naps at age 2 and my 5th is 9 weeks old and he barely naps. I think the younger ones want to play with the older ones since I homeschool so we're busy here at home. Anyway, I'm no help at all except for the fact that if she stops naptime, it will be okay. =) Although, I do have to say that maybe a fan for background noise may help??? Good luck to you and I hope you enjoy your summer!

I know it may sound crazy, but I would chuck the nap. My daughter, now 5, stopped napping when she was 2. She just wouldnt go to sleep and instead sat up in her bed playing or crying and eventually coming out. I got so tired of being upset that she wasnt napping that I decided to change my tune. Everything has worked out pretty well since then. She actually stated going to sleep at night a little earlier which offset the fact she was missing the nap time. I hope this helps. Good luck and have a great summer!

flip it around: get all of her energy OUT before attempting the nap. Let her play outside all morning...let her play in the pool....go to the park....join some kids clubs (library, etc)........find outlets for that energy & then she'll nap!

& then after nap, do it again! That's the difference btwn being home & being w/ a babysitter: that energy is released at the babysitters (hopefully, if she's a good one!!)......& often it's not released when hanging at home with Mom thru the summer. Good Luck.

Oh, & as for eliminating naps.....most daycares/preschools require naps. AND most KG require a "rest" time for the 1st semester.....so all those kids out there not napping at home.....it can be a problem in the long run!

mine has gotten to the point of a nap every other day or so. lately she has been staying up later and waking up later. of which i don't mind to awful much. but sometimes i know she is so tired she needs a nap.

But you might see if maybe she is to warm to sleep. this is the biggest issue with my daughter. if her room is to warm she won't nap. also with the changes in her schedule maybe she really isn't as tired as you think she maybe.

My kids do the same thing; my daughter would LOVE to take a nap during the day (she's 3) but my four and a half year old son won't let her, he keeps her away with being psycho crazy. lol (running around like a chicken w/his head cut off) ... here's what I do; in the early afternoon, I take them to the park, give them a sandwich for lunch with a small amount of chips and some fruit and a bottle of water, then let them play for an hour. Then, when we get home and it's a bit warmer, we hit the pool at my apartment complex. We spend maybe 45 minutes to an hour then we come home; they are given the option to lay down quietly in their room or lay on the floor and watch a movie (usually scooby doo cartoons or a disney/pixar bluray); they usually fall asleep within 45 minutes of the movie.

Good luck!

I am so happy you asked this, I am having the same problem. But mine will not stay in her room so sometimes I just let her sit with me and wach tv and she ends up sleeping.

The key for now is to make her believe she isn't napping. A couple of books or a movie would do the trick. Once she thinks it's just "quiet" time, then she'll relax and fall asleep while watching a movie or reading. Once she gets used to that, she'll be able to fall asleep without. Is there any reason why she couldn't fall asleep on the couch? If that's your tv time, then how about a computer in her room with a movie cd or netflix streaming?

this happens at 2 years old.

Stay consistent... keep your routines... make it all quiet and 'boring'... she is still tired or over-tired... one she passes this tweak, it will get back in routine.
Both my kids did that.
It passed.
My kids are now 3.5 and 7. And my 3 year old still naps everyday. And my 7 year old will nap if she is tired. They both do so without battles. Even telling me if they are tired... and they go into their routine. On their own.

Or, I tell them that Mommy has nap time too... then we ALL nap.

What time does your daughter nap? Maybe, make it in the afternoon, after lunch. That is what my son does... and my daughter after school, or they both go at the same time.
They still sleep fine at night at their regular time.

all the best,
Susan

Two thoughts.

1. She MIGHT be done with naps. :( My son stopped about 4 months before his 3rd birthday. That was a sad day in this house (haha).

2. Have you tried reading chapter books to her in her bed? I did that with my oldest and it worked to extend his naps past his 3rd birthday. I'd have him lay down to listen and would read books like Ralph and the Motorcycle, Charolettes Web., etc. He loved it and it would keep him quiet long enough to fall alseep.

Good luck!
J.

Yup, that's us right now too. I think she's probably getting ready to give up her nap, like my 2.5 year old and as much as I'm trying to not let that happen, it's happening!! She puts up a fight every day and we do rest time too. I go ahead and go about it like she's actually going to sleep...read books, snuggle, tuck in to bed. Sometimes she does, sometimes she doesn't. I'm not exactly sure how we're going to make the transition to no nap at all, but we'll see! I think keep up what you're doing and then put her to bed earlier.