2 Year Old's Naps

Unfortunately thats a popular age to give up the nap. But, I would still keep up with the 1:00 "rest time." If she doesn't want to stay in her bed to rest, I'd put a movie on and have her lounge on the couch, or lay in your bed to read and look at books. That's a long day for her to be on the go, she still needs some down time, as do you! :)

Hope this helps,
Lynsey

My 2yo went through a little phase like that. She didn't want to go to sleep, but we still went through the whole naptime routine and I'd put her in her crib. I'd let her pick a couple of books to bring to bed with her. That way, if she didn't want to go to sleep, she could look at her books. I'd leave her for an hour. If she was still awake, I'd get her up. She's 2.5 now and still brings books to bed, but always goes to sleep after about 20min of "reading" them. Even if she doesn't think she's tired, she is...and she'll be exhausted by dinner time if she doesn't get a nap. If she won't sleep, 45min to an hour of quiet time will certainly help.
Good luck.

My daughter is almost 2.5 and there are a couple of days that she just can't sleep. She will lay in bed with her eyes open. They have growth spurts at this age and when they are going through one they will sleep, otherwise a quiet time is necessary. On average my daughter takes about a 2.5 hr nap. I wouldn't give up the nap because she will go through a growth spurt and be tird again, instead I would give her a quiet time. My first daughter took a nap until she was almost 4.

Once they reach the age of 2 they do not take naps anymore and really it good because they would sleep better at night.

They think in there world they are missing alot of things. LOL

K.

Hello C.,

8 pm may be too late for her. Try putting her to bed at 7 pm and see if that makes a difference. It may sound counterintuitive but the reality is sleep begets sleep. I have twin girls who are 2 and the later I put them to bed, the earlier they get up .. the opposite is true as well. They also have better naps if they sleep longer at night. I think she's overtired and is having difficulty getting and staying asleep. Hope this helps.

R.

PS - I also just read some of the responses. My pediatrician said most children do not give up their naps (2 hrs. plus) until nearly 3, and that it's better for them to continue these naps as long as possible. I think you have to be consider your own child's needs. If the lack of a nap does not change her disposition, it probably means she doesn't need the sleep, but if, like you dais, she's tired, you may want to try to adjust her bedtime.

Hi C.,

I have the same problem with my son, its normal. He wakes around 6:30am and goes to bed 8-9pm and still wakes once during the night for a bottle, that is another issue ;/. However the sitter did tell me he does not take his naps anymore. She has tried, and on the weekend with me sometimes he does and sometimes he don't. I do not force the issue. It is what it is. I know its a break for us but what can we do, they don't want to nap. Sorry. :(

My step son stopped around 2 1/2. If children are sleeping around 12 hours a night, naps aren't always necessary for the child. How is she during the day? Does she stillvappear tired? SOmetimes a child adjusts after a couple days. You should just try to still have "quiet time" with her. Have her lay down and read a book or just tell her shes resting not sleeping. Sometimes if the child still needs to sleep they will then. As long as they think they aren't "sleeping"

I read a lot of the other responses and a lot of them said that she is around the age to stop naps. I found out the hard way that that is not always the case, but they are too interested in the world around them to sleep. When my oldest turned three he stopped sleeping. I started bringing him in my bed to sleep with me. He is almost four now and still doing that. I only make him lay down for a nap four or five days a week, but when he misses even a day or two, you can really notice it. I am going to keep trying naps until he really isn't even falling asleep in bed with me. My other son and my nephew are both almost 2 1/2. My nephew naps great and even asks to take naps (I think he will be the one that is still sleeping at kindergarted nap time!!) My little one was getting up to play when I put him down in his toddler bed. I started laying in my other son's bed until he falls asleep so he didn't have the temptation of getting out of bed and playing, and sure enough every day he started falling asleep within five minutes. That tells me he really DOES still need a nap, he just needed some help to not be distracted. Now they all wake up at around 7 or 7:30 and go to bed between 8:30 and 9. The little ones sleep 1 1/2 - 3 hours (the one who likes to sleep!) and my big one sleeps right around an hour (sometimes more, sometimes less). Good luck...thought it might help to hear from the other side (someone who still really pushes naps!)

My daughter went through that too. She takes maybe three naps a week now. Thankfully she doesn't get up at 6:30am unless I have to.

The reason she doesn't takes naps is she sleeps so long to begin with. For a while my girl was sleeping 12 hours a night when we got back from vacation...no naps. When I put her to bed at 9 for TV time and get her up at 7am, she takes a nap around 3.

Try lessening her sleep at night.

Nanc

is is normal to want to quit nap at her age. and it's also normal for mom to keep the nap. seriously, she needs it. my kids took naps until they turned 4 and the only reason i stopped them was due to a long vacation overseas and i didn't want to have the day planned around their naps. mine are a bit over four and a half and on occasion when i am totally exhausted, i still ask them to take a nap so i can nap too. and they love it (they don't know it until they are finished with their naps) but their mood is much better, concentration much better and yeah did i say mood much better?
so, keep enforcing it if you can.
also, some may suggest quiet time. for me, at least, quiet time ended up being a joke.

My daughter who is turning 2 on the 28th wouldn't nap for a couple week stretch just recently, but I stuck to it. Some days I tried a different time and now she is back to her 7:30pm-7am bedtime and 1:30-3:30 nap. So I would keep trying atleast for a while, I never want naps to end, haha:-)

Follow her cues! Put her down for "quiet time" and if she really won't sleep, you'll have to find a way to keep her in a quiet environment for at least 30 minutes. You both need it! :) (And she'll probably fall asleep some of the time, too!)

I'd bring up that bed time, too. Maybe to 7? She really needs that sleep!

Hi C.,
If she was close to 3, I'd say it was fine but at just turned two, that's young to give up a nap, and you do say that she is tired. You cannot explain or reason with a 2 year old, they are too young for reasoning. If she is crying, but tired, she is likely overtired. I would suggest putting her down to nap a little earlier, she may be overtired by the time she goes down, which can make it hard to fall asleep and easy to cry. I would put her in earlier and leave her some books and favorite stuffed toy.
My daughter was almost 3 when she stopped napping, and my son was just turning 4.

Would she fall asleep in her stroller? I know its tough now but when the weather gets warmer it could be a nice nap or just rest for her and a nice walk for you. I know it doesn't help you get things done you need to do when she sleeps or give you the break you need but at least you know she is getting her needed sleep or rest. Hope this helps.

This is the age when naps can begin to dwindle. There are days when they took them and days when they just couldn't fall asleep. You can try just putting her in the crib with some books and call it quiet time or you can let her get a pillow and blanket and lay on the couch with a video and have some rest. That's what I did with my kids and most of the time they fell asleep watching the video. I am not sure how you feel about tv but it did work for me. Good luck!!

My 1st son stoped taking naps at 18 months I found that putting him to bed an hour earlier worked great, No my 2nd son is 2 1/2 and he is fighting naps. He likes to relax on the couch for 20-30 minutes and then he is up an running and so far we are not having evil evenings.