27 Month Old Refusing Naps

You can tell if he needs the naps or not by looking at him in the evening. Is he staying awake until his normal bedtime or is he getting tired and cranky early in the evening? If he takes a nap, then does he stay awake way too late into the evening? If you determine that he still needs the nap, then I think you should stand firm about him laying down for a nap every day. I know how frustrating that is, but two year olds tend to test us in many ways! Both of my girls fought valiently for independence at that age. Hang in there Mom!

Try laying him down for his nap a little later then usual. My son (who is almost 4) was the same way. I usually put him down about 1:00 pm. But he wasn't tired or ready. So I started laying him down about 1:30-2:00 and he will sleep until 3:30 or so! Works like a charm!

I would say it's not unusual, but I also understand your desire for them to continue - we all need that midday break. My daughter just turned 3 and has been going through the same thing. Consider his tempermant on a day without a nap. Is he melting down earlier than normal? My daughter used to be pretty rotten by about 4 pm if she didn't get a nap, so I kept trying, but now she is fine until about 7:30 which is a reasonable bedtime. If it's more of a struggle to get him down, you may just want to let it go and enjoy that extra time in the evening when he goes to bed a little earlier. For awhile now my daughter has been napping every other day, and now it's every third or forth day. On days when she does nap she's usually up until 10, so I don't really mind. I still try to get her to have some downtime in the afternoon, looking at books or her leap pad on her bed for 30-60 minutes. That might be harder with such a young child, but it's a good substitute if he'll do it. Good luck - I know this is a milestone most SAHMs do not enjoy reaching!

It sounds like your son is right on schedule. Usually by the time they turn 2, naps get shorter or non-existent. If he does take a nap it would probably happen late afternoon, which then might throw off when he goes to bed. My son used to end up falling asleep when I'd cook supper, and then not go to bed until 10 or 11:00. If you end up with a late napper, maybe try to keep it shorter so it takes the edge off but doesn't throw off bedtime at night. Crabby babies are not fun either.

I have eight children, and all of them gave up naps around the age of two years. It's not very convenient, but it happens!

Kids do go through phases that naps are difficult. Do not give up on naps for good. I bet he will be a good napper again in a few weeks. Keep putting him down. Make sure you have a little wind down period. Read or whatever. Put him in his bed. Leave him there. Give up before you go crazy.

My less than two year old daughter decided she didn't want to take a nap before her 4 year old sister did. Therefore I tried just to get her to rest for a certain amount of time in the early afternoon (which she usually would), and then between 7 and 8:00 in the evening they would go to bed. You can't force a child to take a nap, but you can get him or her to rest. Good luck.

I am also a SAHM and have a daughter the same age as your son.I have two older children age 10 and 7. All my kids did the same thing( more so my son ). My daughter that is now 27 months old didn't like naps either until I got a portable DVD player for her. I lay her in her crib and put in one of her favorite DVDs. She lays there and watches her movie until she falls asleep. I think there is to much going on during the day and that is why they don't want to nap. They are getting older and more busier to lay down and sleep. I hope this helps you, I know how frustrating it can be.

Sounds like he's done with naps. I went through the same thing with my son and hated it when he didn't take them anymore. I did find that bedtime goes allot smoother. I would just make sure that he doesn't try to sneek in a late nap (which my son would do). I would also make sure that he gets to bed earlier to make sure that he's still getting enough sleep. Good luck.
L.

My daughter did the same thing around the same time. She is now 37 months old and hasn't been taking naps for over a year. She goes to bed at 8pm and gets up around 8am. I think it works out great. Hopefully you can find a solution that will work out for you and your son.

I am a 34 year old SAHM with a 37 monnth old daughter.

His naptime may be becoming obsolete. However, so you can get your break or other chores done, give him some options. Giving my 3.5 yr old choices for many things that I need to work to my benefit works every time.

Tell him it is time to relax for a little and he has the choice of either taking a nap, or having quiet activity time in his room for the same amount of time. Quiet activities may include interactive books, coloring, mega blocks, etc. But the key is that he needs to stay in his room alone and just take it easy so you can do whatever it was you normally did when he naps. The first several times he may keep leaving his room and bug you. But, as long as you stay consistent and put him back in his room and then give him his options again, he'll learn the routine.

Hi T.,
Many toddlers between 2 and 3 give up their naps. When my kids were little, and resisting naps I would make"Big Bird's nest" out of blankets and pillows and put in their favorite video. I would not make a big deal out of napping. I would just say, "Let's pretend you're Big Bird and here is your nest!" Then I would go and do the dishes or something, (no Audience) and when I came back, most often they would be sound asleep.
Also, quiet time works well, with books and a favorite stuffed animal in his room. If necessary, you could put up a baby gate and let him play quietly until a timer goes off . You may need to move up bedtime if he doesn't actually sleep. He'll most likely be cranky and ready for bed earlier than usual. Hope this helps, A.

Hi T.! My daughter is 2 years old and only naps on the weekends for my Mother in law when she stays there. Im not a "morning" person by any means...I hate rising before 8am and my daughter usually sleeps from 8pm to 8 or 8:30am and then doesn't nap. She starts to wind down from about 6:30pm and we relax on the couch together and read. I wouldn't be too worried about him cutting out naps unless you see its effecting him badly. If it is, then try to get him up a little bit earlier and then see if he will nap. Hope all works out!

My daughter is 2and a half and she goes through spurts where she doesn't want to take a nap as well. It sometimes takes me hours of fighting with her to take a nap sometimes she does and other times i just give up and let her out of her room. these spurts sometimes last weeks at a time and even a month or so she started doing it right around the time she turned 2. Don't get to frustrated hopefully he will start taking naps again like my daughter.

My daughter just turned four and has not taken naps for quite some time. I know in the afternoon we both need some down time but sleeping is out. I tell her she needs her rest time and to pick out a movie. Sometimes she will rest for thirty minutes and sometimes an hour. She rarely naps and sometimes I find her playing, but she is in her room with the lights out and the curtains closed. This also helps her get through the evening time without melting down.
SAHM with a 13 year-old son, and 9 and 4 year-old daughters.

I had this same problem with my at about 27 months. I explained to him even if he did not want to nap he needed quite time and he could choose to either nap or play quitely in his bed with a few safe toys/books. He also takes a long time to settle down to finally nap but it worked with him. He obviously still needed a nap because once he goes to sleep he would sleep for >2 hours. good Luck

All 3 of my girls were done with naps by 2 1/2 years old(and that was with me trying to prolong it!)
It makes for a long afternoon, but if you can keep him busy and get to dinner, then it's a bath and early bedtime-and quiet time for you!

sounds like nap time may be about over. You may also try laying him down a little later than you usually do for a nap. Try that and see what happens. By the time my kids turned 3 they were no longer taking naps because they were getting to the age that they really didn't need one anymore.
D.

I am a 31 yr. old married mom with 3 boys ages 10,7 and 4.
I have been married going on 12 yrs. this Nov.

I have a little guy who will be three in May. He goes through this periodically. My solution, I've told him that he needs "quiet time" He can take a couple of board books into his bed, he can read, etc - as long as he stays in his bed until I open his door. Sometimes I will "change it up" and let him lay (alone) in my bed. Anyway, 90% of the time, he'll end up falling asleep, the other 10%, at least he's had some down time.

I know I'm pretty lucky because he's been in a big boy bed since he was 25 months, and doesn't get out unless we tell him it's okay - not sure how that happened, but I'm very thankful he's like this.

I have been through it with both my boys. I think it's a phase. Sometimes they refuse to take naps. I still make them have an hour or two of quiet time in their rooms. They need time to unwind and relax their minds. Usually they become very agitated by the evening without a nap, so I rarely let them skip it. I continue to keep my normal routine of naps after they have been up at least 4 hours.

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You've gotten lots of good advice. I'll throw in my 2 cents, my son will be 3 the end of April. He hasn't taken regular naps for at least 6 months. I used to fight him but now unless he's unbearable I let him be and he's been going to bed at 8pm and sleeping until about 6:30-7am. Before it was bed later and up at the same time.

Good luck!

I used the "Healthy Sleep, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. When I first read the book, I thought he sounded a little harsh, but when I tried his suggestions, it has worked miracles for us. Try it and see what you think.

T., I went through this exact situation with my daughter at 25/26 months. The solution? I moved her to her big girl bed, and we haven't had any more problems with her not napping (she turns 3 years old in 2 weeks). I guess she was just trying to tell me she was ready for more space. You might consider trying the move to his big boy bed NOW, especially if he is jumping out of his crib. He's trying to tell you something. Good luck.

I am a 40 year old with 3 boys:11,10 and 8. My 11 year old stopped taking naps at around 2 years old. I tried and tried to get him to take naps. I realized he was done with naps. He just doesn't require a lot of sleep. He can stay up until about 2-3am and still be up and ready to go at 7:00, 8 at the latest. Now my middle son always took naps. If he was tired, he would go to sleep. He needed naps. And to this day, if he's tired he will just get in his bed and go to sleep. I hope this helps some.

Hi T....my daughter went through a period where we thought she was going to just stop taking naps, too. There was a rough period where it seemed a battle to get her to sleep! I do remember that we started having my husband put her down for her nap for a period of time which helped a great deal---but I know that isn't feasible in most cases. We did stay very consistent about her naptime, and really worked on keeping that routine of lunch, a little play, then nap very consistent---we insisted that she stay in her room and rest, even if she didn't sleep. However, there were times when we insisted on the nap, even if it was later than usual. There were some odd times when she would nap, starting at 2:00 or 3:00. It was a struggle for awhile, but eventually, she started taking consistent naps again. She definitely still needs them at 2 1/2, so I suspect your son does as well!

I wish you well on this...hang in there...it's a challenging time of the newly "independent" toddler!

Some children simply do not nap. My niece was and is like that. You may need to adjust your paradigm and create what's called quiet time, when you child knows that for an hour or forty-five minutes they have to rest while looking at a book or listening to soft music. Though we don't admit it, we look at this nap period as our break. Nothing wrong with using the quiet time to read a chapter of a book, have a cup of tea and listen to your own soft music, just recognize that your child is awake and you do have to keep at least one eye and ear out. But you are creating a frustration for you both by trying to force napping.

My son has been doing this for several months, he is 31 months, he naps about every other day, sometimes every day, sometimes every third. He usually is hard to put to bed at night, and he often doesn't crash out until 4 pm or so. It is a phase before giving up the nap entirely. My other son took late naps at the age of 3.

Just make him have "quiet time" in his room for an hour...then if later in the day he is cranky and you need a time out from him, re-visit with another "quiet time" period.