27 Month Old Waking up Super Early!!!! Are Naps Really Over??

While I think what Love said is true, it is not true for all children and may not work for all families. My older son was going to bed at 7:30 and waking up at 5:30. We moved his bedtime to 8:30 and he slept till 7:30. With my younger son, it isn't always possible for us to put him to bed earlier. My older son has Taekwondo from 6:45-7:30 twice a week. If my husband is working that night, I have to take both kids. Also, I used to work and not get home until 5:30 or 6. I had to feed my son before he went to bed, so he couldn't go to bed before 7 or 8.

Larissa, My 7 year-old was having the same problem. We started having him read for 30 min before he went to bed. We didn't change his bedtime, we just have him get ready a little earlier and he reads for the last 30 min. Might work for your daughter. It would give you more time alone after she goes to bed, too.

Hi E.,
I HIGHLY recommend reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth for age appropriate sleep needs and schedules. Dr. Weissbluth states that the main reason for the early morning wake up is too late a bedtime. He is overtired. I would aim for a bedtime no later than 7pm, and continue his nap during the day. He needs MORE sleep, not less. Contrary to what some believe, a later bedtime doesn't make the wake up later. Quite the opposite. My daughter was going to bed no later than 6:30-6:45pm at this age and waking at 6-7am. "Sleep begets sleep" is what Dr. Weissbluth says and I have found it to be true. At 4 yrs old, my daughter no longer naps and is in bed at 6pm. Children need ALOT more sleep than many people realize.
Sincerely,
L.

i believe that sleep begets sleep, so i would try to get him to bed earlier and keep the nap. also, can you invest in some blackout curtains? i guess it is not even light out at 5, so that may not be a factor. also, if my kids get up before 730 or 8 we make them come into our bed and cuddle for more rest. it usually works and is nice morning time.

He may be getting ready to loose his nap. I know when my son was at that stage his nap needs were inconsitent at best and I didn't want to give up my afternoon break so we changed naptime to "quiet bedroom time". Each day from 1-2 my son doesn't have to take a nap if he doesn't want to, but he does have to stay in his room and play quietly. I think when we first started it I had him stay on his bed and choose a couple quiet toys/ books to play with. Once we were sure he was done with naps I let him play in his room but he has to play quietly by himself because mommy is "off duty". Once in a while I still find him curled up, taking a nap when he needs it.

Hi,
I am not sure how you feel about letting him cry but when my son used to do the same thing we did what is called sleep training. We decided what time was appropriate for him to get out of bed and would not go in his room until that time no matter what time he woke up or how much he cried. It only took a max of 1 week but now he knows and sometimes I can hear him wake up early and he just sits and plays in his crib with his toys. Hope this helps :)

My daughter (30 months) would go through phases of waking up early and then a week or two later go back to her regular wake time (6:30). She goes to bed between 7:30 and 8:00. I would try to move her bedtime back a half hour and see if that helps. My daughter still takes a nap everyday for 1 1/2 -3 hours. It seems like the longer her nap is the longer she also sleeps at night.

Contrary to what some people say, he might be ready for a shorter nap(or no nap) and a betime that is moved up a little bit. My daughter stopped napping completely by the time she waas 18 months old. EVERYONE told me she still needed her nap (I think I needed it as well!). The only time she would nap is if we were out running around all morning and she fell asleep in the car. when that did happen, betime would be terrible and we would be up til midnight! We drive to Santa Barbara almost monthly and by the time she was 2, she would stay awake the entire 5 1/2 hours we were in the car! She is now 6 and in school all day, and doesnt go to bed until 9:30, if we try to send her earlier, she is up every 10-15 min saying she can't sleep, that her bed is uncomfortable, she is too hot/cold, etc...to me, its not worth the fight.

I would pick a day that you can just see how things go and not "force" naptime and see how he does, he might fall asleep playing (then he does need the nap) or he might be ready for bed a little earlier.