Advice on My 2 Year Old Who Will Not Nap

My two daughters both stopped napping at two, unfortunately. I tried and tried everything, but it got to the point that if they did sleep they would be up all night. The downfall to not napping was crankiness, but I found that quiet time helped cope with those times and got us through to bed time.

I would adjust the time. My little girl (27 months) used to go down around 12:30 now she goes down around 1:30 or 2. Your child just might not need the nap either. It all depends on the child, but if you feel she needs the nap and she's not taking it at least make her lay in her crib for quiet time. She may get bored and fall asleep.

Hi J.,
My daughter is 2 1/2 and went through that stage...I knew she needed the nap, because it would surface around 4:30p.m. if she didn't get one! I personally think it is because this is the age that they realize that there are alot of more fun things going on and they want to be a part of that!

You just have to be consistant and don't give in...if you want her to nap..I would tell my daughter that I am not going back in until she takes a little snooze...I just told her that she can cry if she wants, but that I will come and get her when it is time to get up..I do read a few books before nap and get her room pretty dark, and I too use a sound machine(white noise), but I have used that ever since she was a colicy infant...it just helps her relax and go to sleep.
There are days that she fights it, but I don't get her up until the time that I want her to rest has gone by...and then it is an early bedtime that evening! But if she knows that you are the one in charge and she is not going to be able to get up and play..chances are this phase will pass and she will be napping again soon! God bless and good luck! M.

Dear J.,
As a mom of three kids, I have, too, experienced this frustrating phase. My advice to you is to stick with the routine and, as long as she's safe, let her hang out in her room for a while even if she doesn't sleep. Eventually, I bet that she'll resume her nap schedule--IF you maintain consistency and don't let her wear you down!
Good luck!
E.

I'm sorry to say that my second daughter did the same thing, when she was about 2 she boycotted naps. She is now 4 and honestly, hasn't taken more than 5 naps since she was 2. We did institute quiet time in the afternoon, but napping was a thing of the past at 2. Very rarely, when she's really tired, she will lay down and fall asleep.

I know with us, it was that she saw that her older sister wasn't napping and she wanted to be a part of what we were doing... Good luck!

my 3 year old is like that two. he will nap if he wants but still lays in bed. either with a toy or music or movie. but that is hes quit time and he knows he needs to stay in his room. sometimes he lays there for a couple of hours being as quit as can be. and sometimes he actully goes to sleep. all depends how active they are!!!! my daughter stopped taking naps when she was 5 as she started school. then or else she took naps or quit time up untill then. i think quit time or nap time is needed for little ones. or for me they get to crabby!!!! good luck

i to have a 28 month old child... alittle girl and i have her go for naps at 2:00 and she tends to sleep till 4:00. lately she has had some issues with sleeping...i tried putting a fan in her room. it gives her the sound of something other then slience and it also makes things i have hanging from her walls move...she tends to fouce on those things..and not about sleeping. in doing so she falls asleep within 30 mins. just something that i read helps so i tried it..and it has cont. to work as of late.

A.
sahm of 3 girls

My girs are the same age....my trick for the little one is to go for a car ride and then turn right around when she falls asleep and carry her into her room...she also just recently is in a big girl bed due to climbling out of crib:) I figure she will eventually get back into her nap rountine, this is just a blip!

Hey J.! I was wondering what time your daughter gets up in the morning? Depending on the time she gets up, you might have to adjust her nap to earlier or later. Also, what is the atmosphere like in her room? My son, who is 3, still takes a nap and the room semi-dark and he sleeps with a sound machine on. A fan, one she can't get her fingers into, or a radio works well too. I personally think that at her age she should still be taking one nap a day. Even if it is for an hour, your little one needs the "break" during the day to refuel!! Good luck and let me know!!

My daughter is the same way. Shortly before she turned two I when it started. Sometimes she would nap and sometimes not. When she does nap for me it is usally 2:30-3:00 and used to be 12:30. She still naps at 12:30-1 at daycare twice a week.
It doesn't bother me. She still goes to bed around 9 with or without a nap. When she doesn't nap she isn't a bear that evening either. I just think she doesn't need to nap. She has always been ahead of the game when it comes to no naps. She stopped her am nap before her friends her age.
I wouldn't worry about it. If you child is a bear to live with in the evening of no naps, they maybe still need one. Try a later time of day.

I have a three year old daughter who still needs a nap each afternoon although she certainly doesn't think so! I make sure she is really active in the morning - making time for some sort of running, climbing, etc. I don't 'make' her sleep, however, she knows she is expected to have 'quiet time' where she stays in her bed, talks, 'reads' and rests. I can tell she still needs a nap because if she doesn't sleep and we drive somewhere anytime after 3:00 - she falls asleep in the car!

Both of my kids stopped napping around 2. The doc said that they just dont need it. So instead we do rest time during the day. We will sit for about an hout and watch a movie or something to make them calm down and rest their bodies.

My oldest child, now 3 1/2, stopped napping around that time as well. I really doubt there is much you can do other than look at the positives, she'll probably go down faster at bedtime now! I have a 28 month old who still naps-they have totally different sleeping habits. Every child is different.

Good luck!

my son who is now 3 used to fight naptime with all his might.
it may sound odd, but I would let him lay on the living room floor with his blanket and watch something I knew he had no interest in. (usually the cooking channel). a few minutes of laying still and watching, he was out cold. now when he gets really tired.(either bed or nap) he'll tell me he wants to watch cooking.

My son was the same at that age. I think it was a combination of getting older and of being able to do more before becoming tired. His usual 2 1/2 hour nap (1-3:30) went down to 1 1/2 hours (4-5:30). I started taking him to the park more to make sure he was getting enough physical activity, and that lenghthened his naps a bit, but other than that, he just seemed to be growing out of the "long nap" phase. He continued to take afternoon naps till he was about 4 years old, though.

If after a few weeks she's still not sleeping, I'd talk to your doctor, sometimes lack of sleep will actually cause kids not to nap (which seems weird, since you'd think they'd nap MORE, but sleep deprivation makes the body act weird). Every child is different, but I agree, I think 2 years old is too young to start staying up all day.

I worked at a in home daycare as a assistant and this it what I noticed. If your daughter eats breakfast between 7-9am try and do lunch between 11-12:30 and then nap time is really good at about 1pm until 3pm.. If the kids were playing indoors and doing activities like puzzles, and watching tv, or coloring they were all horrible with naps and most were 2yrs.old. If we took them OUTSIDE for one hour, and played or went on a walk they took the BEST NAPS. That makes a world of a difference. My daughter is now 5 and stopped taking naps I'm a SAHM if she doesn't go outside and play she get's very very hyper and wild and bounces off the walls I always encourage outside play or walks. It makes my child normal and well behaved. If it's a rainy day and were stuck inside she will go nuts and not even be tired at bedtime. So my advise make sure your daughter get's physical somehow, outside play, walks, something other than sit down quiet activities if she still won't take a nap than I'd say it's odd but she outgrew needing one. Sometimes in the winter or in rain at the daycare we could tell the kids to run around the fenced in yard so many times it was a game to them and that helped too. I'd say who can run around the fastest they just needed to burn energy. They would come back in the house and be more relaxed and not fighting or bored.