Miss No Naps

Katie, if she's 3 she's may be ready to give her naps up now. My son gave his naps up right around then but my daughter took them till she was 6! lol! It all depends on the child. Honestly imo at that age, 3, it's not worth a battle anymore.

S.

Hello,
I have a child that is three years old also. She doesn;t take many naps anymore. I leave it to her to decide whether or not she's going to take one. Only you can really decide whether or not you want to give up onnaps or not. If she is tired around dinner time, feed her and put her to bed then. Just a suggestion.

Instead of calling it nap time, how about call it rest time? Let her feel like a big girl. My son still takes naps, and we have days that he fights it and fights it. All I do, or whoever is watching him, is tell him he HAS to lay in bed for at least one hour and rest. It would be good for his eyes if he let them close so he can see better later but he doesn't HAVE to fall asleep. He normally falls asleep and we have to wake him up.
My mom use to babysit a 4 year old two years ago that refused to take his naps but would also get extremely fussy. She would set a timer and say he had to lay down until the time went off. She normally set it for like 45 minutes, and he would fall asleep and then she would just clear the timer and let him sleep. If he didn't fall asleep, at least he was resting for 45 minutes.
Just remember to stick to your guns! When it's nap time, it's naptime...she is pushing to see what she can get away with. Once she knows nap time isn't something she can get away with it will get easier again.

Sounds like your daughter is transitioning from 1 nap a day to 0 naps a day. And lemme tell ya, I despise that transition because it *is* tough - they do seem tired, but then the battle is barely worth it AND they're staying up later than their usual bedtime. This is how you know that it's likely a true transitional time - if she were tired and then went to bed at her normal time, I'd fight for the nap. But struggling so hard for the nap and *then* having to struggle with a later bedtime - when we were in this exact same position with my daughter, we did the math and found out that on days that she napped, she ended up getting overall FEWER hours of sleep due to the later bedtime.

I know every child and family is different, so don't know if this will apply to you & yours, but here's what we did:

1) "Quiet time" - reassure your daughter that she does not have to sleep, and describe (short & sweet) to your daughter that she'll have quiet time instead when she looks tired, help her recognize these signs - for example, "Honey, I see you rubbing your eyes and yawning which shows that you're a little tired. You don't have to nap or sleep! However, big girls like you do need to have some quiet time in your room for 30 minutes..." - lengthen this to 45 minutes, then an hour, and as others have suggested, provide lots of quiet things for her to do on her bed (books, stuffed animals, finger puppets, etc.).

2) ***EARLIER BEDTIME*** When they give up their naps, it's really helpful to bump the bedtime to an earlier time by at least 30 minutes to 1 hr - or even earlier if you're watching them and they show signs of being tired/sleepy. That might mean a 6:30pm bedtime for a month or 2 until that transition from 1 nap to none is complete.

Best of luck - I see that you have a little baby boy, too, which parallels our situation too! My daughter is 35 months older than my son, and it was incredibly brutal for her to drop that last, glorious afternoon nap before the baby came. For a while I thought I was going to lose my mind trying to juggle a non-napping 3 yr old and a newborn, but it does get better. :) Hang in there... this, too, shall pass!

I am having the same trouble with my son. The only difference is he will be 2 on May 29th. Nobody else has a problem getting him to sleep. He fights me when it comes to naptime and by the time he gets to sleep, my other son, who will be 1 on the 29th of this month, is waking up. Then I have the problem of keeping him away from his brother or else he wakes him up. If I figure out how to win the battle I will let u know or vice versa I hope.
Good Luck.

your lucky your lasted this long! :)

my son quit napping at about 2!! it was a very big adjustment for MOM!

as for the terrible two's, haha, mine didn't start that til 3, and he is almost 5 and it is still going strong. thank goodness for patience!

take care, and good luck!

J.

My daughter (who is now 3 1/2) gave up her naps at 18 mos. Of course, she was never one to take long naps in the first place. Her pediatrician said that some kids just don't need as much sleep. I knew she was ready to give them up, because she would come out of her room after about 20 minutes, wide awake. I would ask her if she slept at all, and she would say no.

Actually, she was going to preschool 2x per week. They had the kids nap for 2-3 hours. She did actually fall asleep there. However, those nights she was wide awake and wouldn't fall asleep til about midnight. That's how I am too. If I fall asleep during the day, I can't sleep at night.

Anyway, your daughter is probably ready to give them up. You could still provided "quiet time" during the day for her if you think she needs to rest.

Hope this helps.

My son went through the same thing at that age. He'll be five in two weeks and still takes a nap most days. Tell her she doesn't have to take a nap but must have "quiet time" on her bed for whatever amount of time you say. She doesn't have to sleep but she has to lay quietly and can have a quiet toy or book to keep her entertained - a great time for books on tape. Follow the same routine, but she might be less set against it if she knows, and you know, that she may not fall asleep. "They" recommend that a child be up from nap at least 4 hours before bedtime. So you may need to move the beginning of quiet time up a little to allow her the extra time to fall asleep, but if she doesn't, allow her to get up at the agreed upon time (say two hours, maybe depending on how long she normally sleeps) and try not to let her nap much beyond that 4 hour mark (if bedtime is 8 pm get her up by 4, etc) Other than that I can only suggest trying to wear her out more in the morning - playgrounds, story time at the library, I just signed my little ones up for gymnastics one morning a week. Try not to get too frustrated and I wouldn't give up on nap time altogether, even if she sits quietly in her room for an hour, it's good for her and you. Good luck!

My son is 4 & hasn't napped for almost a year. Every since we got our "big boy bed". I agree, it just wasn't worth the battle. He just goes to bed a little earlier. I babysit & the babies are down at about the same time & my son & I have "quiet time". It's just the 2 of us & we read or watch cartoons together. He still doesn't sleep, but we get to recharge.

Hmm... I see you also have a 3 month old, so I'm guessing you are pretty tired yourself at naptime. I have 5 children ages 4 to 11 1/2. I've been there a few times. I babysit for a 22mo. old and a 3yr. old, and I have a 5yr. and 4yr. of my own at home during naptime. Naptime is naptime for everyone. Even I sit down to rest. The house is quiet. My 5 yr. old goes right to sleep still, but my 4y. old was fighting it. My solution: Put him on the couch to "rest", while I work on the computer or watch a "boring" cooking show or the history channel. His rule is to face the back of the couch and "rest" (I use "rest" instead of "sleep"). The soft noise of the computer keys or the boredom of my t.v. shows quickly (30-40 min. later) lull him to sleep. Then I get a little peace and quiet for an hour or 2. If you doze off, it's okay. You're a mom, and we all know Moms don't sleep deeply. You'll wake up at the slightest sound. My grandmother still advises me to use naptime to get myself rested for the rest of the day.

My 4 yo daughter gave up naps at age 2! It was always a struggle for us, and I had to lay down with her. But, as another Mom suggested, I did move the bed time earlier, like to 7:00, and I found that worked better overall. I don't know what time your princess gets up, mine slept until at least 7 until lately (now she goes to bed later and gets up at 8) so she was getting almost 12 hours of sleep.
Also like other Moms said, you can make it a quiet time if you just want the break. I know several moms who do that, and the kids just have to stay in their rooms and play quietly alone for however long (2 hours for ex). Isn't this what daycares do? Maybe if she doesn't feel you are pressuring her to actually sleep she won't fight it as much. You may have to set some consequence for coming out of the room though, at first.
Now, if I think my dd needs a nap, I tell her she has to lay still and quiet for 10 min and then if she's still awake I'll let her get up. I tell her the 10 min starts when she stops fidgeting etc., so it usually takes longer than 10 min LOL. Of course, I am in the room with her. But I stick to my word and sometimes she falls asleep, sometimes she doesn't and I let her get up regardless of how grumpy or tired she seems. (but I do discipline her for whining and complaining)
Hope that helps!
Lynn

My mother-in-law had a great solution to this problem. When you put her down for a nap just tell her she can either nap or not, but she has to stay in her bed for an hour...or however long she usually naps for. That way, she has a choice, sleep won't be so traumatic for her, and typically they fall asleep from sheer boredem. Warn her that if she gets out of her bed before time is up, then you will give her a time-out and the hour starts again from the time she's done with time-out.

You might also try working out with her in the morning about an hour before you put her down for a nap. Get her nice and tired and it might end up being less of a battle. Plus, not only is it a chance to get her tired, but you're getting healthy together and bonding:)

Hi,
I hate to to be the one to tell you...3 is much more difficult than the 2 with little girls! The good news is that when they turn 4 it is smooth sailing for several years!!!

My girls are almost grown but I thought I might share with you what I did....My daughter din't think she needed naps either at that age...she might not of but I sure needed her to need one! Everyday we called it special time...like a game. We agreed she didn't have to take a nap just be quiet for 60 minutes. We set an alarm and gave her a pile of books and stuffed animals...anything she could do stay in bed. The deal was she didn't have to sleep...but 6 days out of 7 she did. And I got what I needed, a break. You have to have a consequence if she comes out of her rooom or makes noise. Just be firm and say this is the rule...and mean it!

We also used the magic lamp for bedtime (lamp on a timer) when it came on it was time to get in bed before it went off. It's amazing how much easier some things are if you can remove the conflict. Kids this age understand signals, not always reasons. The most important thing I can tell you is be consistent even if it is easier to just give in.

Good Luck!

Both my boys gave up naps around 2 1/2. I would have liked children that took naps until 4 or 5 but that is not what I got. My problem was that they would lay down for a nap no problem, it was bedtime that became a problem. It was when they weren't going to sleep until 1 AM I said "enough" (they were IN bed at 8, but wouldn't sleep until 1) So I cut out the naps and now they sleep from 8PM until 8-9AM. I don't know that my experiences really help in your situation but I found this article that might
http://www.babycenter.com/expert/toddler/toddlersleep/764...
Good luck!!

lol... I can't help but you laugh at your situation. My daughter when she was 2 1/2 didn't want to take naps anymore. It was a complete battle with her, she's now 5 and doesn't take naps at all unless she wants to. Luckily she's not that grumpy anymore. I also have a 2 yr old daughter who doesn't want to take naps either. Sometimes I will turn cartoons on and she sits on the couch and usually falls alseep at a decent time in the afternoon. There is not such thing as the "terrible two's" ending. I think they become worse at 3. The best advice I can give you in stop trying to make her take naps, when she's tired she'll eventually fall asleep. Just give her dinner a hour or so before you actually eat dinner so at least you know she's had something in her belly when she actually falls asleep. They always think they are going to miss something and I think that's the main reason they don't want to nap when they get that age. Hope this helps a little.

My son does this all the time. He's 2 1/2. we kinda "gave in" to him by letting him sleep downstairs on the couch, watching a movie or something. he's out like a light! there's no struggle at all. i think they get to a point where they know they are separate from you and with my son, he's been a little bit more insecure about this recently. my son still needs a nap though, definitely! but there are a few days where he doesn't get one.