Nap Time - Woodstock, GA

Hi I had this same problem with my daughter. A couple months after her first birthday she just quit taking naps. She was so grumpy in the evening so i just put her to bed earlier. I just let her go because i couldn't force her to go to sleep. She was even in daycare and they take 2 hr naps there and she just layed there the whole time. The only time she ever takes naps is when she is sick. Basically there is really nothing I found that got her back to taking naps, we just had to make the best of it. GOOD LUCK :)

my son is 18months old and I was having the same problem. Everytime i put him in the crib he would scream and scream and throw a fit. My doctor told me to let him cry in the crib he will eventually tire and sleep. After a few day of trying his crying time decreased and now i put him to nap after lunch he complains at the site of his crib but he falls to sleep right away.

I have a home childcare program and believe it or not I have all of my children down at the same time the ages are 9mo 20m 27m and a 4 yr old they all go down between 12:30 and 1pm the trick is very calming music that I start at the end of their lunch. This is also understood that this is the routine everyday so they have gotten used to it. Even my newest child who fell into the routine on the first day. The trick is make it routine pat his back lay with him for a while and let him know that he has to take a nap and lie down quietly. Maybe Do some busy busy dancing then lunch then Nap. I hope that helps.

Hi, I know how frustrated you must be... my oldest gave up all naps at 18 mos. I gave in too much and let her do what she wanted after we had struggled and worn ourselves out for months. What i later learned with my second is that you have to have a break... we instituted quiet time in a safe place like their bedroom. they could play queitly and alone but they could not cry or be loud and mommy was taking a quiet time too. I made sure they were well feed, clean and dry and safe in their room with books or stuffed animals. I found that sometimes they slept or sometimes they played but it took the battle away. You may have to start with small times like a 20 min quiet time and gradually increase to 1 hour. hope it helps

I don't know how much time you want to invest in this but here's what i do. My son will be 2 on thursday and I still rock him down for his nap. I rock him for maybe 20 or 30 mins and sometimes he sleeps for 2 hours. I know some people don't agree with rockin at this age but hey it works for me. GL:)

Main thing is to be consistant and make him lay down for a nap around the same time every day and when he gets up just put him back down...a playpen may even work so that he cant just get out unless hes still in crib. Just let him cry until he falls asleep for as long as it takes..shouldnt be no more than a week or so IF THAT for his body to start to want a nap during the same time each day.I had to do this my my first child who is almost 4 now and eventually he would get tired around the same time each day.

Oiy, we have the same problem in our house. My daughter will also be two in February. In August she stopped wanting to take naps (right around the time her sister made her debute). We just keep at it. I put her in her bed between 12:30 and 1:30 and she stays there until 2:30 or 3:30. She either sleeps or plays quietly. I decided she must learn to have some quite time with herself, even if she doesn't sleep. After a while she decided it was smarter to sleep, but sometimes she just plays in her crib. That is what we do and it seems to work. Good luck.

Honey, I have a two and a three year old, and they hardly ever take naps. What I generally do, is just have them have a "rest time", where I will put in a movie they like, lay them on the couch, and cover them with a light blanket. They rarely go to sleep, but it gives them a chance to rest, and me a little time to so what I need. It may take some reinforcing from you, but in time they start to look forward to it.

HI, M.!
I'VE GOT TWO CHILDREN THAT ARE OLDER BUT I DID GO THROUGH THIS AS WELL. PLUS, I WORKED WITH TWO YEAR OLDS FOR 12 YEARS. THE KEY TO THIS PROBLEM IS TO TURN THE LIGHTS OFF AND LAY HIM ON HIS TUMMY WITH HIS FAVORITE STUFFED ANIMAL AND PLAY SOFT MUSIC VERY VERY LOW. HE WILL FUSS FOR AT LEAST A FEW DAYS BUT IF YOU STAY ADAMENT AND KEEP HIS NAP TIME AT THE SAME TIME EVERYDAY HE SHOULD FALL IN LINE FOR YOU FAIRLY QUICKLY. HE IS JUST DOING HIS JOB, TRYING TO TEST WHO'S BOSS! HA! HA! I PROMISE IT DOES GET EASIER. C.

hi M., i am new here, but my daughter is going through the same thing with naps. she is 16 months and already in that "terrible two" stage. up until recently she was taking 2 naps a day. 2 hours in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon. that changed recently, so we went down to one nap a day. now she is now switching times around... sometimes she'll want one in the am and sometime in the afternoon. it is very frustration to say the least. when she doesn't want her nap she will fight it hard. she will lay down immediately and when i leave the room she gets up screaming. i let her try to cry it out, but if it goes past 20 min or it's a different cry, i get her up. if possible we go do an activity to get it out of her system. sometimes she ends up being so tired by 3/4 pm from fighting the nap and not having one, that she eventually will take one. i would try two options: set a nap time that works for your schedule. try to at least put him down at/or around that time daily. even if he plays in there, he's knows that's "nap" time. some days he may fall asleep. if he doesn't, you can get him when he cries or let him cry it out depending on your methods. if he insists on no nap, let him play till he's exhausted or unbearable (HAHA) and try to put him down later in the afternoon, even if it's only for an hour. i hope that helps. i am certainly no expert, but sometimes this works for me. i wish you luck dear.
L.

It depends on whether you're a tough mama and can handle a little crying or not. I just let mine scream until he tried himself out and after a week he knew that it was nap time and didn't fight it any longer. I'm not telling you that that week wasn't trying but it was worth it especially in the evenings he was a much nicer boy to be around!

My son will also be 2 in Feb, however, I haven't run into this problem, yet. I would suggest just letting him know that during nap time he needs to stay in his room whether he is sleeping, playing quietly or looking at books. I am a firm believer that everyone needs a little quiet time to themselves during the day including toddlers. This has worked for my son on the occassion when he has missed a nap.

Good luck.

Hey M.!

I have a 3 year old son, and he hasn't taken naps since he was 18 months old. He refused to take them. I didn't push them because he didn't get whiney or ill. The doc reccommends at least 12-14 hours of sleep daily whether he gets it all at once or including naps. My son goes to sleep at 7:30pm and gets up at 8:00am. He gets 12 hours of sleep daily. He does take a time out around 3:30 to watch a movie or a show and will usually lay down for about an hour. He doesn't sleep, but it does give him time to "recharge his batteries." LOL This seems to work for us. You have to do what works for you! Hope this helps!!