|
|
| Kim I also have a 2 1/2 year old, Allen, who has never been a great sleeper but he is also bucking naps and sometimes only naps for a half hour or so, instead of the two he should. This is very difficult on everyone because he is up at 5:30 in the morning no matter what day it is and by the time it is 5 p.m. (3 hours before bed) he is miserable and making everyone else miserable. What I have been doing (and some days it works and some days not) is moved his nap time from 12 until 2 and then he must lay in his bed (whetherhe sleeps or not is up to him) for atleast an hour. This way if he doesn;t sleep it atleast gives him a solid rest and me a break. Most days he will go to sleep but I never let him up before the hour (even if he is upset).. I also follow the supper nanny bedtime routine when it comes to the nap time so that I do not get too upset if he is giving me a hard time. Good luck. |
| posted by Kyleen on 07/21/2008 03:41 PM
|
|
|
|
|
| Is your son in a toddler bed. Abby is still in her crib. She hasn't tried to climb out yet. My mother in law thinks I should put her in a big girl bed. But then I know that will make the naps even harder. Is she too old for the crib? |
| posted by kim on 07/21/2008 07:25 PM
|
|
|
|
|
| My daughter is almost 2 and she naps great! I put her down at around noon, then again at 4:30 or so, then she goes to bed at 7 and cries! I don't know if she is getting too much sleep during the day and that's why she cries or something else. I think at around that age, all kids are resisting naps. Hey, there's better things to be doing when you're a kid, right? |
| posted by Tina on 07/21/2008 09:18 PM
|
|
|
|
|
| your very lucky!! I feel bad putting her to bed too early when she naps because she doesn't seem tired. Since we moved we've been alittle relaxed with bedtime. We need to get back on schedule. |
| posted by kim on 07/21/2008 10:55 PM
|
|
|
|
|
| Oh my gosh I feel for you, because I know you need a break during the day. My son is a pretty good napper. I have a friend who's son has never been a good napper. She started making him lay in the bed at the same time everyday, some days he falls asleep and other days he just lays there but he knows its time to lay down and rest if nothing else. If my son doesn't take a nap he would be wanting to go to sleep at 5 p.m. and we can't have that. I think 2 1/2 is not old enough to be out of naps, she still needs her rest, just don't give her an option, maybe after a few days of laying her down she may suprise you and start napping, she must be really tired by early evening and if that's the case then that probably means she needed a nap. Give it a shot, good luck. |
| posted by amy on 07/21/2008 11:02 PM
|
|
|
|
|
| My 2 year old is the same way. She has been trying to fight naps and when she doesn't get one she is one miserable little girl. She's lucky she's cute. Anyways, I usually give her a book to "Read" while she's playing in bed and she eventually falls asleep. Somtimes I do have to keep redirecting her to her bed to take a nap though. There are days when she absolutely REFUSES to nap though and that's one hectic day when it gets to about 6pm. Good luck and I would just try to put your foot down with the naps. Our doc told us she should be takin a nap until she's about 4-5 but some do grow out of them sooner. |
| posted by Crystal on 08/06/2008 03:37 PM
|
|
|
|
|
| I'm going to try giving her a book. That's a good idea. The good thinng is she still is in her crib and doesn't try to climb out yet. When she does nap she wants to sleep for 3 hrs. I feel bad waking her up b/c she must need the rest. but then bedtime gets pushed back. When your little one doesn't nap what time do you put her down for the night. |
| posted by kim on 08/06/2008 03:58 PM
|
|
|
|
|
When my daughter doesn't nap during the day, we are all at our wits end by the late afternoon.
And if we have something planned for later in the day it never fails that she will fall asleep in the car on the way there and be crabby when we arrive.
We've decided that if it's obvious she needs a nap and totally refuses to go lay down, we will "go exploring". This means we put her in the car knowing full well she is going to fall asleep and drive until she nods off. We'll usually keep driving for a half hour, then go home and put her in bed. Or we stop and my husband will run into the store and I'll wait in the car with the sleeping kids.
It's not a great habit to get into, but it works and sometimes it's all we can do! |
| posted by Jen on 08/06/2008 04:29 PM
|
|
|
|
|
| I put or 3 and 2 year olds down for 1 nap at 1pm. We eat lunch at 12pm. If they don't get naps they have major melt downs. But they do fight some days even taking one. Now our 1 year old is trying to transition from 2 naps to 1 nap, but some days he just needs both. My older boys are in bunk beds and the little one is on a crib still. We also have a little one due in Oct. So we have a real full house as you can tell. |
| posted by Lisa on 08/21/2008 12:42 PM
|
|
|
|
|
My 3.5 & 2 y.o. have been refusing to nap & go to bed at night. My solution: a loud, digital timer! Not the egg/dial timers, it must have a LONG, LOUD alarm (otherwise they "don't hear it" amoungst their playing or whining)
The girls still need naps in order to avoid ugly evenings, but they hate to miss any of the afternoon fun. I explain to them that this is their warning, when they hear the 'beep beep' they have to lay down. That way they have a concept of time, instead of me just telling them, "it's bedtime SOON" and them not having any clue of the meaning. They even get excited about taking turns pressing the on-button
Once in bed, my 2 yo, who's always been a good sleeper, crashes. She just needed an excuse to stop playing to give her permission to sleep. My 3.5 yo, calls for me after about 15 mins to get up. We set the timer for a reasonable time (usually 45-60 mins) so that she must lay there until it goes "beep beep" This way she gets down-time to give her a chance to sleep, if she needs it (and I get MY needed time.) Again, she gets the concept of time, that there will be an end to it.
We've also changed the name of nap to 'quiet-time' B/c this way, they know they don't HAVE to sleep, but must be quiet and lay in bed, giving them the necessary wind-down time...most of the time, this relaxes them enough that they end up falling asleep anyway! ;-]
The timer gets a lot of use & is really respected by the girls! Being toddlers, they want things yesterday, such as snacks or going outside to play. We set the timer for whatever I may need (so that I can finish up what I'm doing) and then I honor their patience for the timer when it goes off. Bath-time is another big use.
You must follow through when the timer goes off. Sometimes, I'll try to steel a few extra minutes after it's rang for myself & I'll find that the girls eventually do the same. Suddenly, they'll lolly-gag from play to their room, wanting to do just one more thing. Once we get strict again, quiet-time comes quickly & smoothly.
I know I'm winded, but for us, the structure & detail of the timer has become vital for my days to go smoothly with a 3.5, 2 & 9 mn old. Good Luck!
|
| posted by Connie on 09/22/2008 01:50 AM
|
|
|
|
|
| My daughter was 2 yrs old when she quit taking her naps. My son, thank God, is 2 1/2 and still takes 3 hour naps everyday! And he goes to bed at night around 8pm. So, it is great! Guess just depends on the kid. |
| posted by Suzanne on 09/22/2008 08:50 AM
|
|
|
|
|
| I have heard that at this age alot of kids start to fight their naps. My daughter is 2 and she goes down for nap around 11:30-12 and will sleep anywhere from 1-2 hours and then she goes to bed every night at 8 which seems to be working really well for us right now. She fought her naps for a little while but I just stayed persistant and she finally started to nap again |
| posted by Tammy on 09/22/2008 09:02 AM
|
|
|
|
|
| my son usually takes his nap at 11:30-2:30, and then goes to bed around 8pm and gets up the next morning around 6:45-7am. Except today which he is still asleep at 8:15am, but he has also been sick with pnuemonia, so I am guessing that is why he is sleeping so late. Was going to go walking this morning, but guess not now. Just going to go get his haircut this morning, sometime so he can see. |
| posted by Suzanne on 09/22/2008 09:16 AM
|
|
|
|
|
I think 2 is definitely too young to stop napping. I think for the most part, as long as you make the child lay down for at least an hour, they are going to be sleeping. I have been concerned about my 4 1/2 yr old lately b/c it seems like he is over-tired and getting really giddy and laughing a lot at bed time. So, he is getting the other children excited and it takes them a long time to wind down. Even if I take them in the room at 8pm, they usually dont fall asleep until 9 or later. I dont get it. I thought about trying to take them to bed earlier, but sometimes its just not possible. Im a working mother and we dont get home until 6 and then by the time we have dinner and clean up and take a bath, we barely get to spend any quality time together before bed.
But I definitely think at 2 1/2 your baby still needs to take a nap. |
| posted by Amy on 09/23/2008 09:47 AM
|
|
|
|
|
| When my daughter gave up her naps at 2 yrs old, she did fine. Went to sleep at night on time and was good throughout the day. But, every kid is different. If my son who is 2 1/2 doesn't take a nap he gets cranky. But, like I said every child is different. What works for one child might not work for the other. |
| posted by Suzanne on 09/23/2008 09:52 AM
|
|
|
|
|
My son is 3 and we usually put a movie on at 2pm and tell him its quiet time,he has his pillow and blanket and usually falls asleep half way thru the movie for about an hour.He always goes to bed at 8:15pm after a story and sleeps until 6:30am.Actually all of my daycare kids have quiet time in the afternoon where they either nap,watch a movie, read,colour-
anything quiet. If they don't have some quiet time they end up being grizzley bears. |
| posted by Lori on 09/23/2008 09:37 PM
|
|
|
|
|
All kids are different, some are still napping when they start Pre-K because they are used tot the routine of pre-school. Mine is now 31 months and he stopped napping about 2 monts ago. If I force him, he will go down but then he goes to bed at crazy times so I rather he doesn't nap anymore so he can be in bed by 8pm the latest. Good Luck!
Oh and yes they get crankier at times, even though they don't want to nap....it's normal even though it frustrating of us Moms. |
| posted by Haydee on 09/26/2008 09:35 AM
|
|
|
|
|
| As far as the toddler bed issue...when we decided to switch my girl to a toddler bed (she was about a month from being 2), we left a few toys in her room and thats it. Then when it comes time to nap, i put her in her bed and tell her nite-nite. Some days she will go to sleep, other days she will just play but either way it helps settle her down for the evening. Her bedtime is the same every night whether she naps or not. |
| posted by Katie on 09/28/2008 10:28 AM
|
|
|
