I all of my kids have napped for a while. My oldest and middle child stopped at 5.
I had sleeping issues with my middle son and they all tried to stop napping around 2. Honestly I believe (and still do) that they need to nap at 2-3. But my daughter is just not going to sleep. She knows her brothers are awake and just won't do it.
I have returned her to bed over and over again.
I have stayed with her and even then it takes her an hour to fall asleep and that is only after she gets in trouble for playing and usually ends in tears which just sucks.
She has been left to go to bed on her own and does it at night so I don't think that is the problem.
I have tried everything I can think of and a friend suggested I throw the question out there and see if any of you Mommies can help.
I recently skipped her nap for 3 days thinking she would be exhausted. She still fought it and for 2 days I have run her all over the park for a couple of hours before lunch. Nada.
Any advice is appreciated! Thanks :)
@Denise thanks I have tried that and she is happy as pie
@SH sounds nice but we homeschool and that is the time that I read to her brothers. On the weekends when her father takes her brothers our of the house or we are all resting she is still resistant. I have tried putting her to bed at all times between 11-2 but haven't found a time that works. Both my boys slept till 5 and there were times they were resistant and I had to lay down with them but they would go to sleep. She won't.
Is there a way to respond to these answers or does the asker just post a 'what happened'?
J.
Thanks for all the advice. I am not ready to give it up completely yet . All 3 of my kids went through this at age 2 and it was more like asserting their independence. For 2 of them it passed and they slept. I understand for her it may be different.
For a week I am just going to try a quiet time in bed lights out for an hour or two. If she still doesn't sleep (after she starts staying in bed) then we will probably just go to quiet time.
As for a control issue on my part? Maybe but I am her mother. Is it not my job to control things? She doesn't know what is best for her. Otherwise she wouldn't be sleeping and would live on "Super Why", OJ and M&M's. Plus I also said that I agree she may not need her nap. That aside I disagree with my daughter. She does need a nap, I am her mother and i am going to try to get her to nap. I am coming from the point of view of a toddler that usually gets to bed later than planned, and is starting to lay down on cart handles or just plain looks exhausted everywhere we go. That's not cool.
I would love to include her in our reading but she talks too much and the boys can't really listen or focus on what I am reading. So for now we will stick to our current plan or reading when it is quiet. She is part of our morning activities. The boys do their busy work and she does artsy things so she isn't left out completely.
I'll update everyone in a few weeks if you are interested. LOL.
This has been going on for a while now I posted this when I was at the end of my rope. Today she slept. Fingers crossed she does it again tomorrow.
J.
Can she just stay on her bed with some books or a music CD and rest? It's SOOOOO frustrating--you know they NEED a nap but they won't!
I'm sorry, but I think she's done with her nap. Every kid is different. I have a friend who's daughter gave up her nap at 18 months.
Also, fyi, the forum is not really interactive - you just post a question, get responses, and can post one follow up. There might be a way to email people individually, but I'm not sure how.
Hang in there. I'm sorry about the nap. My daughter's on the same path . . .
J.,
I know this is hard to hear, but she may have grown out of her nap. As you know, children are all unique emotionally and physically, and not every child will nap until they are 5. My oldest gave up naps very early, my youngest napped well for much longer. They are both happy healthy children. I know it cramps plans and schedules, but I don't believe you can force naps once they have outgrown them. If she doesn't have meltdowns in the evening from lack of sleep, then she may simply not need that nap anymore. I suggest you embrace her uniqueness and adapt your schedule accordingly. Maybe even include her in your sons' reading time.
Well, my kids both stopped napping by the time they were 3. It's hard. What I do is enforce a quiet time. They have to be in their rooms, doing something quiet (looking at books, playing legos, etc..) for at least 1 hour in the afternoon. Some kids just drop the nap sooner than others. It happens. Just roll with it.
Each child is different. Does she sleep well at night? I was reluctant to drop my son's nap at 2 1/2 years old too but he took forever to fall asleep and then would not be tired until 11 at night. I let him sleep as long as we wants in the morning for a total of 12-13 hours in one long stretch. As long as your daughter is getting a total of about 12 hours total then listen to her and avoid frustration.
yup. 2.5 sounds about right for both of mine. sorry!
try every other day. worked for us for awhile
Sounds like a little control issue on your part. If she doesn't need a nap then she doesn't need a nap. Simple as that.
If she can't sit quietly during reading time then obviously she needs to spend some time in her room having some time to herself.
Don't sweat the small stuff. Simple solutions to simple problems.
Like Christina M said, I just enforce quiet time. My older son gave up naps periodically starting at around 9-10mos (GASP!!). A few weeks later, he'd go back to napping again. By around 2.5-3 he'd given up the nap completely, but we still enforced quiet time in his room where he could play quietly by himself with his toys. He wasn't allowed to come out and he had to be quiet for at least one hour at a set time every day, which we followed the day care's schedule. About 1/2 the time he would nap & 1/2 the time he would just play. Even if he didn't nap, he did have the time to rest and do something quiet- he's a techno baby for sure with all the noisy, blinky toys and games, etc. Those are his favs! We explained to him that it was our quiet time too and we needed some rest. As long as the room is childproofed & safe, he will be fine.
At 5 now (6 next month), we still enforce quiet time when he's overly tired on the w/e. He actually even napped a couple weeks ago!
Here are some napping ideas in case you are still trying to figure out different techniques that may work for your daughter...good luck!
http://www.theskinnyscoop.com/search/nap?utm_campaign=the...
Maybe you should give up on the nap, and instead make her have a 'quiet time' in her room. She's old enough to understand that she has to stay in bed and either read, sleep, or do something else quietly for the hour or however long you decide.
Skip the nap entirely. BUT institute a quiet time. She obviously does not need the sleep so stop torturing yourself and her.
My boys are 13, 10, and 6 and when they are not in school, we have a quiet time EVERY DAY! That is my time to decompress. They have to be in separate rooms doing something quiet- reading, listening to music. Playing and movies are NOT allowed at this time. It is for an hour and a half or 2 hours. It is non negotiable.
Just enforce some type of rest time for her. Even if it is on the couch where you can keep an eye on her. An iPod really helped my youngest with this transition. He could have Mommy's iPod if he stayed in bed and rested (this was a real draw for him as he was the only one in the house that did not have one). Half the time he would fall asleep.
What you can do is send all 3 to rest at the same time. Tell your boys that they can rest for 30 mins- just to get their sister in the routine and take them out after 30 mins so they can do their school work.
Good Luck
She wants to stay up... because her siblings and you are, up.
At her nap times... make everything a quiet zone and a quiet time for EVERYONE... including you. Tell her that YOU are going to nap too...
that is what I do, with my kids, who do still nap.
And I do nap too.
But make everything boring and quiet at that time... and tell your older kids.... they HAVE to have quiet time, NOTHING electronic on etc.
Over-tired kids, do not nap well nor fall asleep well. Over-tiredness makes it worse... and some over-tired kids will even 'seem' more hyper. But they are tired and fighting it...
Or make her nap time a tad later... for my son who is 4... nap time is anywhere from between 1:00-3:00. And he naps for 2 or 2+ hours, everyday...and still sleeps fine at night.
all the best,
Susan
