Getting a Toddler to Bed

Rather than give up the nap, I would just alter your expectations. Talk to your daughter and explain that her body needs to rest during the afternoon. I agree that running her ragged right before nap probably isn't the best idea. Maybe try that in the morning before lunch. Then after lunch have a quieter routine that leads to "rest time" tell her that she needs to stay in her room quietly...or even her bed. Let her look at books and play with a doll, but she needs to be in her bed/room. If she falls asleep great...but have a set time that rest time is over at. That way you'll stay on schedule. I would try to hang onto the nap/quiet time as long as she'll let you, especially with another little one in the house. That is valuable time! The children I nannied for in college had quiet time every afternoon until they went to school for a full day. Its a great way to establish a routine and give them time to play alone, w/o their siblings input.

This way you'll be instilling a positive way for her to get the rest she needs and even if it is just playing quietly and independently which is an important skill to develop as well. There's nothing wrong with taking a shorter nap or giving it up if your daughter is ready for it, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't rest or play independently during the day.

Good luck and keep us updated on how it goes!

Have you tried cutting her afternoon nap out? My now 4 yr old at 18 months gave up his naps but I then put him to bed earlier.......so at 8pm he is is bed and will fall asleep with in an hour and gets up about 10/11 hours later......

Wow K. I am having this problem too with my 2.5 year old boy. It's more of a problem at night though. It takes him forever to go to sleep and if I leave him alone he gets in to everything. I have to ween him from me sitting in there til he goes to sleep but trying to leave the room and put him back in bed endes up in him doing this for an hour or 2. I get so frustrated and would have written about this myself but thank you K. for writing in cause I need help too. :) Good luck to you as well.

Sounds to me like she is ready to give up her nap. My almost 18 month old did the same thing and I just gave up on her nap and it sure makes her evening bed time alot easier. She almost falls asleep immediately! It is nice, but I do miss that me time in the afternoon. I guess it's give and take lol!

Rather than run her ragged, which is probably stimulating her instead of making her sleep, I suggest a calmer routine right before bed. Sometimes when their little bodies get all worked up it is hard for it to unwind and they have too much going through their minds. Stop all physical activity an hour our so before bed time. Have a little snack and maybe a bath and then curl up and relax and listen to soothing music or read some stories. It may not work instantly but at least you are getting her into a routine of slowing down and preparing for sleep.

Hi K.!

I used to have a lot of problems with my 3 year old....the simplest solution was to skip the afternoon nap. I know that that cuts into all the personal time you can get but it worked. It's going to be a little work to make sure your 2 year old doesn't fall asleep later in the day but from what you wrote, sounds like it'll be easier than what you go through now. You might also want to try putting her to bed a little earlier to compensate...hope this helps!