Two Year Old Avoiding Naps?

D., If he doesn't seem tired and just plays, it sounds like he's doesn't need the nap. He may be younger than average for giving up nap, but as you know, each kid is different. Also, I know when some kids give up their naps, they start by napping every other day, or going back and forth with periods of time when they do nap.

Every child is different as to their sleep requirements. All three of my kids gave up napping at around age 24 months. If he's happy playing in his crib, it won't hurt to let him and you have some quiet time.

It's not to early. My daughter gave up her nap at 22 months. It was awful for me (I needed the break), but she was fine. It was so stressful fighting with her everyday to take the nap that it wasn't worth it. She would have down time for a couple of hours, but she wouldn't sleep. Play it by ear, put him in his room & if he sleeps, great, if not than let him play by himself in his room.

My daughter stopped napping at 2 as well. We did enforce quiet time (playing quietly in her room by herself) until she was three, but she rarely fell asleep during quiet time.

If he needs to nap, he probably will. My 2 1/2 year old goes in her crib for nap everyday, sometimes she sleeps, sometimes she just rests, sometimes she plays a little.
Either way, she is knows it's rest time. I usually leave her there for 2 hours (give or take). This way, I still get a break and she still gets a rest break as well. If your son will stay in his crib, you might just leave him there and let him decide what he needs. This is also nice when you need to skip a nap, you know he can if necessary :)
Good Luck & don't worry you are doing a great job!

I can't really offer advice, but I can say I feel your pain. :) My 18 mos. old is doing the same thing. She will refuse to take her nap & just play in her crib also. She seems to go through a stretch of taking naps for a week, then one week not taking them. I guess she gets caught up on her sleep?/? Like the previous post said, I would make sure your son gets out everyday & does something to tire him out. I always leave my daughter in the crib so she at least rests if not asleep.
Good luck & hopefully their just going thru a stage & not ready to give them up completely.

sadly, it's not too early for him to be giving up naps... if he's happy to have some downtime in his crib go with it. if he naps, great, if not, you still get more than an hour to do what you need/want to do in the middle of the day.

good luck!

D.
It may be too early for you but maybe not for him. Children need a total of about 14 hours of sleep daily some need less some need more. My nephew sleeps about 12 hours total in a 24 hour period he is 20 months, my daughter (age 23 months) sleeps about 13 hours in a 24 hour period so get him outside every day for at least a half hour this will help bring on a rest/sleep time in the afternoons. Good luck!
J.

H D.:

May I ask if he is drinking too many sugar drinks an hour before the nap? If he is given anything sweet, then of course he won't take a nap. He's too sugared up. Try giving him less if this is the case. If this is not the case, then let him be. He may be ready to engage in real world activities and not feel sleepy.

The other issue is he may have more than enough sleep from nightime (10 - 12 hours an night). He is so energized that he can stay up longer now. For instance, look at the time frame between his morning wake up and the time you try to lay him down for a nap? He should have at least 7 hours awake time before he naps since he sleeps 10-12 hours a night. Therefore, if he wakes up at 7:00 a.m., he should not nap until 2:00 p.m. or maybe 3:00 p.m. and then only for 1 hour should he be allowed to sleep at the most.

Lastly, if there are other kids around who are up and about, he may be thinking they are having so much fun so why go to sleep now.