I have a 21m old son. He was taking 2 naps a day (one at 10:30 for about 1 1/2 hrs and 1 at 3:30 for about an hour) and was a very happy boy...that is up until he was 15m and my mom thought it was Horrible that he "slept all day" so I started the transition to just a nap 1 time a day and hoping that he would just take a Longer nap. Well he is 21m now and goes down for his nap right after lunch (usually has to eat around 11:00 because he starts getting very sleepy and fussy) but very rarly sleeps more than 1hr sometimes 1 1/2 hrs. By 3:30 he is DONE for the day. I can't do anything. He literally screams from 3:00 until he crashes out at 7:00. He needs a 2nd nap desperatly but now I can't get him back to his old schedule. I rock him pat him... nothing works. I am desperate for any advice! Thanks
Denise, I totally agree just got tired of argueing! The Problem with him going down later is we have to be up super early every day, like around 6:30-7:30 so by Noon he is so sleepy. He goes right to sleep and if I get him down later he starts getting extremly figgity and fights his nap and if we ever try to put him down later he fights hard core and just wont go to sleep at all then is ready for bed by 5:30. Doesn't work AT ALL. He did GREAT with his 2 short naps but I can not get him back to taking that schedule because now he is used to going down later than 10:30. I am Kicking myself for ever changing it. I just got so tired of catching all the flack.
I would try to keep him busier in the mornings so he can go down for his nap later. Most kids around that age go down for their nap after lunch, around 1 or 1:30. Then, he would sleep until 3 or so, which would help.
This too shall pass...
The sleepier a child is the less they sleep and the harder it is to put them to sleep! Go back to your old schedule if you can. Sometimes moms have great advice and sometimes the advice just isn't right for your kids. If his nap schedule was working before then there was no need to change it. If it's not broke why fix it. My son is 3 and still takes an afternoon nap. If he doesn't Lord help me! Ive had many people tell me that his nap is way to late in the day (3-6pm) but it works perfect for him and me. It gives him enough time to burn off the energy from lunch and it gives me a relaxing break. When he wakes up at 6 my husband is just getting home so they get play time until 7 which is dinner time! Every family and child is different you have to do what works for you!
An earlier bedtime might have him sleep in longer in the morning, then he might be able to stay up til 1 or so....
We all know an overly tired kid doesn't sleep as well, so maybe try that.
How in the HECK did you mom get "sleeps all day" from 2-1/2 hrs total naps in a day? Maybe he can stay there til she gets him straightened out? ;)
By 21 months, my daughter was down to one nap but I think yours is too early to help through the afternoon. You don't say what his schedule is like but here is what worked for our daughter:
Breakfast around 8 am, snack around 10:30 am, lunch around 12:30 pm, nap from about 1 pm until she woke (typically 2:30 or so), then a snack. That made for a better evening and then after dinner we did bath and bedtime. It won't work overnigt.
My little one is 21 mos as well and the late afternoons are rough. Due to older siblings school and preschool, some days she's napping at 11:30 and other days I have to push it until 2ish. The days she doesn't get a good nap, she's clingy, irritable until bedtime (since we're up each morning by 6:30am)....which makes it tough to get dinner made, homework, baths, etc.
Offering snacks seems to help BUT the 2 hour nap TRULY is essential. We try to catch up on the weekends by making sure we're home for her nap :)
Hang in there!
Updated
My little one is 21 mos as well and the late afternoons are rough. Due to older siblings school and preschool, some days she's napping at 11:30 and other days I have to push it until 2ish. The days she doesn't get a good nap, she's clingy, irritable until bedtime (since we're up each morning by 6:30am)....which makes it tough to get dinner made, homework, baths, etc.
Offering snacks seems to help BUT the 2 hour nap TRULY is essential. We try to catch up on the weekends by making sure we're home for her nap :)
Hang in there!
Obviously you have given him enough time trying the one nap a day and it's just not working for him. Poor little guy. Try moving his nap time back 5 minutes each day until you get back to his original schedule of 10:30. Then hopefully he'll take the second nap again. A child his age should be napping at least two hours - who cares if it's in two different naps. Each child is different and hopefully you can get back to what worked for him!! Good luck!
He's really too old to be taking two naps. Toddlers his age in child care go down around 11:30 and get up around 2:30 or a bit later. He'll get used to the new schedule eventually.
To me is seems he is at that age where little ones go from looking like a toddler to a preschooler. So he is having a major growth spurt plus his schedule changed. He'll come out of this by the time he's 2. You can google "how many hours of sleep does my 21 month old need?" and you'll get lots of good information.
Poor little guy and poor mama. Don't you just love the uneducated opinions of grandparents? My mom does the same thing and makes me second guess my parenting. This should ease up in time. I would put him down by 5 or 5:30 for the night. I've done this with both my kids and they sleep through the night just fine. Good luck!
Sounds like he's overly tired by the time he takes his first nap. It's a really hard transition! I'm sort of in the same boat with my 3 year old...he needs to nap at least every other day, but sometimes it just doesn't happen and he's miserable at night! My advice would be to do lunch even earlier (maybe even 10:30) and let him nap earlier (maybe starting at 11:00-11:15), and then see if that helps. You can always give him a snack when he wakes up to hold him off until dinner time, but maybe if he starts earlier, he'll sleep longer.
