25 Month Old Son Won't Take a Nap

My 2.5 yo goes through phases like this every few months. They usually last about a week, then he's back to napping. Keep putting him down as usual. One of these days, he'll surprise you and be back to the great napper that he used to be!

Both my kids stopped napping just over 2 years old. (They are 7 and 4 now). I fought them each for several weeks, but then had to give up. I was able to put them down for the night about an hour earlier and they still slept until the same time in the morning. Losing naptime is really, really tough!

If you feel sure he needs the nap, you may have to sit with him and help him to be quiet, both in the sense of not talking, and in the sense of keeping his body still and quiet. Darken the room. Put on some soothing music. Sit next to him. Possibly pat his back or rub his hands or feet.. whatever seems to sooth him. I find often that just putting my hand on the childs chest or tummy helps them to lie still. Quietly instruct him to be still and relax. Don't tell him to go to sleep. For some reason the words "sleep" or "nap" seem to make a child more determined to stay awake. Instead, use the word "rest". That connotates simply lying still for a while and resting without sleep. If the child needs the sleep, being still and quiet for ten minutes usually lulls them off to dreamland. One warning though! This routine may put you to sleep too.

The fact that he's suddenly made his change suggests to me that it's a phase. My daughter went through lots of these phases. She dropped her naps at about 3.5 years old (just a few months ago) but there were many weeks where she wouldn't nap as she went through developmental milestones or whatever.
I would continue to put him down for nap time or quiet time or whatever. My daughter still has quiet time and it does recharge her to play quietly by herself, even if she doesn't sleep. And you probably still really need the break.
On the positive side, it might mean that your son is a great nighttime sleeper. My daughter sleeps like a rock each night for 11 hours, waking maybe once a week for a minor reason. We just went on vacation together and all slept in the same room and I was amazed at the depth and purity of her sleep, despite her 8 month old baby brother's wakings and crying.
Keep up the good work. He's most likely not ready.
Oh, I used to put her in the car and drive around when I got desperate for her to sleep and for a break myself.

My younger daughter did this. I could tell that she was sleepy, but able to fight sleep forever! That is until I made her close her eyes. Put her in her bed and told her she needed to close her eyes because it was nap time. I would stay next to her bed and make sure she didn't open them. She would fall asleep within 10 mins every day! She continued to nap for over an hour until she was 4.

If this doesn't work, you should still enforce quiet time. Kids this young need a break during the day and so do you. If he doesn't sleep, fine, but he stays in bed for 2 hours. It will help to recharge his batteries and make for much more pleasant evenings and an easier time putting him down at night. It is harder for kids to fall asleep if they are over-tired.

Stick to it and be brave. Rest time is best for him whether he knows it or not. :)

G., I think its great that he has taken one this long! None of mine did at that age on a regula basis and even our 14 month old grandchild out 2 about the same age has given it up for a earlier bed time( which makes her mom crazy)
You may not be ready but it seems that he is-- that doesn't mean you can't teach him to have quiet time. We have that time for special music videos, planet earth, or veggie tales and while they are interested in that I can get things done. Good Luck

Hello G.,

Change is the only constant when it comes to Kids- Your son is going thru a change in routine, seems like he might be one of those kids who doesnt need as much sleep as other children his age.

May be he is going thru a phase, and its an adjustment for you as well. Go with the flow. and take one day at a time. Hope he's healthy otherwise and his eating habbits, mood, energy level is not effected.

PS: Is he playing actively at the park? Climbing, running, playing with ball? May be you can enroll him in a swim class or some other activity that will help him be more tired so he will want to rest naturally after it.

Hang in there in the meantime.

N.

We all fall into this same trap at some point. We start being the fussy ones. Just remember: You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. You can't make a person sleep either, but you can make that "quiet time" and start taking care of your own needs. Put a few quiet toys or picture books in his crib, WHEN YOU NEED A NAP and tell him it's quiet time, and he can take a nap or play quietly.

If he can't or won't play quietly, you've got to try to insulate out sound or get a white noise machine or ear plugs for yourself or a sitter. A sitter would probably be best so that he's supervised and maybe even out of the house during your nap time.

Don't worry so much. He'll eat and sleep when he needs it.

I've found with my 20 month old that I have to actual put him to sleep for a nap or he will just play around in his crib forever. At bedtime we can leave him and he will go to sleep by himself though, its just impossible for him to get a nap unless he is soothed to sleep by me. They get so easily distracted and don't want to miss out on anything, so they need to be soothed to sleep. If I try to just put him down and say "night night" he will pop up the second I leave and play for hours. Can you stay with him and sing to him, pat him down or do something else to soothe him to sleep?

My son did the same things at 26 months, and I was SO NOT READY for him to give them up!!!! However, instead of the battle that ensued when I announced nap time, I just let it go and put him to bed an hour earlier at night. Happily, we've been on this schedule for almost 2 years, and it's worked great for us! (for the most part... there are still days, especially since my daughter was born 9mo ago, that I wish he napped, so *I* could.....)

I think maybe nap time is over. My son stopped napping at about 18 months. I continued to put him in the crib for a nap for months and months but he would never fall asleep. He would stay away like your son, the entire time. I just kept doing it even though he never fell asleep. It still gave me time alone or time to get things done I would have normally been doing during nap time.