Any Advice for My 2 Year Old Napping

Updated on February 01, 2007
T.F. asks from Albuquerque, NM
4 answers

Does anyone have any ideas that will make it easier for my 2 yr old to take a nap, she used to be very good at it, but now she just refuses. She wakes up at 8 and goes to bed at 8, and she plays hard all day long, she is tired, but does not want to take a break... Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong????

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G.S.

answers from Phoenix on

I also have a 2 year old who doesn't like naps even though he is dead tired. What I do is I feed him about an hour before nap time or right before cause it tires him out. Then I just change him and put him in his bed with his sippy cup of water. If he doesn't want to go to sleep he cries and I let him cry and eventually falls asleep. It takes about 5-10 minutes. Try that. And if it doesn't work, try giving her a warm bath. Good Luck.

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K.V.

answers from Albuquerque on

Hi T.,
I have a 29 month old. What I did is put her on the couch and started a routine. 1st we have lunch,2nd we go potty,3rd we take off shoes and get a book or put in a movie. Then after about 10-15 mins if she isn't a sleep she has to stay on the couch and be quit for 30 more min. she is out in about 5 mins after that. I also made nap time only an hour long. So I wake her up and we go to the park or something fun to get her moving. Then at night I moved her bed time back an hour. She sleeps 9pm to 7:45 or 8am. I try to get her moving before lunch and nap time. I live in ventana ranch too so if you want to wear her out in the mornings we can meet at the park or whatever.
Good luck,
Heidi

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A.W.

answers from Albuquerque on

I have had issues in the past getting my 2 year old to nap as well. It comes and goes for us. What has worked for us is this.
Always, consistently, enforce a 'quiet time' at the same time every day. This means, putting them in bed, giving them a toy or two and a couple of their favorite books. I give the toys and books so he understands that he is not required to sleep. Then I explain to him that I would like him to rest, and he is welcome to read his books or play with his toys quietly. I leave him in his bed, and shut the door. This has worked really well for us. About 3/4 of the time, he ends up asleep eventually. Even if he doesn't sleep, he still gets an hour or so of restful, quiet playtime, and is much easier to deal with the rest of the day.
Hope this proves helpful to you! Good luck!!

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R.J.

answers from Phoenix on

I couldn't agree more with Andrea. I tried forcing my son to continue to sleep during the day when he was about 2 and starting to resist nap-taking. (I was really rather panicked because my body had gotten used to the regular napping and needed the rest at that time each day and I didn't want to leave my baby alone awake while I was asleep.) Anyway, my son and I had increasing power struggles over it and I finally noticed that it wasn't worth it. So I decided we'd lie down and read together, and he would continue looking at the book or playing with a small, quiet toy while I drifted in and out, and I could still hear him if he moved. A few times I had to get up before I was well-rested, but it was worth it to be rid of the frustration and tears.

Lots of grace to you, T.. :)

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