Can a 23 Month Old Have Outgrown Her Naps?

Updated on October 24, 2009
G.T. asks from Canton, MA
5 answers

Hi all. My 23 mos old DD has been protesting her naps longer and longer each day, and over the last 2 days barely napped at all. Today she has been playing in her crib for nearly an hour and a half before finally falling asleep. I only plan on letting her nap one hour as I want to preserve bedtime. Not sure what I should be doing here?

How do I handle this? Change her bedtime earlier on the days she does not nap? Obviously she plays harder some days than others, so perhaps only some days she will nap and others she will not?

It just seems early to have outgrown her naps, but she outgrew 2 naps at a very young age too.

I plan on leaving her there for quiet time anyways. She is not complaining....

Any thoughts? Anyone else deal with a toddler who gave up naps early?

The only new thing is I allow her to now take stuffed animals into her crib with her as she has asked for it. I am not sure that this would disrupt her sleep that much?

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B.G.

answers from Boston on

HI G.,
My little guy (now 5) gave up his nap very early at about 20 months. Believe me, I fought it for a while, but finally realized he was done with naps. My pediatrician said it was perfectly fine to leave him in the crib awake, but for no more than 1 hour. That time alone is great for teaching kids how to play on their own. The transition to no nap was harder for me, but that quiet time after lunch always helped. You do get used to not having that time for yourself and all that time the baby has alone in the crib will allow her to play independently so you can get some chores done.

Hope this helps. Good luck!
B.

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D.P.

answers from Boston on

Hi G., My 23 month old is going through the same thing right now. She naps some days, completely refuses others. I'm pregnant and I really need her to nap, but many days I have no luck getting her down. Tiring her out at the playground works sometimes but if she gets too stimulated, she won't go down because she's overtired. The delicate balance is tough to figure out and useless on bad weather days. I have no great advice, just commiseration to offer.

S.K.

answers from Boston on

my daughter is 3 and is compeletly done with naps!......i still try to get her to do queit time, esp. if i can time it with my 1 year old's naps... so i can get some time myself.

as long as she's quiet i'd leave her in there for quiet time. if she does fall asleep i wouldn't let her go longer than 2 hours or 4PM what ever comes first. and my daughter goes to bed at 8.

now that she's not napping we try to get her in bed by 7:30....and going to bed she'll bable for up to an hour before she actually falls asleep.... some days she sleeps til 9am... other days she 's up at 7... it's very varied... but we also got rid of the bink in august, we're also potty training, and she's going to preschool 2 days a week now.

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L.Z.

answers from Boston on

Hi G.! It is at this age when they finally get a sense that the world around them is still happening and they are in their room, not a part of it... it is so hard for the parents, I hear you! My oldest outgrew naps WAY too young (a little over age 2) unless we were in the car, which was frustrating to me because of the whole question of trying to move her once we got home, etc. I don't think there is anything else you can/should do, except to tell her it's "quiet time" when you put her down, give her an animal or two and let her play, then hope she falls asleep on her own. My youngest is doing this now when we are home on weekends (she is a little over age 2) and sometimes she cries until I go up and soothe her a little, and I keep telling her that she doesn't have to sleep but she does need quiet time. She always ends up falling asleep! I do try NOT to let her sleep too late in the day because of the bedtime factor, but I don't know how your daughter is about being woken up from time to time. It's tough to do and you don't want a crankier kid than you had before the nap! Stick with the routine and the bedtime schedule, even if she does not nap or naps a little later one day. It's better than winging it every day, in my opinion. Good luck!

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C.D.

answers from Boston on

hi G.. i have 4 children, one who is 19 months, and all except for one out grew their naps between the ages of 15-20 months and nomatter how hard i tried, itjust wouldn't work. so i started quiet time each day with either a book, or some paper and crayons etc and that has helped them to relax and settle during the day. my pediatrician tild me it is very normal :)

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