Can't Get My 20 Month Old to Take a Nap - Please Help...

I was a stay at home mother to my daughter, a poor sleeper who began to refuse afternoon naps at about 22 months of age. I attempted to get her to nap for a couple of weeks, then had a really, really good cry and gave up. What I found was that she was ready for bed earlier and this worked out okay for me in terms of having some time to myself. But before I discovered this I did grieve for that nap time! Good luck to you. And by the way, for as bad a sleeper as she was, she is nine years old now, we follow a nightly sleep routine, and she is now a good sleeper.

I have a 20 month old that has ALWAYS been tough to get down for a nap. Just recently, and I mean only in the past week, I started putting her in her crib with her baby dolls to play. I tell her that it is time to have the babies go night-night and give her a blanket and bottle for them. Then, I'll leave the room, but with the door open and put some mellow music on in the living room. I try to put the music on as loud as possible without it being blaring. She will get bored and call (and whine/cry a little bit) for a while, but eventually she will fall asleep.

This is a kid that would cry and scream until she threw up if I walked out of the room and left her in the crib to go to sleep at night. I don't tell her that it is nap time or that I am leaving the room for good. She can hear me in the kitchen and doing other things, so I don't think she feels like she is being left. My daughter also is about at the height limit for the crib, but I am considering getting one of those nets that goes on top. I can't trust her in her room by herself yet.

One more thought is to be sure the cord on your blinds or anything else in the room is taken care of. A friend of a friend had her three year old daughter die after getting strangled in the cord blinds. Sorry to have to mention it, but it is something I am concerned about when we do move her from the crib.

Good luck, you have a tough situation on your hands!

Congratulations J., welcome to the twos. All of my kids began refusing naps around 2. They began sleeping like rocks at night, but I couldn't get them to nap after age two unless we had a very busy day with lots of physical play and good meals.

Hi J.,
My daughter completely quit napping at 18 months. Some children just have different sleep patterns than others. If she's sleeping well at night and seems rested, I wouldn't worry about it! My daughter is now 10 years old and doing just fine. Sometimes we laugh about how when she was 2 and 3, we never had playdates in the afternoon because her friends were all asleep. So we just got more quality time together! Good luck!

i have to second (fifth?) rest time instead of nap time. my daughter lays down from 30 min to an hour. sometimes she plays or reads but she has to be horizontal and quiet. she gave up naps early but when she was transitioning sometimes she would fall asleep during quiet time. even when she didn't she seemed more rested.

J.,
I have 3 kids and all 3 have had different nap time needs and routines. You need to pick one for your daughter and stick with it. Look at the total sleep she is getting for the day....how much she is getting at night, etc. Does she need more/less sleep? What time are you trying to put her down for nap? Is it too early, too late? What is she doing before naptime? How much exercise is she getting beforehand? My 2 year old does better if she gets some good playtime in before lunch and then will go down easier if I don't put her down before 1/1:30. She has also been in a twin bed since before she was two. She gets books, stuffed animals and blankets in her bed. She has gone a couple of times not napping but I make her stay in her room for at least an hour for quiet time.

I think getting the toddler bed will be a great time to start your new "big girl" routine. talk to your daughter about rest time or quiet time. She doesn't have to go to sleep but she needs to stay in her bed or room and play quietly. Make sure her room is safe to leave her in.

My oldest use to play in her closet until she would fall asleep on her stuffed animals.

Depending on how much your daughter understands you could do a sticker reward chart for staying in her room during quiet time. I did that with #1 to stay in her bed at night.

GOod luck. I know you need her to rest. I would be prepared for the fact that she might not need the sleep, but that doesn't mean you can't have quiet time.

J.

J. I'm a grandma of 10 and the best thing for the lil ones to do isn't always sleeping at nap time.. As long as they will lay down and rest quietly..
Our lil ones here do that alot.. We usually will pop in a calmer movie or turn on the Sprout Channel on our local cable and they rest quietly..

We have a regular routine.. if your at home or at Maw Maw's at 1pm after we've had our lunch and played, everybody lays down to rest.
Doesn't matter the age.. if your home and it's time then you do so..

From my 11 yr old Grand daughter to my 1yr old Grand son they all lay down to rest at least a 1 1/2 hours.

If you are stressed out then the baby will sense this also.
just a thought.. Why not give yourself a lil break too when she lays down..
Good luck and God Bless
Amy

Hi J.. Have you read the book or even heard about Happy Baby, Healthy Sleep Habits? My daughter is now 7 months old and I had the issue that she would only nap on me, not in her crib. Well needless to say I had to nip that in the bud. I got the above mentioned book, several people on here recommended it, and it worked wonders. My daughter will go down wonderfully for her naps but I still have to soothe her at night, which I am ok with. Just reading about babies sleep cycles helps tremendously.

Good luck!

are you talking about an afternoon nap? maybe she's transitioning out of if. if so, then move her bedtime way up. could be nicer (for you) if she goes to sleep 2 hours earlier...

I know how that can be....my oldes son who is now 33, never took a nap from the time he came home from the hospital. HE slept all night long ...which was good ..but never a nap during the day . Even now, he sleeps well at night , but just is not tired or cannot sleep during the day. It sounds as though you have done everything that you should do ....maybe she is just not sleepy. It can be nerve wracking I know . I remember when my son was like 2, I tried to get him down for just a teeny nap...no doing ...he would scream until I was at the point of no return. I called the pediatrician and he asked me was he in his room..I said yes, he said is there anything in there that can hurt him...no... he told me to go outside..let him just sit in his room ...when I came back in, he was playing quietly...I was composed....and all was well...but no nap...good luck to you..:)

S.

I know 20 months seems too young to forgo naptime, but maybe it will be worth it. First off, is she taking any nap during the day? Morning or afternoon. Try cutting the morning nap out. Next question: is your daughter ready to go to bed at night and sleep through the night?
If she is fighting an afternoon nap, but goes to sleep willingly in the evening by 8:00-8:15 p.m., then that may be a trade-off. If on the other hand, she is fighting naptime & bedtime, then my suggestion would be to just be tough. We know toddlers need rest, albeit, a full 2-hour nap, or just quiet time (they still have required quiet-time in all-day kindergarten). She needs to understand this, & you need to be "the boss." Place her in her room, in her crib/bed, reassure her that you are close, leave. Let her cry for 5 minutes. Go back. Place her in her room, in her crib/bed, reassure her that you are close, leave. Let her cry for 8 minutes. Go back. Place her in her room in her crib/bed, reassure her that you are close, leave. Let her cry for 12 minutes. Do you see a pattern here? Increase the time each time. Give it a few days. It works. Same routine works at night. Good luck.