More Napping Issues

I think it really depends on if she doesn't WANT to nap or doesn't NEED to nap. If she doesn't need it (and 2 seems pretty young for that, but wondering exactly how old she is) then she will not act tired/cranky in the late afternoon/early evening. And you should test this without going and keeping her busy all day to get a fair assessment.

If she just doesn't want to nap that's a different story. I agree with you that it's not right to spend an hour just to get her to sleep, but if your rocking her, giving bottles, etc etc that's really the problem. I would work on having her learn that nap time means she's left alone to go to sleep and once you fight this battle, she will learn to fall asleep quickly and it won't take an hour...but first you have to establish this pattern.

How much sleep is she getting at night? Does she have good sleep patterns established (falls asleep on her own, stays asleep, stays in her bed, etc?)

As long as she's not extremely cranky in the afternoon. A child doesn't NEED nap if they have grown out of it. My five-year-old has only just recently grown out of her naps, and my 8-year-old still sometimes needs naps (heck, I need naps, lol), but both of my nephews grew out of napping before they were 3.

I think the best litmus test for this is to see if they can go from morning to bedtime all day, with no nap whatsoever, and not be cranky in the afternoon/evening. If she doesn't get cranky/tired, then she has probably grown out of it. If she does, I say she needs one, so enforce nap time, NO bottle! Put those things in the trash!!

Good luck Mom!

Does she get out of the crib on her own? If not I would tell her it's quiet time, you and her are going to lay down, put her in the crib and leave the room. She doesn't have to go to sleep, and there's no way you can "make" a child nap. Give her quiet toys to play with and don't worry if she sleeps.

If she gets up on her own and out of the crib you could still leave her in her (childproofed) room with the door closed and a knob cover on it so she can't come out. She can play quietly and you don't have to struggle with her because like you say, it's not worth it to spend an hour trying to get her to take a nap. Up her bedtime an hour or so because in all seriousness, 9-10 hours of sleep a night isn't enough, she needs more per day. This is what I'm doing with my almost 3 year old, as the preschool he'll attend in the fall puts them down for naps/quiet time after lunch.

And you know it's time to ditch the bottle, cold-turkey works best.

My daughter was the same way. I gave up - or went for a drive... She just didnt' need them. Agree with others, see if she gets cranky.. if she does, she still needs one. Also, if she's in the crib, what if you put her in and explain it's nap time (do the night time routine) then leave the room?