Nap Time Battle!

Honestly,

Many children this age are ready to give up their afternoon naps, but need to be taught how to play quietly in their rooms by themselves. At one point my son only had his bed and his dresser in his room, the rest of the room was completely empty. As he learned how to behave during rest time he earned back some of the books and stuffed animals we had taken away. As soon as he destroyed a book or started playing really loud those items were put back into the treasure box.

We also had special toys just for nap time so he was excited to play quietly with them. But, the biggest trick with my son, I couldn't stand outside his door or even check on him, he had to learn how to sooth himself without my help or intervention. By standing in the hallway or checking on him every 15 minutes I was distracting him and providing the interaction he was looking for.

We started to get into a routine where he would cry louder and louder until I finally came and gave him the interaction he wanted, but what he really needed was a bit of a rest. So, as a mom I had to make the hard choice to tell him no, that he needed to play quietly and mommy was going to sleep. Then ignore any and all sounds coming from his room (unless he was hurt, of course). Eventually he got the idea. I was just very lucky my son was not a climber, otherwise I would have had a real problem on my hands!

Good luck!

C. J.

I'm going through this right now too. I'm hoping it's just a stage and he'll go back to naps sometime, though this "stage" has lasted a few months. After a few weeks of playing in his room and causing trouble while he was supposed to be napping, I gave up and told him he needed to stay quiet and read in his room until I came to get him. It doesn't work most of the time. He's so loud and banging in his room, he wakes his sister who does nap. Sometimes, if I lie down with him, he's out within minutes, but other times (like today), there's just no sleeping going on. It stresses me out, and I feel like I've tried a bunch of tricks to try to get him to at least be quiet in his room. I've tried bribing with a ton of different things, rewarding quiet time, getting mad and punishing when he wakes his sister (which makes for a disaster of an afternoon). I absolutely refuse to give in and let him roam the house though! It's still quiet time, whether or not he sleeps. Now, if we could get the concept of QUIET, we'd all be happier!

I have a special timer I found on e-bay several years ago. I believe they sell them in teacher stores now. If you set the timer for 15 minutes it shows red up until the 15 and the red will slowly diappear as the time elapses to zero. When my son turned two I would set the timer in his room to about 15 - 20 minutes. I told him he had to stay in his room and lay on the bed until all of the red disappeared. If he did this then he would earn a special treat. Maybe a fruit chew snack, animal crackers, time to paint, etc. Most of the time he ended up falling asleep before all of the red disappeared and took about an hour nap. If he didn't fall asleep in that time frame, then he could still earn the treat if he really did stay quietly in his room until all of the red disappeared. But, this only worked for a few months until he was just not going to nap anymore. Oh, and the timer is absolutely silent, so when all of the red disappears it doesn't ring a bell or anything. So, I didn't have to worry about the timer waking him up if he did fall asleep. Naps are tricky!

Could you just put a gate on the door and let him play? That way you get alone time, he at least gets quiet time, and he'll probably fall asleep on the floor. If that doesn't work, I'd put him to be SUPER early, like 6 or 6:30, when he doesn't get a nap. I always turn to the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" with sleep issues. Awesome resource based on research not opinions. Although, it's a little dry, so if you have problems sleeping, it might put you out too. ;)

We had lots of these issues as well. I battled it for about a year and then told my 3.5 year old that she would not have naps anymore if she could keep from whining and being naughty (repeatedly like they do when they're tired), if she showed those behaviors she'd get a nap. We've only done a few in the last few months. But yes, at 2.5 years old a nap is essential!!!!!

Best advise I have is to make the room as dark and quiet as possible. Heavy drapes to block out as much sunshine as possible and a box fan on high help keep the bedroom a sleep sanctuary. Remove all distractions from the room. And if doing this is really tough on a daily basis, consider having a nap area in a different room (we used the pack and play in our walk in closet and it worked SO WELL). When he escapes, be sure you don't give him ANY attention, don't talk or yell, just quietly put him back in bed, 50 times if you need to.

Our daughter was into destroying things during nap time, the closet was good because there wasn't anything for her to get into.

Best wishes! I know its tough, but he's trying to manipulate you, so don't give in!

I think it is a 2.5 year old thing. My son actually yelled at his daycare teacher yesterday at nap time and didn't nap! My son doesn't get out of bed because he knows that he will go back to a crib if he gets out, but he doesn't always sleep. I would just keep him in there for his nap time. I am hoping, and praying that this is a phase and when they realize that yelling and getting out of bed doesn't get them ANY attention, they may relent.