Napping Problems

At least he's not crying. The problem is the toys. With mine I would tell them they could pick a quiet toy to keep them company in bed but they could not play with anything else. So we would put all the toys away in a toy bin together which made it easier. Out of sight out of mind so to speak. If he sees them there it will be hard for him to resist. You might want to change his naptime. He may not be tired enough at that time. When our daughter turned 3 she had trouble with nap time so i adjusted it to 30 minutes later and she had no more trouble.

Stick to your guns. I have a 2 yr old and she naps in her room in her bed and doesn't get out to play with her toys. Although she has been sleeping and napping her bed since the very beginning. And we have never had to sit or lay with her to get her to go to sleep. That is a bad precedent as you are now discovering.

This will take some adjustment on his part. I say don't give in because that will just teach him that he can get his way even if you say no at first.

Good luck and don't give up!!!

One of the things I read about creating an environment for sleeping that is supposed to be very important is that the darkness level of the room should be a 10 on a level of 1-10 (10 being darkest) so if he can't see his toys, maybe he wont play with them. Also, the room he sleeps in should also have a minimal amount of toys that he has access too, especially the ones that are electronic and light up and make noise. I think if you can put up the toys and make it an environment that is similar to night time sleeping, he might not have a choice.

Stick to your guns. For my 2-yr-old, I give her a sippy of water, 2 or 3 books, and then I lay her down. If she gets out of bed, she gets a swat on the rear. I know alot of people don't believe in spanking, but if she won't stay in bed, how can I expect her to stay in a time out right then? At any rate, the books or even 1 toy may help keep him in bed, and one way or another, you are gonna have to get the point across to him that this is not negociable (sp). It may be helpful to follow a modified version of his bedtime routine, minus bath of course lol. But if you normally read him a story or say prayers, doing that before nap too may send him the message that it is time to sleep for a bit. At this age, most kids still need about 14 or so hours of sleep per day. Good Luck : ).

stick to your guns. My 3 year old tests every last hair on my head 4 out of 7 days for a nap. We've tried reading stories, we tried the gate thing but he learned to climb it, so we had to take it down. Some days he gives in and takes a nap others we too have the melt down at 5 pm. There are days where I allow him one toy he can lay with in bed. This sometimes works. But if you get any other good suggestions let me know! We need some advice also.

By all means, stick to your guns. Have you tried moving his toys out of the way/out of his reach? He's meeting you half way and knows that he's supposed to be in his room so observe for a few days. Your battle is almost over.