Naptime Battle

Try reading to him when you lay him down. If he is really tired he will fall asleep while being read to. Problem solved.

I did the same thing w/ my boy. Looking back I wonder why? Why did I waste all that time fighting? Maybe you just need to start letting go of "nap time". Maybe try some quiet time for him in his room instead of making him take an official nap. Give a quiet activity for him to do alone for 20 minutes. Or lay w/ him and read a book. Of course, you may have to make bedtime at night a little earlier than usual. I know you may not want to miss out on that 2-3 hour break, but... he may just be done with nap time as you know it. Good Luck!

Oh I remember B.. Stick with it. Our son is 7 now and Daughter 4. They both still nap about two hours everyday. It is totally worth the effort. I laid with them until they fall asleep. I don't have to do that anymore. I remember our son went through a time it was such a huge battle. Alot of the time he had to go to the bathroom and once he did he would calm down. He could communicated that. Reading is also helpful. Best a luck. Stick with it. It makes our home a happy time when Daddy comes come vs. witching hour. Worth the effort. Children need to regroup, nap, rest, build brain power. It does not affect what time they go to bed at night ever. It is a totally different sleep I read. Good luck.

In general, most child experts say that a child isn't usually completely emotionally ready for a toddler bed until age 3... of course that's not to say that there aren't exceptions or that your son didn't transfer easily at bedtime but he may just not be ready for it at naptime. It may seem odd to us as adults, but for a 28 month old daytime is clearly different than bedtime at night. To make matters worse, it has become a battle between him and you, resulting in even more anxiety and frustration with the transition at nap. He's still only 2 and his actions are based on emotion and development...so his crying and destructiveness is definately telling you that he isn't ready during the day. He is getting very stressed at the change and the battle....

Can you let him have his crib back for naps? Can you turn naps into something fun/positive to change the tone? Maybe have a fun 'nap pillow' that he gets to use for naps only (one with a special cool pillow case), turning on special nap music...etc. Be creative :-) Hang in there for him and good luck :-)

due to the birth of my daughter, I had to transition my son to a bed at 27 months. At 27 months he completely gave up naps! For me it was not worth fighting over. But.. he was washed and in bed at 7pm and slept thru to 7am. On rare occasions (driving etc.) he would drift off for a while but not daily. some kids just give up sooner rather than later.

do you have a pack and play? he might have to take his naps in that so that he cannot get out. Continue to work on naptime. all babies need naps and it will give you time to do things around the house.

He is playing you. Keep hauling him back to bed without saying anything until he stays. He will eventually cry, and then finally stay. It took my daughter 87 times for ONE nap when we first started!! It was miserable, but the outcome was fantastic. If he does fine for grandma/grandpa, it's clear he knows YOU will cave in and pander to him (hold him, let him get up, etc.). Be clear with him before naptime and say "today, you are taking a nap. I am not letting you up from bed until you have fallen asleep. Just like at Grandma's house." He is old enough to understand your every word. Good luck. Remind yourself you're working for HIS good as you keep dragging him back to bed.

God bless you. Melissa O'B

I wish I had an answer for you! My son just moved into his big boy bed a few weeks ago, he is now 3 as well. He has yet to take a nap in it! bedtime is fine, he doesn't get up and has never gotten out in the middle of the night, he sleeps just like he always has. However, he on the other hand is fine without the nap as long as he gets to chill out. I don't plan anything active during the late afternoon and I just have him watch TV and lay on the couch with me. This down time is all he needs and it actually works better for me because then I get him down for bed by 8pm and my hubby and I have the night to ourselves. We just took a nap for the first time yesterday because I knew he needed one very badly. So we all took a nap in our bed together, that is the first time he has ever slept in our bed! I'm not going to do this every day on the weekends, just when I know he desperately needs it. It still took him close to 30 minutes to fall asleep that way! I would love to hear other responses!

Our angel gave up naps at about that age too! Nothing much we can do except drive for an hour to get her to sleep and gas cost too much for that! We adjusted her sleep time earlier and just deal with the cranky's around 3:30/4 each day. Hope you have better luck!
J.

Be consistent returning him to his bed, no matter how many times it takes. I know it is aggravating, not to mention exasparating. Do not talk to him or pick him up when you do. Just take him by the hand and walk him back to bed. You can add one sentence, such as "its time for a nap" but that is it. You do not want him thinking it is a game.
Been there, best wishes