Quiet Time - Hackettstown,NJ

If you don't want to tell her to stay in her bed and go to sleep then I would lay down by here and not let her sleep 'on' you as she will wake every time you lay her down. I would just put her in bed and let her cry more than 10 minutes and she will learn quickly. If you don't want to do that give her some books and a couple of toys and she'll learn to entertain herself until she falls asleep. It takes time and her catching on that you aren't going to get her up. You know she's tired if she is nodding off before bedtime.

We had this problem when my daughter was 2 years 1 month... We introduced this bunny clock (you can get it at amazon... it's by a company called kidsleep). It has two alarm settings one for nap one for wake up... you can put the bunny on the clock face to bed and then set the alarm and the bunny will "wake up" at a set time (it doesn't make a noise so your child can sleep later than the alarm). So we told her that she had to stay in bed until the bunny "woke up". It served three purposes... it took the appearance of control out of our hands (the bunny called the shots not us so to speak, so there was no one to argue with) and she knew eventually the bunny would wake up and she could get out, so she wouldn't cry when we left her in her crib for her nap, and it gave us a defined time for when we could finally get her. For about a week she just played in her crib until the bunny woke up. eventually she started falling asleep again (but naps were inconsistent). It was at least a month before she was back on a schedule. During this time we made sure she was VERY active in the morning... running at the park or going for long walks or riding her little bike so we knew she'd be tired for nap. Good luck. I remember it being very painful when she wouldn't take a nap (lots of melt downs at 5pm and very early bedtimes), so I feel your pain!

she needs that quiet time. set a kitchen timer and tell her when it goes off (an hour) she can get out of bed. a 2 year old should be able to fall asleep on her own at this point. the whole putting her down and she immediately wakes up thing sounds like you are talking about an infant, quite honestly. if she has never learned to self soothe or go to sleep on her own this could be a long struggle. but yes, she needs that quiet time. and she needs to stay in bed if she is told to stay in bed. she's not a baby any more mama! good luck!

consistency is your friend. a quiet time period in the afternoon is a good thing for all littles, whether they nap or not. you can't make a kid fall asleep, but you absolutely can and should make a mandatory quiet hour part of your schedule.
there is no try. there is only do. this tiny girl does not have the experience or authority to be ruling the family's schedule.
khairete
S.

our school district has full-day KG. For the 1st semester, the kids have a mandatory "quiet time" in the afternoon. Each child has their own sleep mat & must lay quietly for the 45minute time period. & I mean quietly. Some kids fall asleep, most do not. But regardless, the quiet time must be respected.

In order to keep kids prepared for KG, with my daycare, naptime is enforced. 99% of the time, the kids fall asleep. Out of respect for their friends, they have to be absolutely quiet. That's just how it is. They know I mean business....& the parents reinforce this for me. (& interestingly enough, most of them don't nap on the wkends & the parents always mention the need for regular naps thru the week. Ironic, huh!)

Anyway, after reading back thru a lot of your recent questions, all I can say is: you need to pick a discipline method (for example, Love & Logic or 1-2-3 Magic...which is what I use) & begin working with your child in a way which eliminates some of the issues you've been facing recently. Time to take charge! Peace to you....

Sounds as if she still needs naps whether she believes so or not, nodding off at 6:30 tells me that.

Put her to bed, don't have her fall asleep on you or Dad, she needs to learn how to do that on her own. Tell her she doesn't have to nap, but she has to stay in bed, and can play with quiet toys or look at books. Let her know that you will call her when it's time to get up. (Give her a minimum of an hour for rest.) Just enforce (meaning = be consistent) that the rule is she HAS to stay in bed for quiet time, remember, you're Mom so you set the tone. Children will learn to do things on their own when given the opportunity and it's good for them to become self-sufficient.

I've always done this with my little guy who turns 3 next month, and he'll stay contently in bed humming or playing with his bear or looking at books until I say "Time to get up!" And even when he says he doesn't want a nap most of the time he falls asleep and is happier for it ; )

Lay down on the couch or bed w/her for "quiet time".
She can have a book but it's quiet time.
Have her try & lay down next to you "just to relax".
Pick the same time every day.
Have it be a "good time of day" for rest or nap.
She may not nap but on some days she will if she's had a lot of energy exerted she can rest.

My child did this for 2 years!! She's 4 and just now finally started taking naps again. *Sigh* She doesn't nap every day but I require quiet time. I say lay her down BEFORE she shows signs of being tired and make sure that she's fed, clean and worn out! We shake the sillies out sometimes just to wear her out.

Naps at this age are hard for some kids. Both of my kids gave up their naps at 2. I did the whole quiet time thing with my daughter and that resulted in an hour or 2 of me trying to get her to sleep.I settled on taking short drives in the afternoon when I felt like she would melt down. Around 30 months I decided she could just watch an hour of TV everyday. She would zone out and get some rest that way.

My son is now in this fun place. I do the stroller walks or car rides when he really needs a nap, but most days he just needs to go to bed at 6:45. He then sleeps till 7 or 7:30. They need 12-13 hours total. It doesn't matter when they get it, just that they get it. I know many people think little ones need naps, and they do, but sometimes it is easier on everyone involved if the kids get all the sleep at night. Making quiet time work just doesn't work with some kids. They don't want to miss out on the fun and refuse to have quiet time. This is when the TV comes in handy.

A good friend of mine has a 5 year old that naps to the cooking channel every day. It is the only way she has been able to get him to nap since he was 1.

Do what you need to do. I know many people think I am nuts for letting my young 2 year old drop his nap, but the thing is, he doesn't want to nap, and I am not going to fight him. When he really needs a nap, he goes to his room and lays down. Sometimes he sleeps, sometimes he doesn't. I wish he still naps, but he doesn't. I let him watch TV with his sister, and if he is really grumpy, we do the stroller or drive thing. He only got 10 hours of sleep last night, so today I will be doing the stroller or car to make sure he makes up for his lack of sleep.