Since sleep is very much a habit, I was planning on having my daughter have quiet time till she turns 18, but here's the deal:
My daughter NEVER took a third nap, she dropped her second nap around 10 months, and she started a massive nap strike at 18 months. I kept putting her in her room, and she started napping 6 days a week again around 21 months. Well, what I've discovered is that if she doesn't nap, she sleep an extra 1.5 hours at night. The last two days, she has played in her room for over 2 hours, then fallen asleep. I then wake her (so it doesn't effect nighttime) and she is of course grumpy and sever tantrum prone.
Do we just drop the afternoon nap, have an hour "quiet time" of reading, and move bedtime up? She needs the afternoon nap or she gets a bit overstimulated, but it's driving me nuts that she will play for over 2 hours as opposed to sleep. I love the "me" time --since I have a 14 week old that I am trying to put to sleep without nursing, but there is another part of me that feels like maybe she needs to just be outside playing. I have no clue,however, as to how to move her bedtime up. Lights out are at 7:30-8:00, and her bedtime routine already takes us an hour -since she insists on doing everything herself. There is no way we can eat dinner at 5! Getting everyone to the table by 6-6:15 is hard enough.
Oh ya, she also is potty trained (mostly), and wears undies at night. When she doesn't nap and sleeps longer at night, she can't make it to the potty in the morning. The extra 1.5 hours is just too much and she goes as soon as she wakes. So....
Suggestions?
Our daughter dropped her nap between 2-2 1/2 years old. She was only napping about an hour long anyway, so we just changed her bedtime to one hour earlier. Worked like a charm.
My kids both gave up their afternoon nap around 2-21/2 years old. When they give it up they do go to bed earlier at night, which is fine. We did a.m. preschool at 3 years---most kids are best in the morning anyway and then there is no huge transition in First Grade.
Ok my daughters has only ever taken one nap. She falls asleep on her own (most days) between 11am and 1pm. She will sleep 2-3 hours and thats fine with me. She wake refreashed and ready for food. I let her eat and play until 7 where me and daddy put her to bed (certain nights she stays up later). She is 18 months almost 19 and she sleeps till 7-8 the next morning. I don't think its to long bc she is never grumpy and it also helps me get her sister ready.
Let her sleep at ehr nap till she wants to wake up and put her to bed at a reasonable time. I don't know your schedual just going by mine. Good luck and I hope everything works out.
Our son is almost 4 (June) and still takes a nap. We really can't control it at day care, and the times we've tried to limit it at home, we've been dealing with a complete monster.
So, we let him take a nap of less than 1 hour. He skipped his nap both days this weekend - perhaps he's weaning himself.
Our daughter (23 months) still needs one and would take a 3 hour nap if we let her.
Both of our kids are a bear to get to sleep. It's usually 9:30-10pm before we have both asleep despite many, many, many attempts to the contrary.
My daughter also started resisting naps around 18 months, but I kept putting her in anyway because I was pregnant and desperately needed a beak. She's 24 months now and takes a nap most of the time. I've noticed the same problem though, it might take an hour until she falls asleep, then when she does she wants to sleep the rest of the day. When I wake her before dinnertime she is very cranky, almost more cranky than if she didn't have a nap. I think it would be perfectly fine if you stopped napping and let her sleep more at night. Maybe you could just move bedtime a half hour earlier, and maybe she'll wake up to pee? Its depressing to give up on naps especially when you have a baby, but if she's really fighting it then you might as well. I feel like I spend half the day trying to get her to nap. If we do anything in the afternoon then we automatically just skip naptime and she goes to bed earlier. This does allow a little "me" time in the evening which is nice. Good luck!
I think kids need that daytime nap to keep them healthy and happy. If it becomes an issue for night time insomnia then make it really early in the day, like in bed by noon.
Now, my 3 year old stopped taking a nap by 3 yrs old and I hate it, he is cranky and wild by 6pm and then it's too late to go to sleep. If he does take a nap he's up until the wee hours of the morning, like right now, he came in and finally fell asleep watching tv.
This weekend there were a ton of moms asking this exact question.. here is one link. http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/12935208331907235841
Here was my response..
Wow this question is being asked a lot today. I think the bright light outside has children fighting naps.. Here is what I have been suggesting.
Children need naps or at least a rest period through the age of 5.
Your child needs lots of active play. . Mid morning, she needs at LEAST 1 hour 1 1/2 hours is best of really active running, screaming, climbing, riding bikes, swinging, swimming,hopping jumping. This active play makes a huge difference. Then bring her inside or home and have a quiet lunch, (no tv or cell phone calls) a warm face and hand rub with a wash cloth and quiet time in her room with music, or sound machine. Since it is still so bright, you may need to get some black out curtains. ( I used to hang quilts) In the summer I turn down the air conditioner.
After nap, maybe some watered down juice and then some quiet play and then active play again, she really needs to be able to just run. We used to gather as a neighborhood with some cold drinks and just let our kids run and play for as long as possible.. We would tell them, "run like the wind... Run some more, how fast can you run.. Jump, jump higher." Then in for dinner, a quiet bath and then pop them into bed.. It was awesome..
