Nearly 2 year old resisting naps?

[Mrs_Glennie]

Morning all,

the psat two weekend my OH and I have been fighting a loosing battle with our 22 month old fighting her normal afternoon nap and getting - at best - 20 mins of rest.

She still sleep for and hour or more at nursery, where she is 4 days a week, and I know she is tired with us at the weekend but when we put er in her cot as we have done for her whole life pretty much she will sit and play and sing and chat rather than settle to sleep.

I fairly certain she couldn't cope with dropping her nap as she is always shattered by about 6pm, rubbing her eyes and unsteady on her feet and she asks for milk and stories!

yesterday I could tell she was tired at about 11.45am while we were playing, so I asked her if she would like her lunch and to go to bed and she said yes! We did quick lunch and put her down to sleep before 12.30 and had chatting and mucking about for nearly an hour, then a tiny nap, then awake having done a poo!

I've tried putting her down later - closer to 1/1.30pm, which is the time she sleeps at nursery but if you factor in the faffing about then she doesn't end up going to sleep until after 2 which seem to late to be napping at her age.

She has been SUCH a good sleeper all her life and is still settling fine at night, we read a couple fo stories, I tuck her up and she says 'bye bye mummy' and rolls onto her tummy (I do not expect this to last though!) I don't know how to help her setlle during the day in the ways she always sued too. I tire her out, remove toys from the cot, her room is the right temp and dark.

At nursery they pat/rub them but she's never needed that at home before and I'm reluctant to start.

Any advice?

Thanks.

[sugarmouse]

I hate to tell you this but some children just don't need to nap at this age - my daughter didn't. She dropped all naps at about 20 months and it was difficult at first - both for her, stretching through the day but also for me, psychologically! I found she'd still sleep in the car so I used to schedule a drive if I thought if she was desperate for a sleep but in general, it was just about getting through the tired bit mid-afternoon, then getting ready for bed early (6.30 ish so she could drop straight off at 7). Mid afternoon, I'd just let her watch telly for an hour or so and sometimes she'd drop off (especially if I put a blanket on her) but it got ridiculous trying to force her to nap when she obviously was strongly resisting it.

It might not be what you want to hear but that was my experience!

[Gooders79]

We feel your pain at the moment, we have a 23 mo whis taking longer and longer to get to sleep at the weekends for naps, our current strategy is to do something really physical in the morning, we are out from 8am and then to a park, last weekend to battersea zoo, then home in the car where he is dropping off and transferring to bed, he's still sleeping for nearly 2 hours without it affecting nighttime sleep so I think he still needs it... No real advice but its a tricky phase.

[RachelG]

Hi,

I wouldn't worry my daughter turned two at the end of May and we went through this around the same age. It lasted for a few weeks (sleeping at nursery but not at home) then she suddenly decided that she wanted her afternoon naps again! I find it helps if when she goes to sleep I explain what we're going to be doing in the afternoon and if she knows there is something fun happening when she wakes up then she'll go down without a fuss. Every now and then she might skip a nap if we're out for the day or if she's woken up late but (fingers crossed!) it looks like it was just another toddler phase! Looking back it was around the time when she was going through a developmental leap so maybe it was all related. Good luck!

[LauraHW]

I guess they're all different but about the same my son did the same. Took up to an hour to drop off but we stuck with it and still put him down every day as I thought he (and I!) still needed it. He still naps most days now at 3 years 2 months

[emza78]

My daughter dropped her naps at home about this age too (although at 2.9 still naps at nursery!) Even though it seems unnatural, I'd just get her in bed as early as possible, We still get her in the bath at 5pm now and she's asleep by 6, then sleeps through till 7 the next morning. It doesn't make the afternoon seem so long (for either of you!) if you do it that way - bring dinner forward to 430 etc ( I think we did have to stop leaving the house after about 2pm for a few months otherwise she'd drop off in the buggy then not go to bed till really late.)

[Ole]

I'm sorry to say that this happened to me too with my son and he has never had a nap since.....He used to do just that (has a nap at nursery but V difficult to get him to nap at home), until I just gave up trying. If she is happy being in her cot though then that's good? What I did with my son is that I encouraged 'quiet time' - it is OK if he does not want to sleep but he has to be quiet and look at books or play quietly and it worked quite well. She may go back to napping and this might just be a phase, but you should prepare yourself mentally that the afternoon naps will stop. I still think wistfully of when I had a whole hour to myself at home of quiet time....