My near 2 Year Old Refuses to Nap During the Day All of the Sudden...

T.,
On the days she doesn't nap, move her bedtime to 6-6:30pm. That should stop the early morning wake ups. Try reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. He has great insight and experience in sleep needs and problems.
Sincerely,
L.

my daughter was about 2 also and quit taking them. Or i quit giving to her. when she would take them she wouldnt go to be until 12 am then get up at 10 am. when she doesn't take them she goes to be about 8 or 9pm and up at 7 am. but if we go for a drive she is out.

Two is a bit early for dropping this nap. Three to 3.5 is more typical. It sounds like your daughter may need an earlier bedtime. An overtired child actually has a harder time falling asleep for naps, etc. An earlier bedtime generally does not lead to an earlier wake-up time. Our son started dropping his PM nap at 11 months. I called his pediatrician for a referral to a sleep expert. Best idea ever. I had been oversoothing my son prior to his nap. The expert's rules for me at naptime were as follows:
--Turn off the lights (you'll be able to see still because it's daytime.
--Put your child and one stuffed animal on your lap and read one (relatively short) book.
--No rocking, signing, or additional reading.
--Put your child and stuffed animal to bed saying that you love him/her, that it is time to rest, and that you'll be in the house the whole time.
--You can also say something like, "If you get a good rest, maybe we can do activity X when you get up." I generally skipped this step.
--Never tell your child that he/she has to sleep. Just ask the the child rest quietly. He/she is likely to fall asleep if he/she rests quietly. Kids seem to fight against the word sleep.

This process worked for me the first time I tried it. I was letting my son's adrenaline kick in while I was reading to him, rocking him, and signing a lullaby. Oops. My son did start protesting a bit when he got older, telling me that he wasn't tired. I would tell him that that was okay. The problem was that Monkey (his favorite stuffed animal) was very sleepy, and my son needed to rest quietly so that Monkey could sleep. That worked well for a long time. You should also consider picking up the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child."

Oh -- also, is it possible that your daughter has her second year molars coming in or has something going on developmentally that could be disrupting her sleep?

She's probably ready for her nap to move later. I would try waiting until after lunch (around 1:00). A later nap might cause a shift in her bedtime too though. She might not be ready for bed quite as early. However, with a later bedtime, maybe she will sleep later in the morning also.

My 2.5 year old does not go down for his nap until 2:00. I think kids typically move it later before they give it up altogether. And they don't typically give it up until after 3yo, although my oldest did start really fighting having a nap at about 2.5yo. But that wasn't because she wasn't tired, she just didn't want to miss out on anything...

Good luck!
-D.

Good advice from Karen. Also, put her to bed earlier at night. Any way to get her in bed at 6:30 p.m.? She may still wake up at 5:30 a.m., but will get that extra hour and sleep calls for sleep. The more rested she is the more she'll want to sleep. Don't give in to her either, her nap time is sacred for her (and for you! down time!). Karen's advice is good ... along with a little back rub. Just get her back into the habit.

my 4 yr old daughter stopped napping about a year ago...so to keep to the routine, I implemented "quiet time"....I turn on some soothing spa music, and she'll grab her blankie and sit on the couch and "sometimes" falls asleeps. On days that she absolutely resists falling asleep, I'll allow quiet time in her room where she can play with her favorite toys and read her books...So far this has been working since I also have a 2 year old son who still loves to nap...{but there are days when he doesn't either}...so they both get spa music and their quiet time.
I have also heard of calling this time, "party time"...sounds more fun for the child....put them in their room with their favorite snack and toys, and set a timer for 30 min - 1 hour...when the timer goes off, "party time" is over....
...and another note, my daughter doesn't like to nap in her room...she likes to nap in my room, so I do have a little cushions set up in there for her nap...good luck...they're just growing up and would rather no sleep because they don't want to miss out and play....

Its a phase. A h*** o*e but, one that unfortunately happens. My son who turned 2 in November went through it for about 3 weeks or so. I just kept reputting him down and staying firm. It was h*** o* both of us but eventually it shall pass. Another idea is that she may not be ready to go down at 11 so you may want to shift your naptime a bit. This is what I ended up having to do with my oldest when he was about the same age (he will be 4 in April) and he still takes a nap everyday, though some days are a struggle from anywheres from 45 minutes to 2 hrs, just depends on his mood and stubborness :-) Good luck, I know its hard because we all need that little break. As for the clinginess, I really don't know what to say, she may be cutting teeth or unfortunately coming down with something and just needs a little extra momma time. Good luck to you.

It is a phase, push her nap back til 1 or 2 pm and see if that helps. Also, if you push her nap back, push her bedtime back til 8 or 8:30pm. My son went through this around that age. He just turned 3 and naps for 1-2 hours most days, not always. He will be giving up his nap soon. Good luck

Hi T.,

My daughter stopped napping two weeks before she turned two (and one week before I had child #2). I tried everything... in the four years since then, she has probably napped five times. She was tired and cranky for four or five months. I kept my sanity by having quiet play time. I would set the timer for 30 minutes and she would play in her room during that time.

My son tried to stop napping sometime after his second birthday. I would put him on my lap, turn on the food network and he would be asleep within 10 minutes. I liked using the food network because it is one of the few grown up channels where I don't need to be concerned about language or content during the shows OR commercials. He still naps sometimes.

Good luck!

My daughter will be 2 in April and we went through a similar experience a few months ago and now instead of trying to put her down at 11am (bc she would not fall asleep) I pushed her naptime out until 1pm...I lay down with her until she falls asleep and she will sleep for like 2-3 hours. So perhaps trying to put her down a little later will help you too? It helped with my daughter, because those 2 extra hours of playtime made her just sleepy enough for a nap :) and she still falls asleep at night around 7-8 pm....Good luck

Hi T.,
My name is V. and I live here in Salida,
go to this site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seperation_anxiety and read up on seperation anxiety. This is very common with children and it usually starts about when the child is 2 years of age. I went through this with all 3 of my boys when they were little ones, and it interrupted their sleep patterns also. My youngest boy who now is 15 believe it or not, still to this day has to know where I am, and what I am doing at all times, he just never really grew out of it. It is very common so don't worry too much. At the age of 2 children start understanding the difference between being with mom and others and tend to get very clingny.
I hope this site helps you understand it a little better. It is a great site for all kinds of information.
Take care Honey.
V.

Hi T.,
Sounds pretty normal to me. All kids are different and have different timelines, but my girls have been somewhere around 2 when they get to the point where they don't want to miss a thing throughout the day. Yes, they were extremely tired at the end of the day, but I just put them to bed a little earlier, which actually was nice for my husband and myself because we get a little more alone time! Nothing to worry about. You just have to roll with the punches and take their lead. If it seems like she's just too cranky in the afternoon to last to the evening, put her down anyway. It will make her evening more bearable. But if she's just refusing to take a nap, no worries. It's all normal....whatever that is! God bless!

No real advice for you, my daughter completely stopped napping at 18 months. She still went to bed at the same time and woke up at the same time, and there was the occational day where she would fall asleep in the care for 20-30 min, and the days I drove around town *praying* that she would fall asleep, but it turned out she just doesnt require that much sleep! She is now 6 and in bed at 7, reads to herself for 30 min, and depending on when she woke up, she lays in bed til she falls asleep, anywhere from 15 min to 2 hours. She gets up for school at the same time everyday, which seems to help, but weekends she will sleep in an extra hour or so.

Hope you find an answer that helps!

A later nap is likely a good idea. Also try having her run and play outside for a half hour or so before settling down. My daughter has her 3 and 5 year olds run races from the house to the fence and back about ten times so they are really running and getting a lot of energy out. Even though you say your daugter is tired, it may not be the right kind of tired so this exercise may help.

What I've found works best for me when putting the children down, is to sit with them and talk to them saying things such as "It's time to rest now" "no, we're not playing, you need to sleep" and such in a soothing matter of fact tone. We use cots (in home daycare) so I'm sitting on the floor beside the child, and may put my arm across the child just to keep them from constantly moving around and rearing up. Once the child has settled down and is lying still, they usually will fall asleep fairly quickly. Even if they cry, I don't let on that it bothers me, because sometimes they seem to need that little bit of crying to relax and settle down. We also use soft nap music.

I feel your pain since we all look forward to that down time to ourselves when babies were taking 2 naps a day. My son who is now 3yrs old stopped at 27 months. like other parents experienced. It drove me banana since he would not ever fall in front of the tv. It was only his bed or carseat. Drive me nuts. But his dr said he doesn't require a nap anymore. UGH! I really missed it when I found out on his 2nd bday i was pregnant. He has slept through the night since the age of 7 weeks in his crib and sleeps though the night to this day. Im lucky. He has had a bed time routine since a newborn. Its 7:30pm-7-8am. Im not so lucky with my 7month old son. Still gets up at least once at 4-5am. Like one person said, Welcome to parenting. Every child is different and not all of them are a text book child/baby. The more you push the nap the more they will resist. BELIEVE ME been there done that. Its the same with eating and potty training. Good luck

SAHM/zombie 40yrs old wtih a super funny active 3yr son and 7 month son who is trying to walk. UGH! I love being a mom.

HI! I agree with someone else who said it could be your daughter just doesn't need as much sleep anymore. My daughter is the same. 18 months. She sporadically sleeps through the night, I know she can do it but not always. . . she sleeps 8pm to 5:30am. Then a 1 hour nap from 1-2pm. That's it. She is not sleep deprived, she is very happy and alert and not grumpy. That is just what her body needs. Maybe your daughter is the same.

That happened with my ds at 2yrs old. It was killing me cuz I wasn't getting my nap anymore! Ha ha. And he was getting up at 5am too! This went on for a while (a month maybe) and I was draggin tired. I turned nap time into quiet time - lay on bed, read or watch his favorite show, with lights dim. And we moved his bed time up earlier from 8:30 to 6:30ish/7pm. And I hung up curtains to make it darker in his room. I think you're in a transition period and change always requires more hugs. I had to go back to not worrying about the dishes etc and just hug and hold my little one several long period of times throughout the day. He's turning 3 years old this week and he takes naps sporadically. I hope this makes you feel better knowing it happened to another mommy.

Hi T.,
You've discovered one of the joys of parenting! Just when you think you've got your child's schedule all figured out, she changes it. One of my kids napped until he was 4, but another one gave up naps around 18 mos. Yes, he was a pain in the neck for those afternoon/early evening hours, and yes, he woke up promptly at 5:00 every day after that for a couple of years. It was exhausting.

So try to get all the sleep you can while she is asleep, and please remember, there are three things you can't make a child do: Eat, sleep and poop.

Good luck!