Babble

My 26 month old son has decided that naps are no longer necessary, even though he's the world's biggest grump if he doesn't sleep enough. Any suggestions on how to get him to nap (other than lying down with him...he'll sleep for 2 hours if I do as well.)

I guess I missed this when you first wrote it - but did you get it sorted out?

I don't really have too much helpful info to add, but we're having something similar happening at my house. My 19 months old sometimes won't nap or will just nap very briefly - she's tired but she'll fight tooth and nail before giving in to it, like she might miss something (and we don't make things exciting when we see she's tired and really should be napping). What happens is that she can't last through the whole day yet (well, sometimes she does it without a problem, but normally she needs to sleep), so she'll conk out eventually. Usually too close to her bedtime - if we let her sleep, even if only for 20 minutes or so,she won't go to bed at her bedtime, and if we don't, she'll be grumpy and miserable.

I'm assuming it's because she's borderline ready to deal with a shorter nap or even no nap (she's never been much of a napper in the firstt place), but if you've found anything that works, I'd be interested to know.

One of my my lads (28 months) has also decided naps are for suckers.  Since I work nights, I usually lay down with them both so we can all get about two hours of sleep, but he has become resistant even to that.  No advice for you, but lots of sympathy...

I have 3 kids, and am now going through this for the third time!  It is not a fun satge at all.  But, from what I remeber with my other two, you just have to go through it.  If they nap, they can't go to sleep at night (at the usual time anyway) and if they don't nap they are Super grumpy in the early evening. You just have to pick the lesser of the two evils, and what works best for you given the particulars of that day.  Some days, I don't have a choice, as she will fall asleep in the car at 4pm.  And like someone else said--even if it is for 20 minutes--she has trouble going to sleep that night.  I remember just dealing with this difficult stage until they eventually got old enough to stay up untill bed time without being a total grouch. (Can't quite remember how long this lasts--a long while I think)  I personally prefer the no nap, even though the late afternoons/early evenings are difficult--because I cherish my time after they are all in bed (around 7::30-8:00pm).  When she stays up until 10::00 pm--my evening is not mine anymore!

Well. We tried blowing through his nap for a few days and after melt-down after melt-down, my son and I decided that naps are a good thing. I'm going to nap with him for as long as he'll let me. I'll just work later and catch up on my shut eye during our daily nap!

My daughter is only 11 months old, but alas I do nap with her every day.  It's the only way she'll nap and life is a nightmare if she doesn't.  I wish I had wisdom for you but for me, her sleep is more important so I just deal.  I often read during her naps, which is pretty nice.

 Jab

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