Why won't she nap!

michaela724

My dd who will be three in November and she fights me for naps and bedtime everyday! I feel like I have tried everything... If her step dad puts her down she is an angel but with me it's impossible and because of his work schedule he is only home for about 2 naps and 2 or 3 bedtimes. She still needs a nap because on the days she hasn't taken one she is a whiney cranky mess for the rest of the day. I'm just tired of fighting with her! Suggestions please! How do I regain control of this situation?

littlemurphy2912

I wonder the same thing. How is she "fighting you" on going to bed or down for a nap? How long has this been going on? What all have you tried with her?

jesselayne8

Maybe she is in the process of dropping nap time? DD will be 3 in December. She only naps 2 maybe 3 days a week. I don't even try to put her down for a nap unless she is acting overly tired such as crying a lot, rubbing her eyes or sometimes she asks to take a nap. On the days she doesn't nap she has to do a quiet activity such as sitting at the table coloring or looking a books in her room. Bedtime has gotten better since I stopped forcing naps.

Ya Never Know

Have there been any recent changes in routine?

My daycare provider has been having trouble trying to get DD down for naps all week. The minute you mention the word nap, DD freaks out, and then daycare puts her to bed anyway and she just won't stay in her bed. She gets up and plays in the room, or she's just singing to herself or babbling on or whatnot, but where she was getting 2-2.5 hour naps before, she's barely doing half an hour now, and DD needs more than that or she is SO cranky.

I'm starting to think that it has something to do with the kids going back to school. DD was the youngest in her daycare before summer, and now all of her older friends are now in school and the two other full time kids in daycare are only 1.5. She keeps asking for the older kids and I know she doesn't really understand why they are suddenly gone. She's probably not getting as much activity out of daycare as she normally would with the older kids either because the 1.5 year olds aren't running around and challenging her like the older kids did.

From what I've learned up until this point, changes in DD's "norms" have an effect on stuff like naps, sleeping at night, and her temperament in general.