If your LO doesn't nap anymore

raceyrae · May 2011

Do have him/her do quiet time for an hour or something? Or do you just fill the time that would have been their nap with other activities? If they do quiet time, do you have him/her take out books or some toy to play with in their room? Do you still keep the lights on/curtains open then?

Back story -- Natalie takes an hour to an hour and half to fall asleep at night. So some nights she doesn't fall asleep until 10 p.m. I've been trying to decide if this is a sign that she needs to drop her afternoon nap, even though she'll still take a 1-2 hr nap when we put her down. Yesterday she didn't get her nap in because we were at a birthday party. I thought she'd fall asleep on the 40 min car ride home but she didn't. I decided to try the approach of putting her to bed 30 min. earlier since she missed her nap and seeing how things went. So she was in bed by 8 p.m. and asleep by 8:05 p.m.!!! I was shocked. Not a peep from her. No, "I need another sip of water, I need to blow my nose, Mommy I'm not tired" etc. for an hour and a half. I was shocked. I kept checking the monitor to double check it was on. And she slept until I got her up at 7:30 a.m. This is the longest she's slept at night in a long time.

So I think I'm going to try to see how she does without a nap. Although I'm nervous to not have a toddler that takes a nap anymore, I know it's not uncommon to drop them between 2 and 5 yr. old.

becki777 · May 2011

My sister's kids usually do movie time in the afternoon, or just general quiet play. (reading books, puzzles etc.)

For Natalie, it sounds like I would let her have quiet time in her room with the curtains open/lights on. I really believe kids need that down time.

GL!

tracelini · May 2011

becki777:

My sister's kids usually do movie time in the afternoon, or just general quiet play. (reading books, puzzles etc.)

For Natalie, it sounds like I would let her have quiet time in her room with the curtains open/lights on. I really believe kids need that down time.

GL!

This is what my SIL does with hers as they outgrow nap time. (she's got 5) and it seems to work well. GL!

QCBride06 · May 2011

This is exactly what happens with Will when he naps - takes forever for him to fall asleep! So about a month ago we cut out naps. Most days, I will just have the tv on for an hour or so and he'll lay around and watch tv and play quietly. (If I were to do quiet time in his room with lights out etc, he'd fall asleep!) However, some days he just needs a nap, like yesterday he was falling apart in the afternoon, so he slept for 2 hrs. But we paid for it last night, he didn't fall asleep until almost 10 and kept calling for us to come into his room. So today, back on schedule, no nap and to bed at 7:00! And I too was surprised that eventhough he was going to bed so early, he still wakes about the same time, 7/730, not earlier! No naps makes bedtime SO much easier at our house!

lah1177 · May 2011

Did you write that post about Natalie or Ashley ;-) Ashley dropped her afternoon nap right when she turned 3. I still have her do quite time in her room during the weekdays (well, the nannies do) for about 30 minutes to an hour. Some nights it will still take her awhile to fall asleep at night, but most nights it is within 30 minutes or so and she sleeps about 12 hours straight. Hope it works out for you!

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