No more naps?!

summer80 · September 2012

How do I know if I should just give up trying to give my almost 3yo a nap? He used to be so good and go down for 2 hours a day. For the last fews months it's been a battle and it's hit or miss. If we are out around his nap time he'll fall asleep in the car but if we are home, it's near impossible to get him to go down. Should I just accept the fact that phase is over for us?

It sucks because I have an almost 6 month old and it was really much needed time to myself to get things done around the house or just give my littlest one some much needed attention. How do you get a break and get anything done if your 3yo doesn't nap anymore????

sunnydays99 · September 2012

summer80:
How do I know if I should just give up trying to give my almost 3yo a nap? He used to be so good and go down for 2 hours a day. For the last fews months it's been a battle and it's hit or miss. If we are out around his nap time he'll fall asleep in the car but if we are home, it's near impossible to get him to go down. Should I just accept the fact that phase is over for us?
It sucks because I have an almost 6 month old and it was really much needed time to myself to get things done around the house or just give my littlest one some much needed attention. How do you get a break and get anything done if your 3yo doesn't nap anymore????

I could have written your post word for word! LOL DS's naps are also hit or miss. I always try but he'll often come out after 30 minutes or so and say that he's not tired. Sometimes he'll say that but he is clearly very tired and I'll force the issue a bit and insist that he needs to nap. If he seems like he's genuinely not tired I'll tell him he needs to have quiet time in his room (minimum one hour). He'll happily read books or play cars for that time. I usually keep the lights off and blinds closed with just his lamp on so that it's still a bit dark in case he decides to have a nap.

Not much help I know, but that's where we're at now. Every once in a while he'll still have a great 2 - 3 hour nap! Those days are heaven! LOL

Stackeye210 · September 2012

I wouldn't give up on naps yet, kids need them even when they don't think that they do. I would suggest what pp said and at least do quiet time. My dd will be 5 next month and she still takes naps/quiet time during the week. On the weekends we don't do naps unless she asks for one or falls asleep by accident.

74dragonfly · September 2012

We take her up for nap every day at the same time. We have a tot clock. I have it set for an hour. I tell her to nap, only happens half the time. Let him pick quiet time or nap, both in his room. Set a timer or use clock.

rsd12 · September 2012

I don't think it is worth a battle to force a child to nap. I agree with quiet time and I am sure there will still be a few naps a week. My boys stopped napping a few months before they turned 3, but they all became much better sleepers at night. There is a tough transition in afternoons when my boys gave up their naps, but it only lasted a couple of months. I now love no more naps... I get to do so much more out of the house! And they play really well together, so I can get stuff done finally too.

jlw2505 · September 2012

Call it rest time and have him stay in his room at the same time every day for an hour doing something quiet on his own - give him so special quiet time toys - books, toys, whatever works for him that is quiet. Tell him he has to stay in his room and quiet for that hour. If he is really tired, he will fall asleep. My girls are 4 and 6 and we still do quiet time on most weekends when we are home. If our plans on the weekends have us out at that time, I don't worry about it but when we are home, it does us all good.

No more naps?!

Re: No more naps?!

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