End of naps?

Kerrib1986 · April 2016

My DD is 20 months old (will be 2 at the end of July) and in the past few weeks has decided she won't nap in the afternoon anymore. She was napping 1.5-2hrs and now nothing. Is this really the end or could it possibly be a phase? PLEASE tell me it's a phase! This momma needs her quiet time in the afternoon!

mamadomino · April 2016

This is my worst nightmare. You have my sympathies.

LeahKnits · April 2016

No. Make her take a nap. Put her in the bedroom and shut the door. My 2nd still naps and she'll be 3 in August. Sometimes she doesn't sleep, but looks at books or plays quietly. I let my 1st stop napping waaaay to early. Drag it out for as long as you can! You can call it quiet time, rest time, whatever. You can set a timer and when it goes off, quiet time is over. I fully intend for all of my kids to take naps (or have quiet time) until they go to kindergarten.

ivassaq · April 2016

My three year old still naps 2-3 hours every day. I'm terrified for the day she stops.

Sporty1216 · April 2016

We had this happen today too, and I'm hoping it's a fluke. I tried the "quiet time" route, but at just barely 2, he didn't really get it. I'm hoping he goes back to naps--he desperately needs them--at least until I can better convey to him the idea of quiet time, because that's definitely going to happen eventually! I gotta have a break. And so does he, really.

kcl219 · April 2016

My son stopped napping around that age and hasn't napped since.... He's 4 now. He will occasionally fall asleep in the car but that's it. Trying to force a nap ended up causing more stress and tears, he just didn't need it anymore. But he has been and still is a great night time sleeper, he's down from like 7:30 - 7am

izzetoot · April 2016

I fear the end of naps too. Mine is 22 mo, will be 2 at the end of May. My sisters lo stopped naps around 2.5 but did start going to bed earlier. My LO doesn't go to bed till after 9

, usually wakes up b/t 2-5am, gets in bed with us and sleeps till 8. Always naps from 12-2. I like our routine and like to keep it as long as possible! My go to routines to get him sleepy is either a walk in the stroller around the block, and episode of Thomas and a bottle, or if all else fails a ride in the car. Good luck mama!

sunshinern96 · April 2016

DS did this at right around the same age for about a week! I was sure it was the end of the nap but I just kept trying to put him down like usual and after that week, he went back to napping! Now he is 2.5 and naps from 1-3 or 3:30 every day. I don't know what I would do without the nap!! I would just keep trying to keep your old routine and see if you can get her to nap again.

Cricket Bug · April 2016

My DD went through this phase too. Don't give up on naps just yet. Her phase lasted a couple of weeks, then she was back to reliably sleeping for 2-2.5 hours. Now at 3, we don't push it so much. She gets quiet time for at least an hour regardless in her room, tucked in and everything. Sometimes she sleeps, sometimes she looks at books. We all need this time to reset our headspace, and the rest of the day is a mess if she doesn't get it. She sleeps from 8:00-6:30ish through the night.

618mom22boys · April 2016

One of my boys stopped napping around that time. The other didn't stop napping till 4 though!

JennM205 · April 2016

OP, does your daughter nap in the mornings still and is fighting her afternoon nap? Or was she already down to just one nap? I ask because when DD needed to go down to one nap instead of two, she seemed ready for that first nap each day but fought the second nap terribly and then was a mess in the evenings because her only nap of the day had been too early. Once we realized this, we started pushing her morning nap back little by little until we were down to just one early afternoon nap which worked well and kept her sane until bedtime. She's now 2.5 and we're pretty much on the same routine, with the exception that she is going down later and later because she's just not as tired. We work HARD on the weekends to wear her out in the morning so she's ready for a nap by 1 or 2 instead of 4 or 5 which ends up messing up her bedtime schedule. I agree with PPs - just keep trying! Good luck!

UnwritteN12 · April 2016

DS and DD stopped around that age for good. It wasn't worth the fight with them since it was obvious that they were done with it. It did make bed time a little bit easier....no fighting to get them to go to sleep.

TheTamedShrew · April 2016

I am very sorry because I went through the same thing and I hate to tell you it could possibly be the end. Some kids just stop napping earlier.

DD stopped napping at exactly that age. It was kind of a gradual process though. She would still sporadically take naps for awhile (2-3 naps per week, 2-3 naps per month, a nap once every couple of months, no more naps) My main question would be how many hours is she sleeping at night? If she is getting 11-12 hours at night then it's very possible that she doesn't need the nap during the day anymore. My DD went down to one nap before she was a year old when all other babies I knew were still taking two naps. She was just so great at sleeping all the way through the night that she wouldn't get sleepy until 4:30/5, and by then it was way too late to let her go to sleep.

The plus side is that I still enforce quiet time if we have had a busy day, and she will be 3 in June. I make her stay in her room and play quietly with her toys or sit on her bed and look at books for 45 min-1 hour. The low stimulation time really helps her get through the afternoon without being cranky before bedtime. When she moved out of the crib a few months ago it got a lot harder to keep her in her room, but I still try. If yours is still in the crib I would just put some books and a few toys in the crib with her and let her have some quiet time. Sometimes she might nap, and sometimes might not, but at least you still get a little break

marajay6 · April 2016

It's probably a phase. Around 1.5 years of age, it is normal for toddlers to go through a sleep regression. It can present itself in many ways: not going to bed easily at night, waking up more during the night, and/or not napping. My 17 month old just started this week. His napping isn't too badly affected but his overnight sleep has been horrible! I have spent some time Googling to figure out what to do since it is so horrible. The most consistent advice says that there isn't much you can do to "fix" the sleep regression, you just have to survive it and try to maintain the same sleep schedule and routines, even if they aren't sleeping. From what a read, it can last 2-6 weeks.

hey_clever_girl · April 2016

LeahKnits said:

No. Make her take a nap. Put her in the bedroom and shut the door. My 2nd still naps and she'll be 3 in August. Sometimes she doesn't sleep, but looks at books or plays quietly. I let my 1st stop napping waaaay to early. Drag it out for as long as you can! You can call it quiet time, rest time, whatever. You can set a timer and when it goes off, quiet time is over. I fully intend for all of my kids to take naps (or have quiet time) until they go to kindergarten.

This. Mine didn't drop her nap for good until about 4 1/2, 5 years old. She fought it at a younger age, but we were consistent with putting her down and she eventually would take her nap.

seitzy3 · April 2016

I didn't read everyone's comments but my 3yo stopped napping in February. Seriously, I'm still coping lol I enforce "quiet time" in her room and she reads for the most part. But lately quiet time has turned into a lets get naked and jump on my bed time. Not kidding, she literally strips down naked and quiet time ends up being super loud and I'm fearful she will wake up her little sister who is in the room next to her.

It's a daily struggle for me because by 4pm she is a HOT MESS. I know she still needs naps but she just refuses to sit still anymore. It could be due to the fact we took her binkie away which she used for sleeping only. It was a habit we didn't expect to last almost 3 years but I'm sure it's one of the reasons she stopped napping.

Hope it's a phase for you but if not, I feel your pain. I would suggest trying to stick to quiet time until she and you both decide naps are over for good. Dun dun dunnnnnnnn

mommytimesfour · April 2016

My DD will be 3 in August and recently has stopped napping consistently. She's always been a great sleeper and will sleep a solid 12 hours at night, so I think at this point she's just requiring less sleep and isn't tired enough for a nap every day. I still put her down every day around 2 and if she isn't asleep by 3, I give it up since then she'd be napping too late and it would screw with bedtime. She falls asleep about every two days. It sucks! The days she doesn't nap though, she's in bed by 7-7:30.

LeahKnits · April 2016

My daughter will be 3 in August also and I still make her take nap every day. We all wake up at about 7, 7:15 if I'm lucky. She naps after lunch, so usually around noon. How long she naps varies a lot depending on the day. If it's a good day she naps for 3 hours. Bedtime is always at 7. She doesn't sleep all that well at night, but I think it's unrelated to the naps. She's afraid of the everything, including the dark, and has nightmares.

mhilpisch10 · April 2016

My son did the same thing around that time. I eventually resorted to having him watch one of his shows and then Switching to hgtv which he then falls asleep to. I'm not super proud about it but hey he naps. I also discovered he needs his nap way later than he used to. Most days he falls asleep around 2. Also, he either naps on the couch or our bed. He refused to nap in his crib. But he does sleep there at night. I hope this helps. Good luck.

noelani42 · April 2016

Try giving her books in bed...this worked for our DD when she went through this around this age...of course she is now 2.5 and doesn't really nap when she's with us- only at school and at her grandma's...I think it's because she sleeps in a bit more on days with us...

rfrazier611 · April 2016

It's a phase! Never give up, never surrender!

KimmySchmidt · April 2016

Can you switch to "quiet time" in his room so that you still get your time. If he sleeps, he sleeps, if he doesn't, he doesn't.

My 19 month old is hit or miss with naps, but absolutely never naps when there are teeth on the way. It's not good for anyone.

TheTamedShrew · April 2016

How are some of you people "making" your kid take naps?? Please inform the rest of us, thanks. I had her in her crib for quiet time with lights off and her fan going, and she would sit up with her stuffed animals and play quietly, but still wouldn't take a nap every day starting around 20 months. Her naps naturally became less and less frequent over time.

I think some kids go through phases where they will go back to napping, and some kids are sleeping enough at night where they just don't need it. It really depends on your child and your schedule.

Kerrib1986 · April 2016

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I am really hoping its a phase. She sleeps great at night, from about 745pm-730am so I can't complain there. I've tried the quiet time in addition to trying to force the nap on her but she just screams at the top of her lungs. I've given her toys, books, you name it and she's not budging.... I've even tried letting her cry longer than I normally would hoping she would just give in and go to sleep but no deal.
Ill stick it out a bit longer and hope she will get back to napping but feel I may need to prepare myself for THE END

homebird · April 2016

20 months seems really young. She still needs a good bit of sleep at that age. How long does she sleep at night?

I would keep trying. My daughter didn't quit naps until almost 5, and even now I make her take "quiet time" in her room. Son is almost 3 and naps about 1 1/2 hours.

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