To force him to nap?

[Kitchentiles]

Really need some advice, please be kind.

DS is 2.8 and showing signs of giving up his afternoon nap. He often (but not always) protests when it's nap time, some days more strongly than others. If it's a day where he doesn't want it and I leave him in his room with the door to, he'll wander out, run around upstairs and so on. If I shut his door so that he can't open it, he'll cry or shout for a minute or two, then go to sleep, for the usual 1.5-2 hours.

I can't bear shutting him in, I feel awful when he bangs on the door and calls for me. I don't know if this is toddler boundary-pushing and I should stand firm or if I'm being cruel.

Help!

I used to lie in bed with my DS when he was at that stage so I could have a nap too ;-)

Have his sleep patterns at night changed?

Lots of toddlers go through a stage of having a nap 2 or 3 times a week rather than jumping from every day to not at all, this could be an option?

They're all different, aren't they - my DD stopped napping at 17 months, my DS at 2 years and a friend struggled to stop her DS napping when he was rising 5 and about to start school!

YANBU.

It's a boundary thing I think. You could stay in the room with him instead? Ds is 2.6 and we're having similar battles. He doesn't even look that tired but will sleep. If he doesn't nap, we all suffer.

I would totally shut the door and make him sleep! I think most children need a rest still at this age, and most don't really want one!

Gosh my 3 year old hasn't had a day time nap in about a year!

My eldest stopped sleeping completely in the day at 9 months, now she's 12 I can't get her out of bed! The youngest was about 2.5.

My son used to fall asleep as soon as I picked him up from school until he was about 7. They are all different, try him without a few times and see what happens.

If he is still falling asleep then he needs it, IMO.

Dd stopped napping at 4. Whereas Ds stopped at 2. Every child is diffrent.
We started to give him a nap every other day at first, or if he needed to be up late at night / had an active day.

i think while he is settling down and going to sleep quickly it's okay to keep shutting him in.

It probably won't last all that long though, because he will work out how to open the door.

DS is 3 and if he doesn't nap during the day then we are all suffering by bedtime! My mother used to make comments about how "he'll never sleep tonight" and then looked after him for a day without a nap...no more comments!

I'm just hoping he grows out of naps before he becomes a teenager or he will never leave his bed!

DD stopped napping at about 2 for exactly this reason btw, she is 3 and still 'needs' a nap IMO as she is very tired by the end of the day, but she doesn't have one, and I can't make her lie down and go to sleep unfortunately!

Depends on whether he looks tired or gets cranky if he hasn't had a nap. If it's obvious that he could just as well do without it then yes I think you shouldn't force him

Oh dear, we've just been through a nap change its not easy. Mine is 11 months and apparently only needs 1.5 hour nap a day first thing in the morning and thats it >faints< he'll not be napping at all when hes 2.8 thats for sure.

Tbh if my toddler had enough energy to fight it and bang on the door I would absolutely be dropping it. But it'd take me two weeks to get there!

My poor baby was 'fighting' his naps and bed time I felt guilty too! Then I let him do what he wanted which turned out to be him just being awake - alot! And everything else has suddenly become very easy!

Drop the nap tomorrow, see what happens. If it goes tits up, next day go back to normal.

Could you have 'quiet time' instead? DS refuses to nap most days so instead we have an hour cuddled up on the sofa after lunch reading books or watching a DVD. Usually we do this together but since DD was born he seems happy on his own. Sometimes he falls asleep but mostly he lies quietly for a bit then seems better able to cope with the afternoon.