2 yr old suddenly refusing to nap and throwing SCREAMING overtired tantrums. PLEASE HELP.

[debka]

DD1 sleeps at least 12 hours a night and up until yesterday, 1.5-2 hours in the day. Would go down without a murmur. Today, put her in bed and she threw the mother of all tantrums and screamed for an HOUR. In the end I got her up and she was to her credit cheerful all afternoon. By 6.30 though she lost it again and screamed all the way through bath and bed time.

Is this a typical age for dropping a nap? And any advice on how to deal with the screaming- it's like she loses control of herself.

Hi, debka, saw no one had answered

I can't offer much advice, all I remember about my DD at that age was that she had to be out of the house, doing stuff for most of the bloody day. Certainly no naps after age 2. You get used to it.

Hope you get some advice re the screaming soon. In the meantime - it's a phase, honest. It won't last forever x

Yep, sorry.. sounds like she's dropping the nap. Having a rest after lunch (TV/stories etc, or even a lie down on the sofa) can help, and move bedtime an hour earlier for the next couple of weeks, and gradually move it back as things settle down. If she's really tired can you time a strategic car journey to try and get her to have a short nap?

It's a hellish couple of weeks, but much easier once it passes..

Thanks for replies:)

I think you're right about nap dropping. She went to bed at 7 (normally 7.30) and is still asleep now.

I'll try again today and if she doesn't go down we'll watch some more beebies.

I would say don't panic re: refusing to nap. My (just) 2 year old occassionally (i.e once or twice a month) refuses to nap in the afternoon and displays similar behaviours to the ones you describe. She has done this since she was about 12 months old and shows no sign of wanting to drop her nap.

So, it could just be a one off thing rather than a definite sign of nap dropping. I always panic when our carefully crafted routine goes out of the window, but as my mum always remindes me, they are not robots and therefore are allowed to rebel against what they have always done now and and again!