Toddler not napping at home . Argh !

[bellini1]

I know there are already threads about this but im so pissed off that i feek the need to start a new one.

My ds ( hes just turned 2) has decided he won't nap in day at home anymore.this has been going on for weeks now. Sleeping in his cot in the day is definitely out the window . However at nursery ( mon, tues, weds) he goes down for an hour with only about 5 mins fuss . I've spoken to the nursery about how they get him to go down ( rub back , no interaction, mattress on floor and a blanket) . I've tried their methods and he just thinks the whole thing is hilarious and mucks around. I've also just had baby number 2 ( a week ago) so ds is all over the place .

I wouldn't mind if it didn't affect him but the lack of sleep means we have several hours in afternoon of a delirious, naughty , hyperactive little sod . I put him down to bed earlier on these days but its still awful. He is clearly tired though because if we go out in the car he's asleep in 5 mins.

I'm out of ideas and I'm becoming very wound up about it . In fact I spend most of my non nursery days in tears at some point ! My dh is very supportive and tries to get toddler to sleep too but also has no luck . Help !!

I have this problem too ! My son is at nursery

One day a week and goes down really well , they even have to wake him some days. It's so frustrating. We can't really plan anything in the afternoons as he is very tired and prone to
Meltdowns! Some days he will sleep in the buggy if I push him around but never in cot, it is so frustrating! Sorry , no real advice just that I am in the no nap or rest time club !

Take him for a walk at nap time? Will he sleep in the pushchair? Better that he sleeps than trying to force him in the cot and ending up with an overtired mess.

If you live in a house with an accessible, secure garden with a lockable gate then pop the children in the buggy at nap time and walk. The fresh air will do you all good, clear your head, you can listen to some lovely music and once the children are asleep return home. Park them in the garden by the back door, lock the gate and go and make a cuppa.

Our DS (now 2.3 yrs) gave up on his naps;

• during the week: at 12 months; and
• weekends: at 18 months.

He's just too damn nosey, just like me, lol.

This was about the time DD gave up on naps altogether (sorry!). Maybe he only needs those nursery naps for the week. It was so hard but once I'd got my head around the fact - and I had DD full time still at that point - it was a relief because I was getting so stressed trying to get her to nap that it wasn't doing either of us any favours. I do feel less guilty about popping her in front of 'Beebies for bit in the afternoon for some down time though! And she's going to bed earlier and sleeping through so I've properly got my evenings back.

DC1 gave up on naps at home at around 15 months He still had 2.5 hr naps at the CM and still does now he's at kindergarten

We spent a couple of months trying to make him nap and it was miserable for everyone. For a long time he would sleep in the car and so some days we'd go out for a drive and if he was still asleep when we got home we'd transfer him into bed - that doesn't work now either.

But what made all the difference for me was to mentally prepare myself that he was not going to have a nap and accept that he was probably going to be a bit of a horror at some point. We started sitting him down with a book (or YouTube cartoons) for an hour or so in the afternoon. It meant that he was getting a bit of down time, as were we, and then after a snack it'd be off out to the park for a run around to fully wear him out.

Honestly I remember weeks of tantrums (him and us ) until we just accepted it and tried to find another routine. With a new baby I understand how much you want him to nap, but it might be better for your mental health to just accept he won't and spare yourselves the fight. Good luck

X-post with Mia

Thanks . It's so good to know its not just me. I've cried again already and it's only 1.00 ! Definitely slightly hormonal Anyway as dd is only 1 week old.

Allswornout I think you are right. If I just accept that he's not going to do it then I'm not setting myself up for an afternoon of crap. Field fare and creatureretorts , I haven't tried the buggy sleep for ages now but I may give it another go .

It's just so annoying when I know he's tired because he looks like a little hungover tramp by bedtime as he's so knackered ! He did go down at 6.30 last night which was a huge relief. Anyway ill try those other ideas. Fingers crossed .

OP lots of kids go through a stage of nap refusal at around 2yo - there's a big developmental leap - after a few weeks they suddenly start napping again. So hang in there as it might not be gone forever!

Also what time are you trying to put him down? It may be as simple as you are trying too early. If he's a wreck & falling asleep in the avo it sounds to me like he still needs it. Around 2yo my ds had occasional days without a nap but he still needed it most of the time. I did, however, have to push his nap quite a bit later, so he went down around 1/1.30pm & got up at 3/3.30. Bedtime was 8pm. Then as he got towards 2.5yo the nap moved to 2-4pm. Bedtime still 8pm & he slept through til 7am. Its later than some people like, but we found it better to keep the nap & accept a later bedtime than suffer a miserable, tired & grumpy ds all afternoon! hth.x

Omama that was our experience, too. When my son turned two, he refused naps at home about 50% of the time. On the days he couldn't settle after twenty minutes (he would yell and cry, whereas he usually natters to himself and falls asleep within minutes), I took him out for an hour or so in his push chair, so at least he got some relaxation time. On those days, I just put him to bed in the evening a little earlier.

Now that he's 2.2, he's sleeping from 1.30pm-3.30pm every day, as opposed to 1pm-3pm, with his nighttime sleep from 7.30pm-7am.