My 2yr old twins wake UP MISERABLE every afternoon - advice needed!

[LittleMissTwins]

I have 2.1 year old twin girls who are a joy in the mornings - we go to toddler groups and have a lovely time together. I put them down for a nap at 1:30 and when they wake up they are like different children, whingey, moany and upset at the slightest thing. This often goes on all afternoon and it is becoming a real issue, I can't work out what the problem is.

I let them sleep for an hour and a half - any longer and it has a knock-on effect making them wake earlier the next morning. They are fantastic sleepers at night, generally doing 7:30-7:30. I have to wake them up but try to do this very gently, opening the blinds and letting them wake slowly. If I let them sleep they go on forever, would sleep past 4pm.

Does anyone have any suggestions? It is becoming a nightmare and I dread getting them up every afternoon. We are unable to have friends over or enjoy an afternoon out as they are so grumpy! Any help really appreciated.

DD2 was like this, and the only way I cured it was to knock the afternoon nap on the head. Like your twins, she was about 2 when it all went pear-shaped with the napping, and eventually I stopped putting her down because she was such a miserable little sod when she woke up. Now she is a joy all day. Just put them to bed at 7 instead of 7.30 to make up for it.

Worked for me, anyway.

My ds1 was like this too. He could be horrible for hours but it was generally better if he woke in his own time rather than being woken. He needed to go on having his afternoon nap for ages (until he went to school full-time, really) so I just had to put up with it! Monster.