Why us my 2 yr old waking up earlier after dropping nap?!

[milkyman]

My ds as of a couple of weeks ago slept from 12-2pm and woke at 6.30am (bedtime 6.30ish). Since dropping his nap he now wakes at 5am?

Why is this?

Also, what do people do if they dont nap instead?

Reinstate and Give him a shorter daytime nap

he refuses - i have just tried but he just screams!

Bump

Are you trying to put him to bed overtired? Maybe try slightly earlier.

Give him something to eat at 6pm. If he's awake longer maybe he is using more energy.

Can putting them to bed overtired make them wake earlier?

I've found that's the case with my children - might not be for everyone though. How old is your ds? dc1 dropped her naps at 3 1/2 years and dc2 is 2 and still needs a good daytime nap. They both go to bed at 6pm and wake at 7-8.

Can putting them to bed overtired make them wake earlier?

Definitely can for some. DS always wakes earlier if he's gone to bed later. If he goes to bed earlier he often has a lie in the following day. Sounds like your DC is the same.

How old is he? Is he teething or something similar?

I'm wondering if it's not so much the nap dropping causing the early wake up but rather some other issue causing him to resist the nap and wake early.

DD when teething or unwell resists naps and wakes early. but when not teething she goes down for nap fine and sleeps later in the morning.

two options: try more assistance to get him to sleep (DD sometimes needs stroking/cuddling when she's teething). Or, give up on lunch nap and aim for a short nap sometime in the afternoon by going out in buggy say 4-4.30pm. Then he can have a more normal bedtime without being overtired, and hopefully wake later.

duh just saw he's two. At two he may well be teething (expect you'd know though). there is also apparently a 2 year sleep regression... which may be causing both the nap refusal and the early wakes. I'd keep trying the nap every few days and see what happens.