2.5yo nap strike

[Modestandatinybitsexy]

Is 2.5 too young to give up on naps? DS is just a nightmare to get down. When he does sleep he normally sleeps over an hour. In the last week it's been very short or no naps. Is this just a phase or is it the end of naps?

It’s the end of naps
You might find he still needs one every few days but not every day

And no, it’s not too young
I work with 2-4 year olds and only a handful of the two year olds still have naps and none of the 3 year olds

Both mine stopped at 18 months, so congratulations on getting them to last this long!

Oh no!! I love nap time! It's been my quiet time with 5mo dd.

Thanks for replying. Any tips on how to handle the transition? Mainly for me, I'm freaking out!

2.5 is quiet late to nap in my experience. You need to bring bedtime forward for the amount of time they normally have for nap plus 30 mins. Do quiet time after lunch were you watch read books or watch TV. I know someone who makes her children have 30 mins quiet time in their bedrooms which is a genius idea.

Don’t do what I did and think you can do loads of full days out at the start as they will be too tired.

Mine stopped napping when they got to that age iirc. I was a bit torn because on the one hand it gave me 1.5 hrs peace and quiet every day when both dc napped at the same time but on the other it loosened the straightjacket that was our routine and meant we could stay out longer or eat at a slightly different time without there being a massive knock on effect for the rest of the day.

For a few weeks or months, make the time that was naptime a quiet, resting time. Put the toys away, darken the room, turn the tv onto a calm channel (or off) and get the books out. If that doesn't work, go for a walk and come back to a lovely, warming drink and biscuit.

my 2.5 year old is still napping on the whole, about 1 every 2 weeks she wont nap and its hellish. No advise but watching with interest on how the hell to cope!

My DD stopped napping for about a month when she was just under 2.5 and I thought that was the end but recently had started napping again so it might just be a phase. I started trying a nap again when she’d get incredibly grumpy at 5pm.

My Dd has been hit and miss the last week or two with naps and I have been wondering the same. She only just turned 2! I feel like it’s too soon. But she’s been waking up in the night or very early (like 4am!!) for about 5-6 weeks now. It’s been awful. So the last few days she’s had a quiet spell each afternoon but not actually napped and has slept 7.30pm - 7.45am. First time in I can’t remember how long I’ve woken up before her! Today she did nod off and I woke her after about an hour, so I think she will need the odd hour nap every few days still but I think I’m just going to have to roll with it for a while now. I really wish the naps had lasted longer - baby number 2 is due in 9ish weeks and I could’ve used those couple of hours each afternoon of quiet 😄🙈

DD (2.5) will quite happily nap every day, but it has been impacting on bedtime, taking her over an hour to get to sleep, and have been putting her down later and later.

When she doesn’t nap, she’s out like a light. Not overtired by the end of the day either, so she obviously doesn’t really need it. I’ll put her for a nap every few days as she seems to sort of accumulate the tiredness.

In some ways I miss the hour to myself, but it gives us more freedom when out and about (she would never nap in her pram or the car!).

My grand daughter (her and her mum live with me) dropped naps at about 21 months. They just became hit and miss each day so we tried her without them. My daughter was really worried about losing that 2 hour ‘slot of peace’ during the day but she has found she prefers it!

The little one is back down for sleep at 7/7.30pm (wakes at 7.30am) so my daughter has found she gets a bit more of an evening and isn’t bound by the nap times during the day. I think once naps become hit and miss then it’s normally a sign they’re over that part!

My DS was 2.5 when he suddenly stopped naps, it was a shock!

We had quiet time after lunch, but of tv but we basically had to stay in in the afternoon for weeks so he didn't sleep in the car and then bedtime would be ruined!

My daughter is 18 months & has never napped as long as other children her age. On the days that she goes to nursery she will nap for between one and two hours but it means that she is often not going to bed until 9pm! On the days she’s with us she naps for an hour max & still goes to bed quite late. I know it seems early but I’m wondering if the end of naps are in sight for us? I know someone else said their child stopped at 18 months

My son went on nap strike at 20 months. It never ended. But he does now go to bed at 5pm.

And then there's my friend with a 3.5 year old daughter that still naps 😭. But then she goes to bed at 10pm. I think I prefer it the way round I have it.

It was the beginning of the end for my daughter at this age. She would nap in the car if the day was busy and the time was right, but not every day.

We tried to introduce 'quiet time' but quiet is an impossible concept for her, so we brought the bedtime routine forward a bit and found she goes to sleep much more quickly at night, bonus!

My eldest stopped at 2 1/2 which was a relief actually as she could only sleep at home. Younger one napped her last week of second birthday but would nod off in the car. This seemed early compared to the other kids at nursery. On the plus side they both slept later in the morning after dropping naps.

My GD has given up daytime naps and she is only 20 months! I think my children were about 2 when they stopped napping in the day. All children are different but I wouldn't say that 2 and a half is particularly early to give up naps

My 20 month old DS pretty much dropped his nap 2 months ago. He might have a 1 hour nap every few weeks but if he naps, he won't go to bed until at least 10pm, sometimes as late as 11.30pm even if it's only a 30-min nap.

His normal day now is no nap and bed at 6-6.30pm and he usually sleeps through until 7-7.30am so it's better with no nap!