Two year old will only nap in car!

[GlummyMummy]

My daughter who is 2, has got to the point where she refuses to nap unless I drive her around in the car to get her to sleep!

Sometimes, we are coming back from somewhere so I just extend the journey a bit, but other days, we are going out in the car with the sole purpose of getting her to nap. It's starting to become a nuisance, never mind a drain on my petrol! Anyone else been in a similar situation?

[GlummyMummy]

The car naps used to work like that, but now I can drive for up to an hour and she's still wide awake. As soon as I get home she'll start crying and saying she's sleepy though, guaranteed!!! So I'm still offering her a cat nap everyday but so far it's just wasting my time and petrol!!!

[Frazzled2207]

Oh and while we did car-cot transfer quite successfully for a while it eventually stopped working. That was the biggest bugger of all!

[Frazzled2207]

Mine was like this from about 20 months- iended up going for a drive or initially in buggy, every day, though if we went somewhere in the morning he'd often just drop off on the way back which was helpful.
A year and a half on (!) we are in a similar situation except that he doesn't need one every day (is now 3!). He needs a nap most days though still - as we are out in the car most days it will usually happen at some point- If i go somewhere in the afternoon I factor in time for sitting in a car park somewhere
Unfortunately his brother is now heading the same way at 16months -
Refusing to nap in cot

[InsaneDame]

NapQueen I do all of what you mentioned in your post - I actually quite enjoy car nap time!

[Cakescakescakes]

During the transition it wasn't unusual for my DC to be in bed asleep at 5.45/6pm. That was them till 6.30 the next morning.

[Cakescakescakes]

6 months of still offering a nap until they were consistently never napping and were able to make it to 7pm. It took longer than 6 months before they weren't exhausted by bedtime though! It's much nicer to have the full day without being tied to naps once you get out the other side of the grizzly period.

Although to be honest if I felt they were tired after the napping had stopped I would put them in bed with some books for half and hour and call it 'room time'. It did them good to have a rest in peace and quiet.

[BadToTheBone]

Mine has both dropped their afternoon naps by 2.5, maybe she's ready to drop them.

[NapQueen]

Does she stay asleep when the engine stops? If so pack yourself lunch and a book, into the car and ten mins drive or until she drifts off. Park up and eat lunch/read etc, and only drive again to come home.

Or what I've done before - round the streets for ten mins then park back up at home or my mums but stay in the car. Close enough to connect to my own WiFi and mum or dh bring me a brew out

[GlummyMummy]

6 months?!?!? I'll be in an early grave by then!!! ;-D

And is that 6 months of still offering the nap, or 6 months before they can go through the day without looking tired?

[InsaneDame]

Mine is back to napping at least an hour a day again now and has been for over a week (albeit in the car though!). My nephew is 3.5 years old and the process of him dropping the nap took at least 6 months. He would have days of not napping then need one for a few days - it's not just an easy process if dropping them for good one day, especially when they are as young as your DD. If she were older it would probably be easier to just knock them on the head completely but she obviously is coping well.

[Cakescakescakes]

Several months here - at least 6.

[GlummyMummy]

Anyone any idea how long the transition period of dropping nap takes? Been over two months now of naps all over the place, a month of naps only a few days a week, down to naps only twice a week now and only in the car. Yet, she still looks and seems knackered, very pale faced, yawning, wanting to spend most of the day in front of the tv. So I feel I should still offer a nap. When did other people's kids get to the point of not seeming that tired without the nap?

[GlummyMummy]

It's the unpredictability of it all that frustrates me too! Today, my daughter fell asleep on way home from shopping at 11am which is very early for her!! Then I had to waken her after 1 hour 40 minutes as we needed to go out!

Insanedame- my longest driving around was 1 hr!! Vowed I wasn't doing that again...can't afford the petrol for one thing!!!!

I just wish she would tell me in the morning if she was going to nap and when so I could plan the day around it!!! I think I'm just a control freak!!!!

[Bubbinsmakesthree]

The car-to-cot transfer usually works for us (helps that we have a swivel car seat and a big car, so it's quite easy to lift him out with minimal disturbance). It's a bugger when it doesn't though.

I do find it very frustrating not being able to plan my day around a guaranteed nap. I used to use nap time to get a bit of work done, prepare dinner or whatever, but I've been stitched up a couple of times when I'd scheduled a phone call or something for nap time then I've had to try to manage it with a rampaging toddler!

[InsaneDame]

I've been know to drive for 50 minutes before finally giving up I'm usually driving home from somewhere anyway and just make sure I take a longer route. I'm quite stubborn but so is he so I usually end up giving in before he does! I've now given myself a rule that if he isn't asleep within 30 minutes then I stop - so far this week it has only taken 15 mins maximum. We are potty training so I think the extra concentration is wearing him out!

[EllenJanethickerknickers]

2 - 2.6yo was the magic 'drop nap' time for all 3 of my DSs. I just stopped worrying about it and if they happened to fall asleep in the car on a necessary journey, that was fine, if they didn't, that was also fine. It didn't take long for them to adjust. Initially they got a bit grumpy before their tea, but I just made that earlier, about 5- 5.30, and that gave them enough energy for a second wind, and they went to sleep at 7.00pm.

[GlummyMummy]

Does he tell you when he wants to go for his nap? Helpful wee soul!!! :-) Sometimes I think it's a timing issue with naps, only a small window of time when it will work before over tiredness sets in. How long do you drive around for before you give up if no nap?

[InsaneDame]

Glummy my DS didn't nap for three days last week (Fri, Sat and Sun) I thought we were done but he has napped every day for the last three days! We are also solely car naps now which work well as in he gets a nap and it lasts at least an hour but I worry it's not as comfortable or as good for him than if it were in his bed. Given the choice though he always asks to sleep in the car, bless him!

[GlummyMummy]

Wow!!! What a turnaround! It's been two months since she napped in her cot, so I really couldn't see that happening here!! I've never transferred her from car to cot either. Probably should have tried!

[Angeliqueinquest]

My ds was like this, I used to have to go for a drive every day just to get him down then carry him in the house then when he turned 2.2 (2.5 now) I stopped bothering and it was a nightmare for a week with him being over tired but then he asked to go for a nap! I put him in his cot with his blanket and teddy and off he went had tried this god knows how many times before, but it was a bit of a miracle for me.

[GlummyMummy]

That's three days she's not had it now....any idea when you get to the point of stopping offering them the nap?

[RandomMess]

She will probably survive happily on a nap every other day, you may just get to enjoy a lay in or her going to bed earlier than 7.30pm!

[GlummyMummy]

Sounds like we are not alone! To be honest, I think nap time has become a battle of wills!!! I wouldn't mind so much if she was good natured, but she gets overtired and very out of control and can't settle to anything!

I am convinced she still needs her nap, cause even with a late afternoon nap, she still goes down to bed fine at 7.30pm

[Bubbinsmakesthree]

We are going through the same thing - DS has been getting steadily harder to get to nap over the last couple of months, coinciding with his 2nd birthday. If I want him to sleep we go out in the car, or sometimes a walk in the buggy does the trick.

At home I follow the same routine as bedtime (other than bath teeth and jammies) - we read a book, say night night to his toys, close the curtain, put white noise on. Then he just jumps around in his cot, throws his teddy bear around - basically zero interest in sleeping.

He's at the childminders 4 days a week and still reliably naps there, and is more likely to nap for DH than for me. Frustrating!

[strawberrypenguin]

Sounds like she's dropping the nap. She's about the right age for it. Instead of trying to make her nap can you do half an hour quite time on the sofa with books/tv. Does the same job of letting them regroup and you get a sit down too