How do I convince a two-year old that she still needs a nap?

[LucyG]

Please tell me that this isn't the end of naps! For the past few days, my DD (25 months) has been refusing to nap. She has played/cried/talked in her crib for over an hour each day, but hasn't slept. I know she's tired. I read her some books and rock her before putting her down, and she's very relaxed and near sleep. But, when I put her in the crib, she cries and clings to me, then gets so agitated that she can't/won't fall asleep. Part of this may be due to travel last week, but I was hoping she'd return to her usual routine once we were home. No such luck, thus far. By 6:00 p.m., she is exhausted and a mess. She sleeps 11-12 hours at night, but I think she still needs at least a short nap in the afternoons.

Are nap strikes common at this age? Are there any ways I can help her back into a napping pattern? I am soooooooo not ready for her to stop napping!


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2 years and counting!

[hjdong]

I totally understand. I posted about DS wanting to give up his nap, and the majority of the advice was to move the nap later. I moved it back to 2 (from 12:30) and he started falling asleep immediately. I was really concerned about such a late nap, but it hasn't affected him bedtime. After about a week, he started acting really tired about 1, so I've been putting him to nap then, and he's been going right to sleep. I think nap strikes are very common at this age. I would think that perhaps if you rocked her, put her down, and then read stories to her, that might help. Also, I know some people have left some books in the crib with their DC, left them for their normal naptime, and eventually they returned to napping.

Good luck,

[redhookmom]

My dd must belong to the same union! I am going to try a later nap time today and see what happens. Yesterday I went into her room after about a half hour and she was standing on her head with her feet on the wall. :o

[Wife_and_mommy]

LOL! That's something I could picture my little one doing some day. :)

E

mom to dd 4/5/2004

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Yeah! We made it a year!