Nap Rebellion at 21 mos

[akc]

Hi all -

I'm pretty sure this is a normal phase (and need to dig out my Weissbluth, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child b/c I'm pretty sure this was in there), but did your toddler go through nap rebellion around this age? She's 21 mos and still in a crib (and loves that), but is just not excited to stop her life and go take that nap. When she does, she takes about one nap for an hour to an hour and a half on a good day. She then goes to bed around 7 pm (routine starts at 6:30). We just don't have time to do a big sleeping routine before nap, but she does get some down time and usually one book. Sometimes it does slide into a little later (1 pm to 1:30) that she goes down, but I look for tired signs and usually go by that (that's glassy eyes and wobbly lets BEFORE the yawning starts.) If she's rebelling, she stands in her crib and cries in big wails (which she doesn't do when awake at all - not a terrible two yet), crying "Mommy" or "Daddy" or even "Lola" who is our terrier dog. Pretty sad.

OK, so did your kids do this...and is it true what most say that they will pass through this phase?!! Any tips on how to minimize it?

thanks!

Alexa

[christic]

only have time for a quick reply...but yes, this seems to be very common. Happened with my daughter at about the same time, and the good news is it does eventually fade away. I didn't find any real help in Weissbluth but did get some good tips in the Toddler Lounge. You might want to do a search over there, I know there have been others with the same problem to.

Good luck!

Chris

[Karenn]

Yep! We're just at the end of this stage (I hope!) Christic was there for me a couple of weeks ago with some excellent advice- (I think those are the threads she mentioned in the toddler lounge.) Basically, I started putting books in his crib at nap time and he started sleeping again. He seemed to need the extra time to wind down. He's also taking his nap about a half hour later than he had been, but thankfully, it doesn't seem to be affecting nighttime sleep. Mostly though, it just seemed to be a stage we had to make it through.

Good luck!