Should I care that they are in there laughing and playing instead of taking a nap?

[Beppie]

In all honesty, it really irritates me. But what can I do about it? My 4-year-old and 2-year old are in there giggling, etc. they are supposed to be sleeping. what would you do?

[lotusdebi]

Nothing. My kids grew out of naps well before age 2. If they're not tired, then just enjoy their playing while you get a break.

[ssh]

Originally Posted by lotusdebi

Nothing. My kids grew out of naps well before age 2. If they're not tired, then just enjoy their playing while you get a break.

Yeah this. Except my DD was 27 months when she quit napping.

[nameisrio]

I think I'd just be happy they were staying in the room without me. I still have to lie down with my 3 yr. old to get her to fall asleep!

[Drummer's Wife]

Maybe they aren't tired? Hey, at least they are getting along.

FWIW, all four of my kids stopped napping on a regular basis around their 2nd birthday - so I can't imagine making my 4 yo take a nap. That said, we never made anyone take a nap, they went to sleep when they were tired, so YMMV.

[weliveintheforest]

my 2 year old still naps daily and my 4 year old does occasionally, but I have to lay down with them until they are asleep. It doesn't take long for us. If I left them alone in the room, awake, they would never just go to bed in the daytime.

[Beppie]

i used to lie down with them too, but i have a newborn now & it's just not always feasible. i understand if they just aren't tired, but i really can't function if i don't have some downtime in the afternoon. the other problem is that i am exhausted myself & really want a nap! with a young baby i am just not getting the sleep i need at night.

[sgmom]

Originally Posted by lotusdebi

Nothing. My kids grew out of naps well before age 2. If they're not tired, then just enjoy their playing while you get a break.

Agreed. Unless they're showing signs of being tired towards the later afternoon, I wouldn't worry about it. And if they start to get tired a little before their normal bedtime, then I'd bump up what time they go to bed at night by 30 or so minutes.

[PreggieUBA2C]

With the exception of passing out in the van occasionally, the latest any of our dc napped was 18 months and none of them ever did the two naps/day thing- and none slept longer than 30min-1hr for a nap. Our first never napped or always napped- depending on how you look at it. He slept in one to two hr spurts for the first year throughout the day, totalling 10hrs/day.

I relish the times when my dc giggle for an hour in their room together. My friend's children are 3 (next month) and 4, and the 4 yr old just stopped napping this month, so if she's in the room with the 3 yr old, he won't sleep but will then be very tired and cranky for the rest of the day.

Could the 4 yr old have quiet time in a different room than the 2 yr old while you nap? When I have newbies and need a rest in the daytime, I send the others into their room for quiet time and sleep within earshot of them with the newbie. I have slept on the floor in front of their bedroom door before and I knew a man who used to have his daughter play in the playroom while he slept inside the room where she was, on the floor in front of the doorway. I usually just don't have enough sleep and suffer during the newbie phase especially because though I need a nap, I rarely have one; our babes sleep on my shoulder while I perform miracles with one hand.

I am a light sleeper but I can do that half-sleeping thing and if it's 30 minutes or longer, it can help me get through thte rest of the day. I have fallen asleep in the room with our boys playing all around me (there were many years when I was awake and actively tending a child or all of them for a total of 20 hrs/day, so it was inevitable that I might fall asleep now and again; it was by no means usual though, amazingly). It's funny that when I do that, they stay with me in the room and play quietly together whereas if I'm not in the room with them, they are more likely to leave the room and to quarrel. Would you be able to bring them into a common/safe room and sleep in the same room with them even if they end up playing instead?

Wow. I seem negligent. I can assure you that I am a very attentive mum, and I am alone a lot with our boys, unschool them, and have raised them with a lot of freedom so that they do a lot of uncommon things for themselves as well as for one another. That may have happened out of necessity because of having such close spacing, or maybe it would've been that way anyway, but it is what it is and I am quite comfortable having a nap even now if the 25 month old has passed out (so rare...); I know they'll be fine, or I'll wake up and deal.

[cappuccinosmom]

I have been pretty strict about rest time, but I've never required them to actually sleep.

Stories on CD and books that are only for naptime help keep the noise level down. Even sometimes toys that are only for rest time.

[Llyra]

My twins are almost 3. Probably they could give up their nap, but I'm not ready to give it up. My rule is that as long as they're in their room, and not bothering me any, they're welcome to sleep or not sleep as it pleases them. Some days they sleep. Some days they pull all their books off the shelf and make a huge mess, very happy and reasonably quiet. Some days one sleeps, and the other lies around talking to him/herself. I figure, whatever. I can make them stay in the room, but sleep, like eating, is something you can't force.

I guess they probably actually nap about 4 out of 7 days.

I'd probably change my tune if they were acting grouchy long before bedtime. They're not, though. Most days they could probably get through without the nap and be perfectly happy until bedtime. When they were younger, and clearly needed the sleep more, I used to be more proactive about making sure I did everything possible to get them to sleep. But now, I just really need them out of my hair for an hour or two.

[elmh23]

As long as they're not bugging you, call it good

Dd stopped napping at 2.5 and ds was around 2, so maybe they don't need to sleep at this time. With dd we did quiet time so I could rest (I also had a newborn at that time) and it worked well. I can't do quiet time with ds because it turns in to a "take apart the bedroom/practice taking out screws with our fingers" time.