Toddler nap issues

[thelocknestmother]

So Mary Sheedy Kurchinka firmly convinced me that toddlers need naps...and mine has always napped (usually) well. Goes to sleep willingly and takes a nice lengthy nap, and still sleeps at night. But since her baby brother was born at the beginning of the month, I can't seem to get her to nap. She likes to nurse to sleep, and even if DS will let me have the chance to nurse her and read books like we used to, she just doesn't calm down like she used to. I have mandated quiet/rest time...and she usually complies, but never falls asleep, but often after that I am so frustrated that she hasn't slept that I end up in a bad mood, and later her bad mood hits when she is overtired (pre-dinner time). What to do?? Thanks!

[swd12422]

How old is she? DS is the same way. He took 2 2-hour naps when he was an infant, then started dropping the first nap and took a 4-hour nap every afternoon. It was great! Then, around the time he turned 2, he'd skip his nap altogether some days. I'd freak out, knowing that I needed the break and that he needed the sleep, and that he'd be a nightmare to deal with by dinnertime.

Eventually, I learned that I just can't control it. If he's not going to sleep, he's not going to sleep and I can't force him to. On the days he doesn't nap, we have "quiet time" for an hour (or however long I can keep him reasonably quiet and calm) and then we play or read books. I try to keep it low-key til I start making dinner, then he's on his own. We move bedtime up by an hour, too. It doesn't make up for no nap, but it helps end the day quicker, just when he's really starting to lose it.

[kevinsgirl]

I think you can lead a child to bed, but can't make him sleep.

Both my girls gave up their naps earlier than the experts said they should have, but I still made them rest in their rooms. You're wise to instill quiet time.

We do have early bedtime for all of them--7 for the 3 & 5, 6:45 for the 1 yr old.

Not a solution, but hopefully, it helps to know you're not alone and you're in a range of normal...