How do I get him to nap?

[amber913]

My just-turned 3-yo ds still needs a nap, as do I. Lately, he's been whining/crying and kicking his door (he can't get out), and I hate it. It's sad to hear him going off like that, and his sister and I certainly can't sleep through it.

Sleeping with him doesn't work--he's too wiggly, which starts to boil my blood after awhile, and I have to sleep with his sister who would prefer to sleep the afternoon away, but needs to nurse here and there to do it. I also won't be sleeping with both of them, so that's out.


I'm really at my wits end here. I'm tempted to scrap his naps and send him to bed earlier, but I need to nap, too!!! Plus, he's too young, I think, to stop napping.

Any advice is welcome. Thank you!

[birdie22]

I have been through nap hell for the last three days. DS NEEDS a nap, but he just won't settle.

I am currently blaming it on the unusual amount of sugar he's been eating lately. (We celebrated his birthday on Saturday, and of course there's all this Halloween junk around).

I don't lock him in his room, but I do insist that he stay in there for a while. He can play with his animals and puzzles, but that's pretty much all he has in there. There are usually no tears over it (on his part, anyway), but the tears inevitably show up at around 6 p.m. when he's dog tired and grouchy. Of course, that's when DH gets home, and would like to enjoy some play time with his little guy. I just feel like if he was ready to drop his nap, he wouldn't be such a sourpuss all evening.

Sorry I don't have any advice. Just know you're not alone.

[tsume]

I just went through this today. My older two are fighting naps like crazy. It seems like they still need to nap because they act like such bears before bedtime. Maybe I should nix the naps and make bedtime earlier?

My older 2 are just turned 6 & 4 though.

We were at a homeschool lecture and the speaker was talking about Quiet Time. Feet off the floor (so on the bed or couch) and they can either: pray, think, sleep or read. She made it sound so simple and easy.

[Hazelnut]

scrap the nap. With ds1 we went through hell when he needed a nap and wouldn't take one. He got so overtired which I really worry about and he would act incredibly, inconsolabley tantrumy in the afternoon.
But he would.not.nap.
And you can't force someone to sleep. I couldn't even "force" him to rest in his room without the kind of physical force I wouldn't want to use. With ds2 I was thinking of maybe starting slowly with really short rest periods in his room, building up to something worthwhile, but I don't know. He's much less crazy when he's tired.

All I know is you can't force anyone to nap, and I only get madder trying til I was being really crazy myself. The sooner I gave up on it and agreed to just ride out the rough transition, the better off we all were. Bedtime was early, but it's hard to remember to be extra gentle when they're tired and acted really crazy.

[happymomma]

My boys gave up naps right around when they turned 2. There was a transition period where they were a bit cranky (to say the least) in the afternoons but still refused to nap...eventually they worked it out and all was well. I just figured that there are certain things you cannot force a person to do no matter how hard you try...sleep, eat or poo where you want.

If you are desperate for some time try the car maybe?

[abi&ben'smom]

The only way my two would take naps after they turned 2 was if they were worn out really, really good by a trip to the park or something really physical like that.

[Jenlaana]

I cant lock my kids in a room in any way. I did it with my DS when he was younger - like 3-6yrs old (sending him in his room and listening to him whine/fuss/kick wanting to get out before finally passing out). It just broke my heart.

With DD, I cuddle her in bed. I hold her still, but its not in a harsh way... I just cuddle her. The first few times she cried, but I learned that if I sing softly she will be quiet to hear me, and then she passes out very fast. Then once she's asleep I leave. DD is 2 yrs old.

I do have a newborn as well, and I have to get her to sleep before I can focus on DD1 or DD1 gets too distracted.

[Oana]

My son gave up naps shortly after turning 2. To me, it is not worth fighting to have him sleep when he can make it through the day without it. He was somewhat more irritable in the evenings at first, had a few nights when he went to sleep earlier than usual, and in time his bedtime slipped back without his mood being affected. Now if he naps at all, even 30 minutes, his bedtime slips by 2-3 hours.
I recommend letting him go without a nap for a few days and see what it does. You'd probably get more rest with him awake and happy than with him crying and fighting his nap.
I am not sure how old the sister is, but you can try nursing her down and then maybe once more whaen she first wakes up, then if she wakes up again, call it a nap and have her come and play. Will your son play by himself while you are nursing the sister?

Good luck, I know it can be hard to balance everybody's rest needs....

(((hugs)))
Oana