17 month old not wanting to nap anymore

Stephanie - posted on 10/08/2012

My daughter sleeps 12 hours a night as well (down and 9pm up at 9am). She used to get a three hour nap in the afternoon (1pm to 4pm) with immediately going to sleep in the beginning. Now that she's 17 months old, I notice she's laying in bed for an hour then sleeping for two. I, honestly, don't see anything wrong with this. It gives her time to relax without the hustle and bustle of the house plus two hours of sleep so she can last until bedtime.

I've tried letting her go without her nap, getting her up if she won't sleep, or even trying to skip it all together... it just doesn't work. You can see she develops complete exhaustion - she trips, stumbles, she won't eat, and she's really clingy.



I know the best thing for my daughter is to keep her schedule - up at 9am / nap @ 1-4pm / bed at 9pm. She may not sleep during her nap, but her nap isn't just for her - it's for mommy too. It gives me a break from her as much as she gets a break from me.



My peds dr said she should be getting 12 to 15 hours of sleep with a preference toward 15 until she is 2. Then she should get 10 to 14 with preference toward 13 - 14 hours. Every child is different... :D

Bianca - posted on 03/09/2011

my daughter doesn't take her nap either but i let her play in the toddler bed and talk and cry sometimes until 1 pm she goes down at 11 and she is 17 months old

Laurette - posted on 10/28/2010

My son 18 months goes to bed at 6:30 and wakes at 5am he plays til noon, has a 2 hour sleep and he is up for the rest of the day.
Most toddlers drop their second sleep at around 15 - 18 months. My daughter was the same and all my friends kids did as well.

Jamie - posted on 10/22/2010

My son who is just about 18 mo will take about a 3 hour nap if he is at home. On days he goes to daycare he takes an hour nap there and will not take another when we come home. It drives me nuts because I know he is tired he just won't sleep. He will lay in his bed for an hour or more and never fall asleep.

Emma - posted on 10/22/2010

Hello Angeline
Ive got a 17 month old girl and she is still having her afternoon sleeps i asked my health centre nurse when they stop having their afternoon sleeps and she said that they stop having sleeps between 2 and 3 year old and that not many 17 month to 18 month olds stop having sleeps so they still need to have their sleep in the afternoons and this still goes on for another 6 months thats what my health nurse told me what i seen her and i put my daugther down at 2:00pm and she sometimes wakes up between 4:30pm and 5:00pm and she will still sleep through the night.

Laura Zoey - posted on 10/21/2010

If she is getting at least 12-14 hours at night it might be ok but most sleep drs say nap until at least two years.

Amanda - posted on 10/21/2010

i am having the same problem my daughter will be 18 months on the 24th and this week she has started to refuse to nap at all whats the deal is that normal

Robin - posted on 10/21/2010

my daughter is 18 months old. she takes one nap a day. she wakes up about 8-9am eats plays all that good stuff till 230pm and sleeps till 6-7pm then goes to bed at 945pm. its the same cycle everyday. theres a couple days she doesnt want to nap and its ok. my oldest daughter is almost 5 and has not had a nap since she was 16 months old. she decided she didnt want to nap anymore and hasnt. so it depends on the kid. let them tell u what they want they are a pretty good judge of if they are tired or not.

Laura Zoey - posted on 10/21/2010

Eric usually sleeps 10-11 hours at night so I make sure he gets a nap cuz I've read the sleep hours for this age are 12-14 hours daily. So he's usually napping for two hours at 11am but sometimes he fights it and won't fall asleep. I breastfeed him to sleep so if he won't fall asleep I stay with him and work with him until he accepts it and falls asleep. Then I put him in his crib.
When he fights me sometimes I find he had gas, or he needed to poop. It's pretty often he fights sleep but then poops and then falls asleep nicely. So maybe give your daughter a chance to do that, otherwise he falls asleep great. One day he fell asleep sitting on the couch! It was adorable. But I usually get him asleep in 15-30minutes so it's not bad.
But I do wish he didn't need the nap anymore. I hate his nap time and wish he could stay awake all day. Idk why some moms like the nap, it's such a pain cuz I babysit 2-6every weekday so essentially I'm stuck home every weekday cuz if I go out before nap he doesn't go down easily and gets a short nap, so I have to stay home in the morning and then I'm bored all nap and then leave to babysit and when I get home it's almost bed time.
So nap is a pain for me but he needs it and I want him healthy so we keep at it.

Jacquellin - posted on 10/19/2010

What time does she wake up in the morning? My son is 17 months old and wakes up around 6:30 every morning. He takes 2 naps still, one about 9am and one in the afternoon around 3:30. He seems to be transitioning to a later and later second nap and soon here I will start phasing out his morning nap. What time are you trying to put her down for a nap?

Sacha - posted on 10/18/2010

going to a reg bed we swapped out the bed, and got a door gate. so basically we made the crib bigger... He was really fussy in the beginning and it took about a week to get him used to the idea that he had to go to bed and not play himself tired. After about a month he was no problem, we now still put him in his room at 7, he can play with his toys, but isn't allowed to leave his room, he will come to the door and ask for more milk sometimes, but usually entertains himself. He will climb in bed alone and go to sleep, but sometimes he is fussy and will cry at the door, then we bring him back to his bed after a little cuddle in our arms and tuck him in again.

it takes time, but if you think DD is ready for the change make it! We decided it was better to have him transitioned when he was starting to walk, cause the stress from walking was already there we didn't have the double stress from losing the crib.

good luck!

Angeline - posted on 10/18/2010

Thanks for the replies, ladies!
Sacha, how did you transition your baby out of the crib? My DD doesn't know how to sleep on a regular bed. I've tried it a few times - to sleep with me on the bed - but she'll stay awake and play for hours!

Sacha - posted on 10/18/2010

some kids just stop naping... we have to pray that our little ones keep on naping, but when they don't there is nothing you can do anymore, but make sure that they are still getting the right amount of sleep at night.

my little one has been off and on with naping for a while now, he is 17mo and goes to bed from 7 till 830 or 9. He has been out of a crib since he was 13mo, and we don't stop him from playing, if he is screaming and over tired then we stay with him and try to calm him down and take a nap, usually he will nap from 1230 til 230, but if he doesn't want to we don't force him. If he is really bad then we take him for a walk, and he falls asleep in the stroller every time.

i have friends that their kids stopped napping all together at 15mo.... some kids just don't want too....

good luck... try a few things out but what ever you do don't push it!

Linda - posted on 10/16/2010

My daughter is 17 months old as well. She sleeps 12 hours a night too. She wakes up anywhere from 8-9 oclock in the morning where she has breakfast and plays which helps to run her down. Then about 11:30 she will have lunch then she will take a nap about 12:00 during the day. She wakes up about 2:30-3:00 and she will stay awake until about 10 at night. She got to where she didn't want to take a nap during the day. She did the same thing that your child is doing. I just kept letting her play in her bed or scream for a while and she would eventually go to sleep. Now she is starting to get to where she will lay down at naptime and be tired. It helps to make sure the nap is at the same time everyday and that there is a consistent routine. Goodluck and hope that this may help.