3 yr old not sleeping at naptime???

Erica - posted on 01/20/2010

My daughter is 3, she is fighting the naps right now too. She stills has to have quiet time. You deserve a little quiet time. I also was yelling and getting angry when she wouldn't sleep. I finally realized that it is not worth getting upset about. She has to stay in her bed for roughly a hour. She will take a couple of books with her and read them. If she is tired she will eventually fall asleep. If she doesn't then we both still have a little quiet time. Good luck!

Sheelah - posted on 01/20/2010

my daughter was done with naps by the time she was 18 months and my son by the time he was 24 months, so I initiated a "rest time" Where they have to go their rooms, stay in their rooms (absolutely no exceptions unless there's an emergency - going pee 3 times doesn't count as an emergency after the first time), and play by themselves for a designated amount of time (I did two hours). They are now five & four and still go to their rooms after lunch for their rest time!

Theresa - posted on 01/20/2010

She probably is growing out of nap time. I don't think it's worth fighting with her over and, in my opinion, is definately not worth spanking over. Try telling her she's going to be having quiet time now. Make a big deal that it's a big girl thing. Put a movie on for her and let her sit on the couch. Tell her she doesn't have to sleep, but she does have to sit quietly and watch the movie. Some days she may just watch the movie, and some days she may fall asleep. If she won't sit quietly for the movie give her the choice, go lay in your bed for a nap, or watch a movie.

Cathryn - posted on 01/20/2010

My nephew stopped naps shortly after he turned 2, this is probably her way of telling you she doesn't need or want one anymore. Good Luck.

Janette - posted on 01/20/2010

my 2 year old does not nap anymore so she may be over naptime

Rachel - posted on 01/20/2010

It's wonderful that she sleeps that long at night. My youngest daughter goes to bed at 830-9. She sleeps 6hrs, wakes approximately at 2:30-3am, and is awake for another hr or so until she decides to go to sleep until 7am. Then I lay her back down after lunch from 1:30-2:30pm. Needless to say, I have tried to cut out the daytime naps, but she still wakes at night regardless. I haven't slept through the night in years, so a nap is important to me druing the day unless my youngest son is home, then I go to bed early if need be. My children are ages 2,3,5 and 14. One day they all will sleep the entire night. But until then, I just have to cope.

Leaha - posted on 01/20/2010

My daughter is just 18 months and doesn't have a nap and hasn't for the last 4/5 months. She does sleep for 12 hours at night. I wish she would have a nap so I could because I'm currently 20 weeks pregnant and very tired! My oldest daughter soon grew out of having naps after her 1st Birthday. Think I've just got 2 nosey girls who are frightened of missing something.

Rachel - posted on 01/20/2010

My son stopped taking naps just shy of turning 3. I stopped struggling with him. And made him lay down quietly so that my younger daughter could take a nap. It was ok if he didnt nap. I asked him to help his sister sleep. He likes to help. So this worked until I got him into Headstart. I don't know if your area provides that. Its like preschool, but they take children by the age of two. Now he goes to school for half a day and I can get my daughter to nap which gives me some very much needed quiet time to myself.

Renae - posted on 01/20/2010

Many toddlers grow out of (or rather, start refusing to take one) needing a nap by the time they are 3. What happens if you let her stay and go to bed a little earlier?

Brandi - posted on 01/19/2010

i had the same problem with my stepson he had grown out of nap time so we after weeks and weeks of fighting it out switched to quite time. i gave him a ton of books to look at while he lay in bed and he had to sit quite for an hour looking at his books. he could read quite to a stuffed animal if he wished but there was no toys and no loud talking he could whisper and use the bath room only once if needed which usually he didnt cause i made him go before laying down. i also had him take a few deep breaths to help relax then id leave him to his reading. he wasnt sleeping but the laying and resting from just looking at books really helped the attitude he would have had if he hadnt done it.

Kayliecia - posted on 01/19/2010

My son is 3 Jan 30th he doesnt take naps anymore, except if hes really cranky i have him take a nap we do quiet time still...also i put him to bed earlier if he doesnt take a nap, so it all works out.

Jennifer - posted on 01/19/2010

Sounds like she is through with taking naps. My son stopped taking daily naps long before age 3. It was fine with me because now I'm able to put him to bed earlier.

Christa - posted on 01/19/2010

have her go without a nap for a couple days...if she can get through the day without it...let her go without.

Amanda - posted on 01/19/2010

Try this. Half an hour before naptime, have some reading time, or listen to music quietly, something that will quiet her down. Then take her up to her room, saying something like, "Nap-time, hunny! Time to lie down and have a good sleep. Mummy is going to have a nap too." Put her in her cot, and reassure her you'll be back at the end of both your "naps". Then shut the door and walk away. DON'T GO BACK IN UNTIL NAP-TIME (about 45 mins) IS OVER. She is in a safe environment, and cannot hurt herself. She'll beg, plead, threaten, cry and scream, but ignore it all. Put some music on, do some cleaning or something. Eventually she will work out that the time in her room by herself with nothing to do is a good time to sleep. (It will help if most of her toys aren't in her room.) After 45 mins, go in and say, "Okay, nap-time over!" or something to that effect. (keep it upbeat). Praise her for a quiet time if she has been quiet, and ignore any of the negative behaviour. Re-enforce that nap-time is sleep time. Don't allow her to fall asleep during the day at any other time, as this will throw nap-time off kilter.

If this still isn't helping after two weeks, try going through the day without naps for a few days. Watch her reactions. If she is exhausted by the end of the day, then she still needs that nap. In this case, bring in the big guns. See your GP for information on mother groups, or consult your nearest day care.

You also need a break, hun, so enrol her in a daycare or ask a relative you trust to care for her for a few hours once a week. If you're not running on all cylinders, your little one won't either.

Take care hun:)