18 month old not napping anymore

Tarilyn - posted on 03/10/2009

My daughter went through a phase from about 10 months to 12 months where she napped and then stopped. Thats the only time she has napped. A lot of kids go through phases, but what I do with my daughter, since she doesnt nap, is she gets 1 hour minimum of quite time in her bedroom, if after that one hour shes still quitely playing then I tell her whenever she is ready she can come out, and she will come out on her own, or knock for me to come get her when shes ready. She can play, watch her dvd player, read, do whatever she wants, but she has to be in there alone for at least that time. She doesn't even have to stay on the bed. She is 21 months old and we have been having quiet time since she was 12 months old. My daughter has always slept 12+ hours a night, but it always killed me with no nap, so when I started quiet time I noticed a big difference in how I felt as well! Also, have you tried to plan most of your very BUSY activities as I call them in the morning, before lunch? I found by having my daughter in group activities and outdoor play and all that kind of hectic run run run activities that use up a ton of energy in the morning, then bringing her home for lunch and she gives the ODD nap (or goes to bed at 4pm lol...no joke some days shes in bed asleep by 4pm and up again at 7:15-7:45 the next morning!)

Jennifer - posted on 03/10/2009

My son went through not really napping around 18 months and then again around 26 months and now at 33 months. I have had several friends say the same thing. I just stayed consistant in putting him down for his nap as usual with the expectation set that he would at least remain in his room for 2 hours. He has always moved back into napping after a week or so of not napping, but remaining quietly in his room. Oh, and I too panicked the first time thinking "no way! not yet!". :-)

Rolé - posted on 03/10/2009

Thanks everybody. I guess I just started panicking when it seemed like my 18 month old was not napping anymore. I'm definitely not ready for him to give that up yet. This past week he has napped every afternoon. Some days it took a bit longer for him to fall asleep, but he did. So, the panic was totally unneccessary.

Sasha - posted on 03/08/2009

My daughter, who is 3, has been in daycare up until about 6 weeks ago. At daycare she would not sleep during nap time so her teachers put her cot beside the book shelf and she would lay there and read books for 2 hours. Now that we are home after lunch she lays on the couch and watches a movie. She never actually sleeps but it gives me 2 hours to catch up around the house. She goes to bed between 8 and 9 every night without any problems. Don't worry about your 18 month old not napping. He will adjust and get the sleep he needs!

Rolé - posted on 03/07/2009

This past week I have put him down for a nap every day around the same time. Most days he fell asleep after about 15 minutes. There was one day though where he was awake for almost an hour and a half. I wanted to leave him in bed for quiet time at least and he did fall asleep eventually. I also wake him up at 3pm and that's usually after about 2 hours of sleep. He then sleeps about 11 hours at night. I have found that if he sleeps past 7 in the morning, then he definitely does not want to nap that day. So far so good, hopefully this routine will keep for a while.

Anita - posted on 03/07/2009

Have a quiet time in the afternoon about two hours long. My daughter is 19 months and takes a two hour nap and 12 hours at night. Sometimes she does not sleep during her nap time she just plays on her bed. She is not allowed to get off her bed, I put books on it and just a few toys and she will either fall asleep or play. You still get your time with other things and they get their quiet time. If they don't sleep its ok. Just teach them to play quietly in on their bed. 

More then 12 hours a night is stretching it. They will sleep for the time they need if you don't interfear.  

Rebecca - posted on 03/07/2009

Some kids just don't need the nap anymore. For his age, he should be getting about 12 hours of sleep for a 24-hour period. Sounds like he's getting it all or most of it through the night. You might try moving his bedtime up an hour to 8 p.m., but still make him get up around 6 a.m. That would probably trigger a nap.

Jennifer - posted on 03/10/2009

My son went through not really napping around 18 months and then again around 26 months and now at 33 months. I have had several friends say the same thing. I just stayed consistant in putting him down for his nap as usual with the expectation set that he would at least remain in his room for 2 hours. He has always moved back into napping after a week or so of not napping, but remaining quietly in his room. Oh, and I too panicked the first time thinking "no way! not yet!". :-)

Rolé - posted on 03/10/2009

Thanks everybody. I guess I just started panicking when it seemed like my 18 month old was not napping anymore. I'm definitely not ready for him to give that up yet. This past week he has napped every afternoon. Some days it took a bit longer for him to fall asleep, but he did. So, the panic was totally unneccessary.

Sasha - posted on 03/08/2009

My daughter, who is 3, has been in daycare up until about 6 weeks ago. At daycare she would not sleep during nap time so her teachers put her cot beside the book shelf and she would lay there and read books for 2 hours. Now that we are home after lunch she lays on the couch and watches a movie. She never actually sleeps but it gives me 2 hours to catch up around the house. She goes to bed between 8 and 9 every night without any problems. Don't worry about your 18 month old not napping. He will adjust and get the sleep he needs!