Is 21 months to young to stop naps?

Amy - posted on 03/15/2011

Mine sometimes refused naps around that age due to teething - 2 year molars are a bear.

My daughter is 4 1/2 and still naps. My son is almost 2 and has skipped two naps in the last two weeks. I think it's due to molars also. I always have him lay down and he's at least in his room quiet for a bit. I started using the homeopathic teething tabs and he's doing much better with his naps.

Louise - posted on 03/15/2011

Every child is different my eldest son stopped napping around 2 and so did my middle son yet my daughter is 28 months and still likes a nap. If your child is not grouchy all afternoon because of lack of sleep then fine. It is a sad time when they no longer want to nap it means no break for mum and five minutes peace and quiet. If you can encourage him to sleep but if he does not, it is not the end of the world.

Leah - posted on 03/14/2011

YES!!! Too young. They need those naps!!

Robin - posted on 03/12/2011

My daughter is 2 1/2 and is still in her crib so I just usually put her in it with a couple of toys and a sippy cup and say, "See you in a little bit sleephead." I tell myself that if she's fit throwing she's still going to stay in there at least an hour but she's always asleep before 1/2 hour passes.

Sinclairbrooks - posted on 03/12/2011

Wow, I'm kind of surprised he said only 8 hours. Mine said at least 10. Funny how you get different answers from different doctors!

Amanda - posted on 03/12/2011

My four year old doesn't take afternoon naps anymore. She stopped taking them not soon after she turned three. She got to where she would go lay down and after 5 minutes, would get up again and wander around. Then it was refusing to take them by screaming. So we just stopped making her take them. I talked to her pediatrician and he said that as long as she was getting AT LEAST 8 hours sleep at night, missing afternoon naps was fine. She sleeps 9-11 hours every night.. so Im fine with her not taking them.

Sinclairbrooks - posted on 03/10/2011

I do not feel (nor does my pediatrician) that a nap is necessary as long as the child is getting the recommended amount of daily sleep & is not overly tired or cranky in the afternoon/evening before bed. For example, my son has to be up at 6:30 in the morning, so for this to work for him (which it does, he is 3 1/2), he needs 11 hours of sleep, so he is in bed by 7:00 to be asleep by 7:30.

Dora - posted on 03/09/2011

I am very big on schedules with my son. That includes everything from meals, nap time and bed time. If he is not teething and doesn't seem to want to nap then don't force it on him. He does need his sleep at such a young age but he may not need a nap depending on how many hours he sleeps through the night.

Susan - posted on 03/09/2011

Thank you again for your comments, well the calpol made no difference yesterday he woke up after 25 mins screaming then he woke a 5.54 this morning so i gave him some calpol and he did eventually go back to sleep at 6.10 after I left him to it. I tend to find that this is best as if i try to settle him with me in the room it distracts him too much. Anyway he woke up at 7.30 so a bit better. But no nap at all today as we were out round Granny's......no chance of getting him to go to sleep there. He would have gone to bed tonight at 6.pm if I let him, so he definatley does need a nap it's just convincing him of this. I will just keep to his routine best I can and carry on offering him the nap and hopefully he'll sort himself out.

Natalie - posted on 03/09/2011

My sister Niki stopped taking naps at 21 months. She is 21 years now, and an erratic sleeper. It may be a phase, but it could just be the way he is.

Amina - posted on 03/08/2011

its easier with one kid they do feel bored and no one to play with so they like falling sleep but i have three very active boys they hardly take a nap they all always arguing about one thing to another i gues thats what boys do

Jessica - posted on 03/08/2011

My son is 2yrs9mons. His sleeping patterns sound similar to your childs.....his waking time ranges anywhere from 6am to an occasional 830a. (wooohooo!!!) He naps everyday no matter how much sleep he had the night before. I usually lay him down at 2 and he naps until 430, then goes to bed for the night at 830. But every child is different and they do go through stages.

Susan - posted on 03/08/2011

Thank you for all of your comments and thoughts. I think that he may be teething as we had a similar phase like this before then he just started napping for 1 1/2 to 2 hours again. he normally wakes on a good day between 6.30 - 7.00 and a really good day like Sunday it was 7.30. But then the other extreme being only the day before it was 5.30. he only napped for 20 mins yesterday so lets see what happens today. I gave him some calpol just before he sent down today so hopefully that will help.

Hannah - posted on 03/07/2011

yes it is too young - but - as the previous mom said, children go through phases. My son - a champion sleeper and napper (at 3 years old he sleeps about 11 hours at night and takes a 2-3 hour nap in the middle of the day) has periods where he has trouble falling asleep, or trouble napping. usually lasts for a couple days to a couple weeks. then he gets back to his normal self.

I suggest just sticking with the routine - encourage quiet alone time if they don't want to nap. that is what I do with my son. sometimes I go back to cuddlnig and snuggling and rocking him to sleep - and then once he is back in the habit of sleeping I wean him off the extra attention...

Amina - posted on 03/07/2011

every child go throught changes every stage of their childhood so dont worry if he doesnt want to nap its normal at this stage they r very active so they forget about nappin i some times wish my kids should take a nap so that i could have few hours to my self moms time. if u really want ur son to take nap go lay down with him pretent ur havin nap too

Brianna - posted on 03/07/2011

i think its very important for child that younge to have naps. check out this website sleepsense.net

Christy - posted on 03/07/2011

I would say he is too young to stop napping. My son is 3 1/2 and still naps at least 2 hours in the afternoon. What time does he wake up? What time are his naps? He may be teething. Can you give him a dose of Tylenol for the possible pain? Or baby anbesol? (SP).