Why do some toddlers remove naps from their routine?

Sharon - posted on 01/18/2010 ( 1 mom has responded )

461

5

I've been searching and searching for the answer to that question and cannot come up with an answer. My daughter has REMOVED any and all naps from her daily routine unless she is not feeling well. That is the only time she will go down for a nap during the day....other wise she will fight you until the end not to take a nap. Because of this she heads to bed early but the bad part is she gets really cranky and a little mean when she doesn't nap. I've tried everything from putting her in her room with her bed time routine to rocking her to sleep with a sippy of milk....nothing! I've asked the daycare what they do and they usually put her outside with the older children to play if she doesn't nap.

This whole non-napping thing is driving me and the poor dog nuts because we get the blunt of her attitude.....crying for no reason when she doesn't get what she wants, hitting the dog and telling him bad boy, sitting on top of both of us, screaming "no" at us, etc.

*sigh* I'm so frazzled by the time DH comes home on the days I have her all day that he's getting cranky at me for wanting him to take her off my hands the minute he walks in the door from work. That lasts as long as 30 minutes here or there until bed time......she still finds me and bugs me instead of him for things.

So why do some toddlers do this if their bodies know they need the nap?

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Sharon - posted on 01/18/2010

11,585

12

I wish I knew.



My oldest did that. Just one day decided to give up napping. No matter how tired or cranky he was, he would NOT go down.



My second two children kept their naps for so long I worried how they would cope in kindergarten!



I tried everything to get him back into naps.



We finally settled with a break for mommy. He watched a dvd in his room for an hour & a half and I got some quiet time. I didn't nap. Just wasn't possible with him, he got into to much mischief.



He was not allowed out of his room for that time, he had to stay in bed, and I could NOT call it a "nap" without an issue. We called it a movie break. Sometimes I would get lucky and he would fall asleep, but it always brief and unpredictable.