WHy O Why O why

[prana]

Dear All,

I am at a total loss. My daughter is 25 months and we are still getting NW! She is refusing to nap in the daytime which I know that it happens around thsi age but here is my problem- THE DAY SHE DOES NOT NAP SHE WAKES UP IN THE NIGHT!  What is the correlation. And if she is OT, then why does she not nap? Every single day I attempt to give her nap. And early bedtime on no nap days! Her Routine
Wake up time- 8.30am ususally
If nap at 2
bed- 8.30 or 9

or no nap
bed-7

I know her wake up time is pretty late. If she has had a good 11 hrs stretch of sleep in the night then I don't expect a nap the next day but when she has NW which can take upto 2 to 3 hrs to settle back again, then she should really be tired for a nap!.

I am completely at a loss as to what is going on! Please help....

[LizzieN]

Sweetie all i can offer is hugs and tell you that my step daughter was still needing a nap when she was 5.....she didn't LIKE it, but it certainly helped her sleep if we didn't let her sleep too late.

With your LO if she is old enough to understand I would INSIST that she has nap time every day (unless you are too busy of course)...she is allowed to be in bed and look at her books, but she must stay in bed for at least 40 minutes (to give her a chance for a nap if she can), and if nothing else she has some down time!

I know it's slightly different but if our 20 month old doesn't nap well during the day our night times usually have multiple night wakings, it obviously disturbs his sleep cycles that much!

As kids get older (actually all the way through) you can't make them sleep, all you can do is give them the opportunity to do so   Naps are so restorative and important, I would keep persisting if you are finding that her night sleeps are still suffering.  Hopefully soon she won't need her nap during the day and her night sleep will extend and settle down

Sorry can't be more helpful, but big hugs to you
xxLizzie

[knackered]

My DS1 went through a period of refusing the nap around this age. What worked is offering the nap a little earlier. Not sure why it worked but it did! Could you try offering the nap at 1.30 rather than 2?

Anna x

[deb]

We did "Quiet Time" after lunch around that age, and for a few months it was just perfect. I'd give her an hour, put on one of her Music together CD's (just shy of an hour), and she basically had quiet playtime for that time. She could just unwind from preschool if she needed to (she did!), she could read, she could sing along (she often did!), and about half the time she'd fall asleep halfway thru it. Basically not being with me was all it took, apparently, to get her bored enough to "let go" and nap if she was tired.

If someone is OT, and that includes adults, it's not unusual for nighttime sleep to be disturbed and not as restorative. How well do you as an adult sleep after a particularly busy day? And toddlers are ALWAYS that busy! LOL A nice slow winddown in the evenings can help as well. We find that once supper is finished, no more running around (and most nights no TV either) helps the kids wind down so much better, even now at 4-1/2 and almost-8. It was a good rule then and it continues to be, and because we've had that rule for so long now, it's second nature.