Set nap times & max A times for 2yr olds?

[slumberbaby]

So two questions for those with 2 yr olds

Does anyone stick to set nap times rather than varying nap times but keeping A times the same?

Anyone tried it and found it really does or really doesn't work?

I'm trying to get my very spirited 26 month old into a more regular pattern for his day...At the moment he could wake naturally between 5 and 8 am though I generally wake him at 7 if he's not up by then. But with varying wake up times that means nap time varies alot too so I feel like I'm in a catch 22.... It's not helping to regulate him, but I risk OT & UT if I have a set nap time and the A time isn't right.

Which leads me to my second question.... How much A time can your lo handle?   

[anna*]

My LO isn't spirited but we basically work to a set nap time of 12.30. That is when he goes down when he is at nursery and so we follow that. The exception would be if he wakes super early (before 6am, not uncommon) on a day he is at home I would try to get him down for 12 and let him sleep a little longer, because early wakings are almost always a result of OT for us. Bedtime is 7.30, or 7pm if he had an early start or a short nap.

His A time does vary. Thankfully I am finding that in recent months he will tend to nap well regardless of how long his A time has been, which is such a help. He definitely does better with a shorter A time before bed. I guess our 'best' A times would be 5.5hrs in the morning and 5hrs in the afternoon - but if he wakes at 5am on a nursery day, he really has no choice but to push through 7.5hrs until his nap!!

[becky1969]

I did a poll awhile back on set clock times and funnily enough most of the moms who said clock times worked for them had spirited kiddos!

I think it would definitely be worth a try.  We weren't able to go to clock times for nap until my son was about 3.5, but he's super touchy and has been incredibly sensitive to being OT.  I know many moms of spirited LOs who were able to put their kids on clock times at about 1 yr, or sometimes even earlier. 

[irish3680]

My DD1 is very spirited and set sleep times work best. She can go down a little earlier if she EW or had a shorter nap but too early doesn't usually work out. Later does NOT work even if she slept a little later in the am or had a longer nap. Her body is set to go down at certain times and gets messed up if we deviate.