Anyone have any advice for how to get a twenty-one month old to take a nap? Recently my son has decided he no longer needs naps but if I give in and let him stay up instead of taking a nap, by time 5:00 rolls around, he is a holy terror. I know many kids go through this stage so I was just curious if anyone had gone through something similar.
My husband and I have reached our whit's end and no longer know what to do. We've tried taking all his toys out of his room so he would have no distractions. But, now he climbs into his brother's crib and plays with the mobile (the mobile is various sports balls). This isn't anything to be too concerned about yet since his brother still sleeps in his bassinet in my bedroom, but once Ethan (the baby) starts sleeping in his crib, I don't want my oldest son to just crawl in whenever he wants.
We have also tried punishment - if you get out of bed, you will get in trouble. But, he must be hard-headed because even that doesn't even phase him. I think he gets that from me because I have always been known to do things when other people don't want me to do so. It's almost as though Austin (my oldest) knows that if he hollers for us long enough, we'll just give in and he won't be punished for disobeying.
And now, an hour after he was put to bed, he is still hollering "mama" and occasionally "daddy" in hopes we'll change our minds about him taking a nap and go get him out of bed. So, once again I ask...any creative ideas that we haven't already tried before?
When I have struggled with my kids regarding sleep, I really focus on the routine, both before and after bed. Bed time should be at the same time. Have a relaxing ritual, like reading. They look forward to the activity and come to associate it with sleep. Then have another activity that they enjoy for after nap. "Oh, won't it be so fun to wake up and ..." Almost like a reward. I feel for you. I'm a big fan of naps, for children and me!
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna have to agree with Mary, my cousin and her husband have a year old daughter and they had the same problem. They had to set a routine as well, which helped a lot.
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