If your 2.5 year-old refuses to take a nap at grandmas house

[Anonymous]

Okay, I start this post off admitting I am super tired, super frustrated and borderline tears. Our 2.5 yr old DD has been sleeping terribly last few nights - all of a sudden. Lots of issues. No health problems.

Was looking forward to a relaxing day at grandmas. We come here very often and DD naps here all the time.

For whatever reason, today the sleeping problems continued and I tried really hard to help her go to sleep. She would not. For the first time ever I threatened a punishment if she did not go to sleep. No more playing at grandmas and we would leave. I was tired and frustrated. And thought she would sleep in car on way home if she didn't fall sleep at grandmas.

she didn't go to sleep. So we packed up.

I am sure I did a lot wrong, today and leading up to today. So I guess I'm looking for some thoughts on using a punishment for toddler not taking a nap. It sounds pretty horrible. I need her to sleep, even if it's only for half hour on the way home.

[AnaBanana]

That's around the time dd1 quit taking naps. The best I could get from her was about 1/2 hour of lying quietly to rest. Then she'd go stir crazy. She didn't go back to napping until she started middle school.

[Anonymous]

I don't think you can punish a child for not sleeping. You can't make anyone sleep.

My son is about three. On weekends we try to make sure he gets time to run around at a play gym or park so he'll be tired for a nap. Otherwise, we'll try to put him down for one but usually aren't successful.

In that case, you can institute quiet room time or give them 20-30 to try to rest in their room with no attention or conversation if they come out.

[Anonymous]

Just stop calling it a nap. Do Quiet Time or Rest Time or something. Play soft music, dim lights, and read some calm books.

My 3 yr old stopped napping when she began sleeping through the night. At 15 months old.

[Anonymous]

Two children. One stopped napping at 4 the other at 2.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the others that you can't punish people for not sleeping/make them sleep.

What sometimes worked when my kid was around that age or a bit older was talking about the exciting things we would do after his nap, but only if he slept so he had the energy to do them. That at least motivated him to lie still for a bit, which sometimes translated into actually sleeping.

[Anonymous]

OP here. DD slept on way home. So did I.

You are right, can't make it happen. There was so much other difficult behavior, I wasn't really thinking. Thanks.