Reply to Bedtime/naptime issues with two-year-old

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[quote=Anonymous]First, a 3 hour nap is not too long for a 2.5 year old. It is within the range of normal for a child this age. Different children have different sleep needs. Some nap longer during the day and sleep slightly less at night while others sleep longer at night and have a shorter nap during the day. Heck, The 5 year olds I take care of were regularly taking 3 hours naps almost up until age 4 and still slept well at night...that's what their bodies needed.

Ok, it sounds like there are a couple of issues...and unfortunately the issues will each in turn affect the other. The bedtime routine at night is not working. This is causing him to be super tired during the day which is leading to a REALLY early nap for a child his age. The early nap is then likely causing him to be overtired at bedtime like the PP said. Overtired children have a much harder time going to sleep.

I would suggest that for the time being the parents begin the bedtime routine half an hour earlier. They may be missing the window of opportunity for him. Once they put him in bed they need to remain firm on making him go to sleep in his bed...even if it means returning him to his bed 50 times (without talking) for however long it takes. They need to remove the couch as sleeping location option. This is on them to resolve.

The second piece of this puzzle is that you will have to stop letting him take a morning nap...no matter how tired he is. Yes it will be miserable for both of you until he gets on a better sleep schedule, but allowing him to take that morning nap is adding to the issue. Keep him busy...even if that means needing to leave the house everyday so that you are out of the house during the time he would normally be tired. If he needs a few minutes of quiet time b/c he is tired read a few books and then engage him in a more active activity...and keep doing this until it's time for lunch FOLLOWED by nap.

You're in for a rough few weeks until things get back on track. Talk to your employers and let them know what your plan is for moving his naptime to a more reasonable time for a child his age. Include why you think a 12/12:30 nap would help ease the likely overtiredness he is experiencing at night. Ask if they have any other suggestions they think would be helpful to you for the daytime. At this point they may be more receptive to hearing what your plans are for getting his daytime sleep on track before you offer up suggestions on how to improve the nighttime routine. Unless you really feel they would be receptive to suggestions about their nighttime routine I would let them come to you when they are ready for help rather than offering it up. [/quote]

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