I need help with my 3 year old toddler.

Question

I have a 3 year old and 2 year old son. My 2 year old still takes naps and sleeps well at night usually about 10-12hours at night and nap time usually about 2 hours. My 3 year old refuses to take naps. He hates going to sleep even if I put him in his room he will stay up staring at the wall. He has a regular bed time routine, but to my dismay it doesnt help at all. He will usually sleep about 8hours a day. Is this normal? He is always in a pretty cranky mood, but wont sleep. Any ideas or suggestions???

Answer 1

It seems like at about this age, kids start transitioning to a point they don't need naps any more. Unfortunately, it can be a rocky time as they adjust. Mine has always been a little night owl, and even now, at age 6, I have a hard time getting her to sleep. Some people are just that way. Good luck!

Answer 2

You can't force em to take naps. I know first hand. my five year old has never been a big napper. she goes down for "quiet time". One hour of "quiet time". A strong discipline routine works for her. Even if she doesn't sleep, she lies down. She doesn't always like it, but eventually, she stops fussing. 8 hours is a little less than normal for that age group but nothing to be terribly alarmed at. if he's sleeping at night, that's better than nothing.  

Answer 3

you can't really do much to "make" them take naps, but you can put the older one to bed a little earlier than normal since he's not getting an adequate amount of sleep.  I recently had the same issue.  My oldest is almost 4 and my youngest is 15mos.  I tried for the LONGEST time to keep them on the same schedule just b/c it was easier for me, and that wasn't right.  I had a colicky baby, then a terrible teething 1yr old who still wasn't on any type of schedule or routine and it made me miserable and i missed out on enjoying a lot of him growing up.  I used to have my oldest take a 3-4 hour nap (and that was on his own i didn't make him sleep that long i swear) and he'd go to bed around 9pm.  Now he goes to bed around 8-830 and pretty much skips his nap during the day all together.  He still has days where he is a little crankier but we just do normal discipline with time out and all and he's usually fine.  Naps aren't all that necessary as long as they get a good sleep at night, so maybe just try putting him down earlier than normal and see how that goes.  Other than that I don't know what to say accept just keep going in his room at naptime and reinforce it, until he eventually falls asleep or keep him more active so he gets tired enough to take a nap.  

Answer 4

my son's 3 also and doesn't take naps anymore. it's normal. they're just getting older. you can't force them.

Answer 5

All children are different from each other just like adults. I wouldn't worry about your son either. Obviously your sons are 2 different kids. If your 3 year old doesn't want to sleep during the day, that's fine. If he just sits in his bead being quiet, that's okay too.

I have always called my son's the odd couple as they are both as different as day and night.

Answer 6

my son is also 3 years and 8 months old and he stoped napping as soon as he turned 3.

So its perfectly normal not much you can do about it.I know its a nice break when they are napping but then they keep you up all night.I know mine does