I'm looking for effective and creative ways to discipline my 2.5yo during nap time. parents only please?

Question

ok, i have 3 girls, 3.5, 2.5, & .5 (8mo). they are darlings, and i am very lucky that i don't often have to disipline, however, recently my 2.5 is really loud and disobediant during afternoon naps. we have altered scedules and increased exercize to tire them out, but that's not the problem, the problem is in order to disipline her in bed, we have to give her attention, and it seems she is feeding off that, incouraging it so she has stimulation to stay up. we already start each time taking toys/dolls out of bed, but than what? most common methods (corner, scold, t/o, seperate) all give her attention, not to mention, don't work. i did escalate to a spanking when my oldest had the same issue, once, and it worked imediatly on her, she is still very good at nap time, but when i did this to my 2.5 , she giggled at me, (?) i don't give up easy, but today was the third in a week, same problem, same escalation (no toys, than scold, then spank(over 1 hours time)), same giggle. so now what?

oh, and so i don't get hate mail, i'll have you all know that outside of these nap times, i use a much longer escalation proccess, and my girls have recieved one spanking each, in their lives, well deserved, and solved the problem imedeatly. thanx

Answer 1

If she doesn't already nap in a room separate from your other children..then the first thing you need to do is move her.
And make sure you put the 3.5 daughter down for a nap and the same time you put the 2.5 to be. I wouldn't worry about the baby right now...they kinda sleep on their own schedules, don't they? :) But it's important that the two oldest go down for a nap at the same time. When the 2.5 year old misbehaves, IGNORE HER. don't keep running in there to scold, discipline, etc. just ignore her....if she wants attention and she's getting attention she's not going to stop.
A good afternoon nap for a child that age is generally 2 hours. So make your 2.5 year old stay in bed for 2 hours AFTER she has quieted down and become obedient.
If your 3.5 year old goes to sleep like she is supposed to then after the two hour nap time she can get up and play. If the 2.5 has not behaved in that 2 hours....explain to her that her sister is getting to play because her sister behaved and took her nap but that she (the 2.5) must stay in bed and take her nap.
This worked for my sister's kids...

Answer 2

I have no miracle answer for your question.

She 2 1/2 and you are? What works for one child, does not work for another. If your 2 1/2 is not tired when you want her to be, guess what, she is not tired.

When you have some quiet time, think carefully about what is best for your children, not is what is best for you. Maybe you need to alter your schedule, and better observe your children needs. It is not easy with three young children.

It does not take a rocket scientist to know you 2 1/2 year is not getting the attention she once had. So nap time is a good way for her to gets some attention.

There are lots of good books, and maybe you will have time to read one. But before you start worrying about you 2 1/2 year old nap time, start working on your own.

Answer 3

Obviously spanking isn't working. Children remember spanking messages more than nurturing ones. You may have a hug-hit ratio of 100:1 in your home, but you run the risk of your child remembering and being influenced more by the one hit than the 100 hugs, especially if that hit was delivered in anger or unjustly, which happens all too often.
Spanking does not promote good behavior, it creates a distance between parent and child.
A child under three like yours, will not be able to fully understand your explanation; she'll just know she's being hit and it has something to do with her being bad. She's probably also too young to separate her person from her action, so she'll think she's bad even though you are telling her "that was a bad thing to do."
Check out below, hope this helps.

Answer 4

At 2.5 years, the child is wanting some control over things. So, give them a choice. They can lay down and take a nap, or they can stand in the corner (or sit in the happy chair, or whatever you use) doing NOTHING until nap time is over.

Putting this child out of sight of the others and removing other distractions (toys etc) may help as well.

Answer 5

The first answer you got is almost exactly what I was going to say. My son is three and occasionally he has nap and bedtime problems like the one you are describing. I take away the toys and shut the door. He now usually settles down after about 5 minutes but at the beginning it might last an hour or more. Ultimately they just want more attention any they can get. It's heartbreaking to listen to him cry but I know he needs a nap and now he rarely puts up a fuss.

Answer 6

Each child is different hon. Two of my children gave up day sleeps when they were 2..couldn't push them to have one if I tried. So maybe find something quiet for that child to do while the other two nap..save a special video for that time, or read books together. I know you probably enjoy a rest or a cuppa at that time but *shrugs*, not all kids need a day sleep, just don't let that little one fall asleep at 4 o'clock and want to sleep then..try to keep him/her awake til after dinner and maybe feed early and early bed. Good luck in whatever you decide to do. It looks to me like you are a very thoughtful parent.

Answer 7

I had the same problem with my son about that age. I took him to the store and let him pick out a stuffed animal as a nap buddy. I only let him have nap buddy at nap time. He had to lay down, be quiet and stay there. I set a timer and when it went off it was time to get up. Sometimes they just aren't tired! I told him he didn't have to sleep but he had to rest. I let him pick out his place and time to nap. He liked to lay down under the diningroom table, sometimes late morning sometimes early afternoon. Most of the time he did fall asleep! If he was not quiet or didn't lay still nap buddy was taken away immediately! I think giving him some choice in the matter and giving him some control of himself was the key. I to did the spank thing a few times, but I had to stop when he told me he wasn't tired and was not going to lay down and then promptly gave himself a spank! Hard not to laugh, but I realized that wasn't working. You might have to experiment for awhile. Good Luck!

Answer 8

I'm not a parent, but i remember what my mother used to do to get me to take naps. i was very active and hated having to go lay down in the middle of the day to nap. she would let me come lay on her bed and she would lay down with me and let me talk and talk and talk. then she would pretend to be asleep until i got bored and fell asleep as well, then she would sneak out. this was only a nap time ritual, and didn't affect my night time sleeping at all. i am grown now and have no sleep issues or anything, and i quite like taking naps now. i know you might not have time to do what my mother did, but maybe try playing some soft music and reading to you kid at nap time, this way you are giving them positive attention. nap time should not be something you make your kid do, then they will start viewing it as a punishment.

Answer 9

She wants some personal attention so, give it to her! While the others nap, give her some quiet one on one time for an hour. She's not tired and shouldn't learn to hate sleeping. Maybe she needs her nap at a different, later time, after you've given her some one-on-one.

Answer 10

Don't give her attention for her naptime behavior. Kids are solely responsible for 3 things: eating, pooping, and sleeping. You're not in control of whether she sleeps or not. Put her in her bed for naptime or "quiet time" and close the door. If she cries, return after a few minutes, pat her back, and tell her it's naptime and she needs to settle down. Then leave. Eventually she will get the message that you are not playing the game with her. She may not sleep, but at least she'll get the message that this is time when the kids need to settle in for "quiet time" and parents aren't going to play.