How do I get my 3 1/2yr old Daughter to nap during the day?

Question

She is in bed by 8.30-9pm and sleeps till 8-8.30am in the morning. She knows that she needs to nap in the afternoon as she sucks her thumb and rubs her eyes, but she just wont let herself fall asleep. On the odd day she does nap she wakes up and feels great and is able to enjoy herself, but when she wont nap she is grumpy and no good for anything. She was so tired at her ice skating lesson this evening that she lay down on the ice and didn't want to get up.

Answer 1

I would make a set time, if possible, that you let her pick out a book and tell her that you and her are going to lay down and have some quiet time. Dont use the word sleep..lol Then she will just fight it. Tell she can "rest" her eyes. Read the story and then you can sing her a little song. I used" You are my sunshine" My 9 year old still asks me to sing it when he feels lovey. And then just rub her back and tell her its quiet time. Just use this time to talk to her and love on her and she should fall right to sleep :) gl!

Answer 2

From experience she's probably out grown the mid nap, if she had one you wouldn't be able to get her down at night. She's getting plenty of sleep at night which is good. Does she wake during the night? If she does then I would suggest if not a nap but a "quiet time" with a book or a movie where for an hour she has to be quiet and still. I found that by doing this my children would either have a short nap or where less irritable in the afternoon/evening. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 3

My daughter is two and we took her off naps, she just does not naturally sleep a lot. if you take your 3 yr old off naps, it is possible that she won't sleep for that wonderful 12 hour period you are getting right now. We let our daughter lay down and rest (like reading a book or watching an episode of her favorite show) and that seems to calm her cranky side. If we try to get her to nap, it is a fight and ends up being a late nap, or no nap, which leads her to go to bed later, and still wake up earlier (5am). If you can, cutting out naps worked wonderful for us. The first day was rough, but after that it has been great! Good Luck!

Answer 4

I have a 3/12 year old also and I realized that if I cut off every TV, radio in the house is quiet she'll fall asleep, if that is your only child you can try lying down with her to show her that this is what we do at nap time. But contiue to down it at the same time everyday. I read a book to my daughter and after that is time for a nap. Now she knows that after story time it bed time. I did that for about a month an a half.

Answer 5

Some kids stop napping at 3 years old. Wake her up 1/2 hour earlie and make sure she gets lots of exercise and activity in the AM. Follow up with a nice healthy lunch with no sugary treats. Make naptime different from nightime bed routine, like have her sleep on to top the covers with a blankie, keep the room dimly lit and not dark, surround her with a few favorite dolls and teddies and tell her that they need naptime too.

Answer 6

Make sure she is on a regular schedule and stick to it, no matter what. If she won't sleep during naptime...make her lay there anyway. My friend puts her 4 year old down for a nap in the afternoon...she resists...but they worked something out. Mom sets the time for two hours and daughter has to stay in bed until the timer goes off..period. Sometimes mom puts a quiet video..usually the child goes to sleep and mom lets her sleep until she wakes up...but once in awhile, she won't sleep...but at least she layed down for a couple of hours.

Try calling it quiet time instead of nap time...perhaps she will resist less when she has a choice...lay in bed and do nothing or sleep...haha

Good luck.

Answer 7

Being exhausted does help wanting to take a nap. Rubbing her eyes is a great sign that she is sleepy. Here are some tips that might work:
~when you see her rub her eyes (especially if she is nice and full from lunch) say in a very low-key suggestive way, "Ohhhh, you are sleepy now, aren't you?" "Yeah, that is ok, we'll take a nap" Be soothing and almost pampering and understanding sounding.
~I wouldn't give her juice because it has sugar in it- maybe milk or water before nap time.
~Telling her she would get a treat if she napped wouldn't work with my kids because then they would get super excited about that.
~To start off with, you might have to lay down with her- but try not to make that habit forming- unless you should be taking a nap too- you can always get up after 15 minutes and then you are refreshed for the day as well! You can be open and say that you are going to sleep with her for a bit. Then, when you are lying down with her, you can say, "Now please be quiet and lay still because I don't like to be woken up." Do lots of yawning while she is looking at you.
~The car ride might be ok at the beginning, but again, that doesn't teach her to go to sleep on her own. You could plan your day so that she goes to sleep in the car.
~My daughter I just put in her crib with a sippy cup and pacifier (only 1 1/2) and pray with her, and leave her for naps and bed. But my son (almost 3) is a bit more effort on my end. For naps, they used to be a bit of a struggle, until I would get him sleepy, and then let him lay on the couch with his pillow and blanket while I worked on a quiet project. This way, he still felt a part of the action and didn't mind going to sleep. I'm very honest with him. If I'm going to carry him to his room after he has fallen asleep, I do tell him that. At night, giving him a flashlight to play with until he was ready to sleep was what did it there.
~We play fun games to completely wear us out. Like running around in circles while saying the alphabet, then jumping on the trampoline until we have counted to 25, then the alphabet and running again, etc. Like I don't need to lose a little wight, too....... Also, cranking up the tunes (make sure you find something with a good beat yet clean lyrics for the kids) and dancing and playing stop/go/turn around (running until I say stop, then go, then going the opposite direction, etc) for five or ten minutes usually does the trick.
~Let's say you can't get her to sleep. Try not to make it a not fun time, otherwise, it will make it that much harder in the future. If she really isn't sleepy, and you don't have time to make her sleepy, then maybe she needs quiet reading time to rest her up. Maybe she just isn't a napper, and you do need to understand that for the rest of the day. Maybe ice skating a couple of times in the winter as a fun treat instead of lessons. The person who talked about choosing not to do 17 errands on the day when your child is sleepy had a good point.

I hear where you are coming from, because I just went through this with our son. One other thing that you might try if the other suggestions don't do it is waking her up in the morning at 7 or 6:45. Just for 3 days or so. It might be a lot of you working on your patience, but there is no way she wouldn't want to nap by the second day, and that might just provide a way for you to start a pattern with her. :0) You'll find a good way, and she'll only be this young once.......

Answer 8

Where Her Out . She Will Get So Tired That She Will Want To Take A Nap.

Answer 9

Cut down on her sugar intake. Sugar often helps people feel more active.
Make sure that she has a designated napping area.
Develop a nap routine with her (read her a story, etc.)
Make sure nap time is the same each day. Use this time to do quiet activities around the house.

Answer 10

My kids never napped after the age of 2 1/2 any way not on a regular basis.

Answer 11

You make sure she has a quiet, calm enviornment to lay down and try putting some music on.

Make it a daily requirement to lay down on her bed for X number of minutes a day, and give her a sticker if she does her time well. 3 1/2 yr olds can't tell time, so if you say 30 minutes and she looks like she's going to fall asleep in 25 minutes, you leave her be for longer.