Toddler screams after waking up from nap: day after day?

Question

She is 2 1/2. If she skips her nap she is pitiful by 5pm and often falls asleep on the floor anyway with the same results even though I only let her nap 15 minutes or so if it is after 5. Her usual nap was from 1-3. I have always had to wake her up from her afternoon naps because I swear she would consider it nighttime and just sleep for 7 hours. I wake her at 3 so that she can still get to sleep later that evening.
Problem is when I do wake her up she gets so angry that she sounds like a possessed animal of some sort. She will carry on and cry and roll around anywhere between 30-60 minutes. It is horrible. I've tried putting her to bed earlier but she gets a second wind if in bed any earlier then skips the nap herself only to fall apart around 5 p.m. again. I just don't know why she gets hysterical when she wakes up. By the way, hysterical is not overstating the situation. Would you just skip naps at this age and maybe put her in the bath or something around 5 to keep her going?

Answer 1

hey i think the best would be to ,
stop letting her nap at day time. Also when she feels dizzy during days give her new things..like sum colours or make a paper boat and put in a tub..just deviate her attention v well!!!

And even when she acts bad and screams you need to DEVIATE her mind..like take her out of the house andshow her a bird ..or in the house give her something ""forbidden.." but its not unsafe!

Answer 2

My son is 3 and does the same thing. It happens more if my husband and I are not around. If my step-daughter is watching him he will stay mad for a long time. My husband and I went out to dinner one night and he was crying really hard and so mad he wouldn't even talk to me on the phone.Maybe try putting her down at noon and waking her at 3. It gives her an extra hour of sleep. Maybe turn on some soothing music and hold her when she wakes up. Sometimes this works with my son.

Answer 3

She obviously wants to sleep longer and is letting you know in no uncertain terms. Yes, I would try just about anything else instead of what you're now doing. You're tormenting her by waking her up, and putting yourself through hell, too. Of course 2-1/2 is the perfect age -- much of what she's doing is testing you to see how far she can take it.

Have you tried hanging her outside a window from her ankles when she does this? Just kidding, really.

Answer 4

Try an earlier nap, maybe at 12 or even 11, then just let her sleep for as long as she needs to.

Answer 5

I know you want your child to sleep at night, but consider letting her sleep for maybe thirty more minutes to an hour longer at nap and see if that helps. My daughter also naps from 1 to 3 but she still seems to sleep fine if she's been especially tired and sleeps longer at nap.

Answer 6

Honestly i think its a phase. My daughter is 4 years old and when she is woken up period she whines for about 20 min....She is really cranky.....this is something that has just started....hope fully its something that they will grow out of.....hang in there ....heres an article on sleep and napping for toddlers..
Hope this help!!

Answer 7

What do you have scheduled for immediately after naptime? Give her something to look forward to. When you wake her up, you can say: It's time to get up honey, I have your snack ready. Or :It's time to get up honey, I have tahe Chutes and Ladders set up and ready to go. She is more likely to wake up happy if she has something good to focus on.

Answer 8

Sounds like night terrors. Google night terrors and speak with your pediatrician about it next visit.