Toddlers napping!!! What would you do?

[nellypope]

I am at my wits end! My 18 month old's routine is set in stone, she is a happy girl. She has never napped much (1 x hour nap after lunch) and would go to bed at 7:30 no problems and not wake up till 7:30 next morning. However she seems to want to stop napping completely (the naps just got shorter and shorter) but my health visitor says she's too young to go without a nap (apparently they're supposed to have 2-3 hours nap a day and 12 hours at night!??) but even if I enforce a short 20 min nap it eats severely into going to bed time! She can go without a nap, but she sorta lulls around 3-4pm, but if I keep her awake she sleeps from 7-7. If she naps she won't sleep till 9-10 at night, still waking at 7! . . . Do I listen to my health visitor and lose my evenings or not? . . . What would you do?

[sherrardk]

Hi Nelly - I can't remember (sorry), but just go with your instincts and I am sure it will all work out fine. My girl twin is rubbish of she even has five minutes sleep - and then she keeps her brother awake when I am trying to get them to sleep.

(Alba - I am decrepit, just started having babies when I was older, you are probably younger than I am!)

[albaqwerty]

16 months between mine. Took them out for a drive in the hope they'd fall asleep. Older one did, younder one wanted to see the countryside.

Younder, grrr younger even.

Time with your hubby nelly will be when your daughter is asleep and your hubby is awake :D

[karenmac60]

My daughter slept right through the night right from the start and she never had a regular 'nap time'. On occasion she might have a wee doze if we had been particularly busy that morning, but that was it. If your daughter doesn't want to nap then leave her be. Does your HV have kids? I often found that the HVs or midwives who went strictly by the book were the ones who only knew the theory never having had the practice :)

[radiogaga]

Hello, my two slept and slept, my eldest would wake have breakfast then go back to bed from day one. and then have 2-3 hours in afternoon, my other one sleeps 2-3 hours in afternoon every day.
when eldest was 3 years and due to start nursary in the afternoons , i often had to phone them to explain she couldnt come as she had fallen asleep on the sofa.
she grew out of the naps. and i expect the younger one to do the same.
i understand the sudden unexpected change in your routines, and know it can be a strain. my only advice is to try and be flexible. take every day as it comes.

[albaqwerty]

My HV told me that kiddie-winks weren't performing monkeys. (She was also a mum)

When younger son arrived, the HV was an absolute personage who shouldn't haven't been called female.

[fairycakes69]

Children are all different, the same as adults, some need more sleep than others. My eldest had naps twice a day and slept 12 hours up until she was 2, my twin boys -I was lucky if they slept 6 hours a day and very rarely at the same time for the first two year ( that was hell) the next set of twins slept pretty well, one stopped naps at 3 the other was still napping till the age of 8 (mainly because he was awake from 4.00am) there was no stopping him from napping, believe me we tried. Just do what works for you. HV's mainly seem to think all kids are the same as the ones in the books.

[Katie~77]

My son stopped napping at 9 months. He'd sleep from 7pm to 8am every night. Id rather have a good bedtime routine for my babies than have them napping in the day and going off to bed at all hours. Do what you think is best though - she is, after all, YOUR child. Good luck.