[suzyq18]

HELP please...
The last fews weeks, our little guy is just refusing to nap at all.

Even at daycare, he is driving the teachers nuts and they don't know what to do with him. He is out of control when it comes to putting him down. He has even bit one of the teacher.

Some days he comes home and falls asleep during dinner and is totally a brat.

He is getting only about ten hours per night. He is in bed with a great routine everynight. We are even keeping him up a little later to see if this will help. It hasn't.

The weekends are impossible to get anything done with him around as he is screaming so loud he is passing out.

Any advice?

Suzy

[CaddoRose]

Have you tried just having a quiet time with him instead of the nap? Maybe finding a place in the house to sit on
a special rug or something with soothing music playing would at least give him time to be calm even if he doesn't go to sleep. Usually kids this age need about 10-11 hrs of sleep a night and at least one nap, but not all kids can take a nap. Sometimes they reach a point where they won't go to sleep anymore during the day. It might be helpful to have a playpen for him and to put a quiet toy in there that he only gets to play with when he goes in the playpen. Changing the process of nap time can help also. Don't make him lie down, but instead set it up as a quiet time.

[Biblemom]

I don't know how old your child is, but I agree with the CaddoRose. I put the children down for "quiet time" with several books, two small toys, and quiet music or book on tape. They often will play for 15-30 min and then fall asleep on their own. Maybe the daycare would agree to trying that and putting him down for 15-30 minutes for the first day and then gradually increasing it until he is doing the full naptime. I watch a four year old child who was like that at his daycare. They eventually 'encouraged' her to not bring him anymore. Once I started giving him things to occupy his time, he has not had any problems (however, he was a bio child so I know there were no underlying issues). Good luck!

[SchmennaLeigh]

The No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers has some great info about naps. Basically, if they're not sleeping well at night, they're not going to nap well which means they're not going to sleep well at night... and on and on.

That said, Nick went through a nap refusal as he neared two. We continued to work with him using quiet times as others have mentioned and he now naps most days without a fight. (Nearing 3.)

This is a normal phase thing you're dealing with right now. You will both survive.

[mom2justynsarah]

I agree with the others that this is definetly a stage they go through. However, I would also check into other things.

Is he cutting teeth? How old is he? What has happened or changed over the last couple of weeks?

My 18 month old niece has been going through the same thing. She went from sleeping beautifully and taking naps to becoming a monster.

My sister in law finally took her to the Pediatrician for a check up. It turns out, she is cutting her canines (which is very painful).

I would also check for allergies, Has he been introduced to a new food or drink lately? Has his eating habits changed? Has he been pooping regularly?

The fact that he bit his teacher, and is acting up is because something is obviously bothering him. I would take him to the Pediatrician for a quick checkup.

Good luck and let us know how things go!!