2 Yr Olds - Suddenly Going Crazy at Naptime!

Our sons Akari and Mekhi are almost 28 months. We have been fortunate (thanks to some serious sleep training when they were infants) that they are generally good sleepers and good kids. They sleep 11-12 hours a night and generally have a 2 hour-ish afternoon nap around 1:00 or 2:00. At nighttime, we have a pretty strict routine of two books, two songs and lights out - which still goes smoothly other than some occasional crying.

Suddenly, however in the last few weeks - our little darlings have gone haywire at naptime! They seem to "wind up" rather than wind down - jumping in their cribs, taking off their diapers and throwing stuffed animals (and sometimes diapers) between cribs. We've tried staying in their rooms, reading books, delaying naptime until 2-3 and most recently - separating them. At this stage, if they're in a particularly silly mood, I can't even stop the jumping if I'm standing next to them. So far, we have moved the "mellower one" 3 times to the bed in the other room and it has worked so far, but I'm terrified the novelty will wear off and he'll get up and start jumping or wandering around the room.

Things I'm pondering ....
1. In our house, consequences of misbehavior is usually a few minutes in the crib or (if we're out) in the car seat. What's the logical consequence for jumping in your crib or taking off diapers?

2. They are also able to climb out of their cribs, but don't do it very often (and are pretty safe and agile). I'm thinking I shouldn't transition to beds until we get this "nailed". Does that make sense? Tips for the transition?

3. Do we just need to start having them nap in separate rooms? We REALLY want them to continue to share a room for years to come, but I'll separate them if we have to to sustain naptimes for a while longer (I'm a big believer in naps!)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

First, :hug: this is the time things start getting interesting...

Things I'm pondering ....
1. In our house, consequences of misbehavior is usually a few minutes in the crib or (if we're out) in the car seat. What's the logical consequence for jumping in your crib or taking off diapers? We usually have a chair they know they have to sit in. Its an Elmo chair and we tell them to go to it for a timeout or for a cry.

2. They are also able to climb out of their cribs, but don't do it very often (and are pretty safe and agile). I'm thinking I shouldn't transition to beds until we get this "nailed". Does that make sense? Tips for the transition? I kinda would wait too because I like them to understand they need to stay in it. But I am a big chicken too. I would just put the beds up when they are to switch and maybe talk about how cool it is to be in the big kid beds etc etc, and give them special bedding etc they pick out.

3. Do we just need to start having them nap in separate rooms? We REALLY want them to continue to share a room for years to come, but I'll separate them if we have to to sustain naptimes for a while longer (I'm a big believer in naps!) I am a big believer in naps but alas, my oldest was done with them at 2.5 and my twins this time are almost done with them too. (double ) Anyway, I would keep them together and just see how things go.

Good luck! :hug:

 

1. In our house, consequences of misbehavior is usually a few minutes in the crib or (if we're out) in the car seat. What's the logical consequence for jumping in your crib or taking off diapers? We don't do time out for jumping in the crib. Our girls did this and I really think for us it was just a stage. I pretty much left them alone and they would stop jumping after about 10 or 15 minutes and then start winding down for a nap. Sometimes I would go in and lay them down and say no jumping, but they would just giggle and get back up and me coming in the room seem to make it worse. Once I started ignoring them, the jumping started settling down. They hardly ever jump now. Like Sarah, our time out is in a specific part of the house, not the crib.

2. They are also able to climb out of their cribs, but don't do it very often (and are pretty safe and agile). I'm thinking I shouldn't transition to beds until we get this "nailed". Does that make sense? Tips for the transition? If they aren't climbing out of the crib everytime you put them in it I would wait as well. I never used crib tents, but I have read many posts about people getting crib tents and it really helped to keep their kids in the beds. Maybe you could give those a shot before moving to big beds. We haven't made that transition yet b/c I just don't see my girls staying put and that's a battle I'm not ready to fight yet.

3. Do we just need to start having them nap in separate rooms? We REALLY want them to continue to share a room for years to come, but I'll separate them if we have to to sustain naptimes for a while longer (I'm a big believer in naps!) We kept our girls in the same room all the way through the jumping stage. One would just ignore the other and fall asleep and it really never has affected their naps. Right now, I'm listening to Sarah sing at the top of her lungs while Allison is sound asleep. They really do learn to tune out the other. Sure they have fun jumping and throwing things at each other, but when one gets sleepy, she will just lay down and go to sleep. It's not long before the other follows suit.

Good luck!!

 

First... :hug: some moments can be very trying!

1.) I, too, have a different time out area. I use the steps, or a chair, or some place where they just sit. Usually the steps, but I have to improvise if not at home. I don't give timeouts for jumping in the crib, either, as I think it is a stage, too. And if I ignore it, it generally is not long lasting. As for the taking the diaper off thing...that I get very stern about. That one drives me bonkers, but I guess if they fall asleep naked and wet anyway, it's all washable. Yes, that has happened, and it's a lot of work to clean up, but not the end of the world. However, if it was happening often, I would definitely, definitely have to figure something out to change that problem (seriously, duct tape on a diaper at nap is not in any way neglectful!).

2.) Moving to beds. I attempted moving into big beds and gave up and went back to cribs. None of my older children had a problem transitioning before 2, but there two...uugh! So, they are back in their cribs, happy to be there. I had one trying to crawl out before, he hasn't done it since I put them back. So, unless it gets dangerous for them, I'd keep them in, too.

3.) My older kids all stopped napping before 2. They would be in their rooms "resting" ...aka playing, but it gave me "my" time. These two are on the verge of no naps as well, but still do go down.