HELP! Major naptime issues since new beds!

So the girls started crawling out of their cribs so we had to move them to big girl beds, BUT not they are not wanting to nap. I put them in their room and they play, laugh and get in each others beds. I sometimes go in there and tell them it is naptime and they need to go to sleep, sometimes I yell (becuase I am frustrated) but nothing works. ONE time they actually fell asleep. I know they are not ready to give up naps becuase they are extremely grouchy at night. PLEASE HELP, how can I get them to nap? I have thought of separating them but that would mean one would be upstairs (their bedroom is downstairs) and I don't think that would work because my 4 year old and I are upstairs and we would have to be extremely quiet. Thanks for any and all help!

 

Is their room completely dark? I know that helped my kids take naps. I did have to separate my girls but I have a ranch house so we are all on the same level. What about taking away a favorite toy or blanket if they don't lay down quietly? Or maybe play some soft music and if they get up you will shut it off on them (I know this may not have them fall asleep but they would be laying down and resting and some days they might fall asleep). After awhile the newness of being in a bed did wear off and I was able to put them back in the same room again for naps but it did take a while before that happened.

 

My boys did the same thing when we made the switch to toddler beds. Now the routine is I read them two books, give them kisses, curl up on their floor with my "mommy blanky" and tell them good night. Most of the time I end up dozing off for 15 mins or so and then I sneak out after they are asleep. When I first started this they would still stay awake and talk or try to poke me with their feet but after about a month they started just going to sleep right away. Same with bedtime, they used to stay awake and run around for hours (I don't stay in the room with them at bed time) but now it's pretty smooth sailing

 

What I did was to sit in the room with them while they fell asleep. That way they did not have the chance to start talking or playing and they would fall asleep pretty quickly (usually within 10 minutes).

I started off sitting on the floor between their beds. I didn't touch or talk to them, just waited until they fell asleep. If they sat up/tried to talk to me I'd say firmly "lie down/shh, no chatting, it's nap time" I didn't engage any further or say anything different. If they got out of bed I put them back without talking. (The idea is to be really boring so that they give up trying to get a response from you).
Then, every day, you can gradually move the place you sit closer to the door, until you are sitting in the doorway (should take about a week). For a couple of days after that stand/sit just outside the door, listening to make sure they stay in bed and don't chat even when they can't see you (again if they get up put them straight back in bed, without talking. If you hear them chatting put your head round the door and shush them). After that mine would stay in bed no problem.
You should base how quickly you move to the door on how well it goes and the size/layout of your room; I sat in the room for about 5 or 6 days, then just outside for another 2 or 3. The waiting outside bit is important to check that they will stay in bed when they can no longer see you.

My theory is that at naptimes they are more awake/excited than bedtime and the temptation to get out of bed and play is greater (especially with two of them!) By sitting in the room you stop them from being able to mess around, and if they are tired and need a nap they should fall asleep in a normal amount of time. To me it was well worth sitting for that small amount of time to get a full nap out of them. Obviously you would have to be able to trust your son to amuse himself out of sight for a little while.

Good luck, I hope you get your naps back soon!