Nap time

Hey Everyone!

I have a dck who will never sleep for 2 hours in the afternoon :( He always seems to wake up shortly after an hour of sleeping. He is just a toddler and only has that one nap, so I'm confused as to why he isn't sleeping more. What do you guys do when a little one wakes up after such a short nap? Do you leave them in their playpen to try to train them to sleep longer, or do you get them right away when they wake up? I feel like if I get him right away, then he will never learn to sleep for the 2 hours in the afternoon. He's definitely tired... I think he is still adjusting to being here.

I leave them there .....most people do wake up mid sleep cycle but go back to sleep babies and toddlers are the same plus you are exactly right if you get him right away then he will never learn to stay there....even if he just "talks" to himself hes still resting ......maybe he goes to bed really early at night and therefore getting 12 hours already and that's why hes not sleeping so long. .... if he went to bed at 8 and got up at 6 then he would only get 10 hours and then would probably sleep longer int he afternoon but if hes going to bed at 6:30 or 7 and getting up at 6 then hes already getting lots of sleep....ask the parents what time he goes to bed at night.

I too would leave them. I have one child who wakes up 45mins into nap, but ends up falling asleep after a few minutes for another 45-60 mins.

Yep...I leave them until naptime is over. Eventually they do learn to sleep longer or at least play quietly in the playpen until the time is up. Even if he gets 12 hours of sleep at night, he probably still needs a good 2 hour nap...toddlers need quite a bit of sleep.

I have an 18 month boy here that I've had for 6 months. From the beginning he has woken up about an hour and a half after he goes to sleep. I discovered that if I have a soother ready to give to him he will sleep for awhile after that. Usually up to an hour.

I leave them for 2.5 hours. I had at least one who screamed the whole time for the first few weeks, but these children had only ever been rocked and/or nursed to sleep. Now, they all sleep very well, and sometimes I have to wake them up when they sleep past the 2.5 hour mark (parents do not want them to sleep more than that). It was the wise advice from women on this board that made me try the cry-it-out method and I'm sold. All the parents think I'm some kind of miracle worker because their children nap at my house and are cheerful in the evening. None of these children will nap at home, which I don't understand, except that I suspect the child knows if they cry the parent will rescue them LOL