NAP STRIKE! What to Do When Your Child Refuses to Nap

😱 NAP STRIKES 😱

You finally get your little one on a good nap schedule and then one day…they refuse to take a nap! Uh oh, now what? You start praying this is just a fluke and not an everyday thing…

Nap strikes are often a normal developmental event, signaling you that you need to make a change to your child’s current schedule. That’s right, it’s 100% normal to have to change your child’s schedule every month or every few months. That’s because they’re growing and their sleep needs evolve as they get older!

While there can be numerous reasons for nap strikes, here are the top three things you need to check right away to help your child take naps.

1. Make sure your child has a nap routine! This should be a 3-5 minute, stripped down version of the bedtime routine, helping your child observe a noticeable transition between playtime and sleep time. It should include an auditory cue (song or prayer etc), a sensory cue (rocking, sleep sack), and turning lights off and sound machine on.

2. Make sure your child’s room is completely dark. It’s hard to sleep during the day when there’s light as a distraction! Newborns can sleep pretty much anywhere anytime, but older babies and toddlers need a dark, cool, private resting area to take refreshing naps. Use blackout shades if possible and tape over any little electric device lights.

3. Make sure your child’s wake windows are being adjusted for age. Your 6 month old may have done amazing with three naps, but now that they’re 8 months they need only two naps or they will struggle to fall asleep. Wake windows change each month for babies - see below for my free resource on this.

Please give these three major areas a look and if nothing improves, I would love to help you pinpoint the issue and get your child taking amazing naps. Book a free 15-minute discovery call to see if my sleep coaching services are a perfect fit for your family!