Nap Trouble when Transitioning out of the Crib
Maybe you happily celebrated buying your child a “big kid bed”! Or, maybe, you were unexpectedly thrust into putting together a toddler bed due to your child figuring out how to scale over their crib like Spiderman. Whichever way you found yourself in this situation, struggles during naps are likely to arise with your toddler’s newfound freedom while transitioning to their toddler bed.
Common nap troubles during crib to bed transition:
Climbing all over their room
Leaving their room repeatedly during naptime
Playing with toys instead of sleeping
Refusing to get into or stay in their bed during naptime
Toddler Climbing Furniture during Nap Time
For an exploring child, their entire room becomes fair play once the confines of the crib are taken away. Before the transition, you will want to look at the entire room and consider it to be the new “crib”. Look out for any hazards such as sharp corners, furniture should be secured to the walls, and cords secure and out of reach.
Toddler Won’t Stay in their Room During Nap Time
If your toddler is younger than 3, and won’t stay in their room, we highly recommend installing some kind of physical boundary. A toddler of that age does not understand that they must stay in their room without something preventing them from leaving.
A physical boundary will keep them safe in their room, which is important during naps when you may be busy with other siblings or work. This is even more imperative at night, when you and the rest of the house are sleeping, and not aware of your child’s escape. You can use a safety knob on the inside of their door, a door monkey, or a VERY tall child gate in their doorway. For a child older than 3, and if you don’t like the idea of a physical barrier, then calmly, and consistently walking them back to their room every time they leave is how you will need to enforce the new boundary.
Toddler playing instead of sleeping during naptime?
Keep their room simple! If you have all kinds of toys with flashing lights, bells, whistles sitting in every corner of their room it’s going to be very tempting for them to get up and play instead of napping. Remove any distractions from their room that will entice them to leave their bed. Even if they do still get up and play around, if you have removed stimulating toys, they likely will eventually get bored and lay back down or pass out where they’re at!
Would you rather enforce quiet time over nap time? Check out this blog for getting started with quiet time.
How to keep a toddler in their bed during naptime?
As I’ve mentioned above, consistently and calmly holding the boundary of naptime happening in their bed. Giving them another option will only validate their resolve to leave their bed.
Another trick that works really well for this age is positive reinforcement. Reward charts are so fun and motivating! It really can be as simple as the sticker itself or whatever small token your child will appreciate and work for.
Okay to wake clocks aren’t only for bedtime! You can program the clock to turn off or to dim red light during the nap, and then turn green (or whatever color your child likes) for when it’s time to wake up. This can be used in conjunction with the reward chart, i.e. “if you stay in your bed until your light turns green, you’ll be able to pick out a new sticker on your chart!”
My number one tip concerning nap troubles during crib to bed transitions is to be consistent! If you make it clear that they still need to nap in their bed, they will go back to napping again. Just because your toddler is resisting napping, it does NOT necessarily mean they are ready to completely drop their nap.
Good luck, and may the force be with you! But if you’re realllllly struggling, check out the 1:1 options here!
