The majority of toddler parents have experienced these, myself included.

First off, it is quite rare that a child under the age of 3 does not need a nap. Many children still need a nap between the ages of 3 – 4. However, it is very common that toddlers go through stages of resisting the nap (it can often happen for several days in a row).

However, if your child is age 3 or under in particular, they may not be dropping the nap. I successfully bring back the nap for the vast majority of under 3’s I work with as taking away the nap prematurely can cause sleep concerns of their own.

Here are my top tips if your toddler is resisting their nap!

1. Ensure you are starting the day by no later than 7am each day.

2. Look at the time you are offering the nap. The ideal nap start time for a toddler having one nap is between 12 noon – 1pm, however the precise start time can be toddler specific. Tweak the nap start time (by pushing forward or back the start time within this time range) by 15 minutes every 3 – 5 days to find what works best for your toddler.

3. Ensure the nap environment is sleep inducive – a dark, comfortably cool and quiet room. If your toddler relies on motion sleep for their nap, it may be time to revert to cot naps.

4. Avoid screen time one hour before nap time. The blue light counteracts the onset of the sleepy hormone melatonin and can create excessive stimulation before sleep time.

5. It is common for toddlers to take 60 – 90 minutes to fall asleep at nap time on occasion (if its frequent you need to look at my tips above), so ensure you are giving them a sufficient opportunity to take that nap, especially during a “nap strike”.

6. This is my final but most important tip, keep offering the nap. It is not uncommon for a toddler to resist a nap for a week – 10 days (it can also sometimes be developmentally related). Keep offering the nap for at least 3 weeks during a “nap strike”, if your child is under 3 it is extremely likely it will come back. If it has been at least 3 weeks and your toddler is age 3 plus, it may be time to remove the nap.

I will share my tips on what to do when your toddler eventually stops napping soon, as ensuring you approach this correctly can avoid creating other sleep issues.