What to do in the moment when a toddler falls asleep so late for his nap that it folds into his bedtime?

Question

It happens sometimes - a 32 month old toddler who just doesn't want to sleep during the day and winds up being fully awake right up until an hour or so before he's supposed to go to bed.

I've seen plenty of advice for how to fix a sleep schedule after such an event occurs - which is well and fine, but what I need more than anything in a situation like that is to know what to do in the moment when he's overslept his nap.

Do I wake him up and try to keep him up for a little while so he isn't waking up too early? Or do I let him sleep and accept that tomorrow will be a nightmare of possibly waking up hours before he's supposed to?

Answer 1

A well-rested, happy toddler waking up too early is better than a cranky toddler waking up at your preferred hour. I would let him sleep and work on incrementally adjusting his sleep time over the course of the next few days. He's getting old enough to skip the nap and just have a longer night-time sleep.

Answer 2

Personally, I would choose a difficult evening with a cranky toddler over a sleepless morning. If might wake up my toddler after 15-30 minutes of his nap, knowing that I'm in for a rough time for the next couple of hours. Think nonstop crying and not getting much done besides for soothing your son 😅

You can try instituting a "rest time" in middle of the day as well. Even if he doesn't actually fall asleep, the quiet time might be enough to prevent him from napping later on.

But as diylmma mentioned, this stage is temporary. Soon enough he'll drop that nap entirely!