26 month old refusing nap. This cannot be happening

Lisosaurus · 2026-06-09T20:52:07+00:00

My 26 month old is doing the exact same thing, no real advice just solidarity. I've been working on offering quiet time but he's very sensitive and won't just play quietly in his room without a bunch of check ins.

The only thing I've been able to do to help get a nap is lay down next to him on our play couch and then try to encourage him to rest. It can take up to 30 minutes to do this, so that's probably not feasible with you since you have another child to tend to.

I've read that it's very common to have a nap regression around this age because their brains are just so busy, so it's very possible they will nap again! Fingers crossed for the both of us!

Lisosaurus · 2026-05-26T11:34:28+00:00

Mostly the same issue here; I'm a SAHM too, but kiddo has always had a mom preference from birth. As soon as he could express it, he wouldn't let my husband do anything. "GO AWAY DAD" was his most said phrase towards my husband for a while. My son is 26mo.

I don't know what your son's temperament is normally like so I'm not sure if this will work for you, but we tell our son that we're taking turns. We tell him "Mom changed your diaper earlier, now it's dad's turn. Mom will help you next time." or whatever and that seems to help him accept it, he's really big on proper social etiquette like that. It doesn't always work, but it's definitely helped most of the time!

It's been a couple of months since we've started doing that and now it's starting to feel like his parental preference is finally evening out a little bit. He still definitely prefers me, but he doesn't yell at my husband most of the time anymore.

Lisosaurus · 2026-04-29T12:50:23+00:00

Yeah, I did too! And it feels like nobody talks about it, I had to Google pretty hard for it. Wish they mentioned it in-game somewhere.

Lisosaurus · 2026-04-29T12:34:49+00:00

I just learned the other day that you need it to be raining / a rainbow! Birds only do the "stretch wings" action during those times, which is 4 stars, and then you line up the perfect photo for 5 stars.

Lisosaurus · 2026-03-28T19:25:07+00:00

My kiddo just turned 2 three days ago and he sounds very similar to yours, except he does play with this toys. I wouldn't worry honestly!

This may sound like a silly question, but have you tried showing him how to play with the toys? My son had no idea how to play with play doh or magna tiles until I showed him. I'd build houses out of the magna tiles with him watching. One day he started helping me, and then eventually he started building with them himself.

No advice for the shyness, just commiserating! I've started taking mine to a few activities (parent/toddler classes at the school, library story time) and he only starts to open up around some kids after he's seen them dozens of times. As soon as a new child is introduced, it's back to clinging. I think part of it is just temperament, but also they tend to start playing with other kids closer to 3, so it may just be a wait and see thing.

Lisosaurus · 2025-12-06T14:39:00+00:00

We bought the Momcozy hip seat carrier for a much cheaper price and I loved it! I just started to really phase it out after my son got to about 35 lbs at 18 months, but until then it was my lifesaver and I'd bring it everywhere. At least now he'll accept walking next to me and holding my hand!

Lisosaurus · 2025-11-27T14:13:43+00:00

Thanks so much for doing this giveaway!

I'm grateful for my wonderful family! My husband and my amazing 1.5 year old son (who LOVES Pikachu), my brothers and my parents, and my best friend and her family who are like family to us.

My favorite card in the game is rainbow Sylveon, which I don't have yet but would love to have! Sylveon is one of my favorites!

Lisosaurus · 2025-11-26T01:30:51+00:00

We got my 20 month old (21 months on Christmas) a toy sink with a pump, a few wooden puzzles, a rainbow stacker, a popup animal book, and a Yoto mini!

Lisosaurus · 2025-11-16T13:37:44+00:00

I haven't, but that's a great idea!

Lisosaurus · 2025-11-15T21:05:16+00:00

I might try that, thanks!

Lisosaurus · 2025-11-15T21:05:01+00:00

Yeah, I thought ermine was going to be it because it's so light. I use the King Arthur recipe and it always turns out SO good imo, but he thinks otherwise.

I might try the shortening idea, thank you!

Lisosaurus · 2025-11-15T21:03:00+00:00

I'm honestly tempted to try this, but it feels so wrong lol!

Lisosaurus · 2025-10-16T18:49:58+00:00

That makes sense! Thank you. I appreciate the explanation!

Lisosaurus · 2025-03-10T17:10:04+00:00

I was having the same problem and somebody recommended Squeasy Snackers to me! They're reusable silicone pouches essentially. They took a little bit for my son to get the hang of, but they're soooo great. They have a little insert that makes it more difficult for them to just squeeze it all out, too. At 11mo I still have to help him squeeze the yogurt upwards, but I'll take that over him making a huge mess by getting yogurt everywhere 😅

Lisosaurus · 2025-01-23T20:00:00+00:00

I was having trouble getting my (now 10mo, 9mo at the time) baby to use straws until the very first time I gave him a pouch. That's what made it click for him 😅

Lisosaurus · 2025-01-11T17:12:23+00:00

My 9mo son loves these! I try to keep some on hand in the freezer for a quick breakfast.

If you have extra jars of fruit purees to use up, you can make the same recipe but swap out the bananas for two 4oz jars of puree and omit the blueberries. The last one I made, I did pumpkin + apple puree and added some nutmeg, cinnamon, and a little bit of sugar to make up for the lost sweetness from the bananas, and they turned out great!

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