Until recently, naptime at the Schmidt home, in Moundsville, Ala., went off without a hitch. Now, it takes some extraordinary measures to ensure that sleep occurs. "I put up a gate on his room [and] close the blinds," says April Lee Schmidt, talking about her 2-year-old son. "He has recently been getting up and playing so I have started taking his toy box, little table and a rocking horse out of his room at naptime."

Most people think that once it’s established, naptime is guaranteed well into the preschool years. Before too long, however, they find themselves fighting an age-old battle, second guessing their tactics every step of the way.

Fortunately, parents and experts who’ve been there have been tackling the questions of naptime for years. Here’s how they suggest parents handle this common struggle!

Q: For about a week now, my 2-year-old has not taken a nap. Is she old enough to get through the day without a nap?

A: "Some children give up naps at 2 years old," says Laurie Waldstein, co-author of the book The Pink and Blue Preschooler and Toddler Pages. "For whatever reason, their bodies just don’t need it." Without the secluded nap, chances are the child will still reach a point during the afternoon, when some down time is necessary. Waldstein recommends resting the body quietly through activities such as playing in their room or reading or looking at a book.

Jeri Carr from Lakewood, Wash. learned this first-hand, after her 2-year-old stopped taking naps. "The way I finally reduced the struggle was to quit making her take a nap," Carr says. She says that during the afternoon, when her child begins to act tired, sitting down and playing quietly or reading a book is a great way to recharge.

Parents should also be aware that once the child drops a nap, bedtime will most likely occur earlier than it did when the child was sleeping each afternoon.

Q: Our 3-year-old has no trouble napping each day at preschool, but he refuses to nap for my husband and me on the weekends. What are we doing wrong?

A: What you’re doing to encourage naptime is probably not as important as who and where you are. "[Children] may do better at school about taking naps than they do at home," says Leslie Zinberg, co-author of The Pink and Blue Preschooler and Toddler Pages. "Because at school, they see all their peers taking naps, so then they join in and take the nap."

Along with the peer pressure, Waldstein says that the authority of a teacher helps to encourage the daily nap. Oftentimes, children listen to teachers in a different way than they listen to their parents.

Waldstein and Zinberg insist that it is all right to skip actual naptime on the weekends. Instead, parents should be ready to employ the tactic of quiet time. As an added bonus, some children that claim they aren’t tired will often fall asleep on their own.

That’s what Michelle Smith from Chico, Calif. found when she noticed her son falling asleep in front of the television each weekend. "In fact, I call Sundays Max’s Nap Day."

Q: My 4-year-old does not nap, but he does become very tired and agitated in the late afternoons and early evenings. Should I insist that my child take a nap?

A. Zinberg says that you should not force the nap, and you should never use naptime as a threat. If you do, you’re setting yourself up for a continuous tug-of-war and a battle you just can’t win. Waldstein adds that when a child refuses to nap, she should not be punished for it. "If [the] body isn’t tired, and it doesn’t want to sleep, it’s pretty hard to make a child sleep," she says. In both instances, the most important thing to remember is for the parent to avoid giving a negative connotation to the bed in which the child sleeps.

Waldstein and Zinberg agree that it is nice for both the child and the parent to have a break during the day to recharge. They advocate a rest period that involves doing something that isn’t physically challenging. To help the child understand, a kitchen timer can be set to 30 minutes or one hour. This way the child has a tangible reference as to when the quiet period is over.