Some children need more sleep then others. However, it is unlikely that your 17 month old doesn't still need to nap. Most children until close to five years of age need a nap during the day. Look at your daughter's sleeping environment. Does she have toys, and/or stuffed animals in her bed that she is playing with instead of sleeping? How bright is her room? If she has a sunny room you may want to look into getting some sort of window covering to darken the room. Even a blanket will work. I have also read that children will sleep better if they have gotten outside that day for some fresh air and sunshine. How active is your child's day? Another thing to look at is TV watching. TV actually stimulates a child so napping right after watching TV may be causing problems if that is the case. I would suggest looking at these things, and setting a reasonable nap time in the afternoon and sticking to it. Put your daughter down and leave her in bed the duration of the time her nap should last, even if she doesn't sleep right away. There were stretches of time when my son would sing and play in bed for an hour before falling asleep, but eventually he did. Now days he goes to sleep usually within the first 15 minutes of being put down for his nap. Chances are with the routine and not being gotten up your daughter will start to understand that this is a time to rest.
Hope this was helpful.

 posted by Tania on Jan 16 at 3:37 PM PST