Without a doubt, my favorite time of the day is the first 10 -15 minutes in the early afternoon after I have tucked everyone in for naps. Those naps are one of the reasons I have any shred of sanity left!
From the time my children were infants, they have napped every afternoon. I can count (almost on one hand) the number of days they have skipped nap and that includes Christmas, Thanksgiving and birthday celebrations. I have planned my mornings and days around their naps and I have not regretted that.
I have listened to other mothers speak of their 2 yr. old and say “Well, she just gave up her nap.” Some of those same people have asked me, “How do you get yours to nap?” I admit that I haven’t always known how to answer that. I am certainly no “baby whisperer” and there is no trick!
Here is what I have done to get my children to nap: I HAVE NEVER GIVEN THEM A CHOICE NOT TO! I make sure we are home before or immediately after lunch. They have a little down time after lunch (read a book or watch a short video). Then, they get comfortable and get in the bed. I close the shades and tuck them in. They don’t get to come out until they have been asleep and I check them to make sure they actually go to sleep!
My children don’t know what napping in the car means. We have had lots of play dates and lunch dates and mornings at the park but we watch the time and we don’t skip nap. There is no whining or fussing or complaining. It is just nap time because that is what it has always been after lunch. My 6 yr. old took an afternoon nap until, literally, the day before he started kindergarten last summer. He still naps on weekends and holidays. When my 3 yr. old gets sleepy, she goes to get ready for nap and calls me to tuck her in.
My husband believes a nap on his off days are part of his unalienable rights! I nap some days. Mostly, I enjoy that time when the house is light and still and quiet. I find that to be very different than when the house is quiet at night. Nap time gives me a break and it helps me gear up for the rest of the day. It is a time that I can do a little work or make a phone call or read a book or…
In a couple of years, both children will be in school and we won’t nap with the regularity that we do now. When that happens, I will miss daily nap time but I won’t be sorry that, for a time, I built my days around it!
