My oldest is almost 3 and starting to nap in the afternoons less and less. On those days he is in bed earlier so it's not a big deal but he has a younger sibling who does nap so I need to entertain him at home and get the stuff done that I used to get done while they both napped! UGH! I usually took that hour or two to prep dinner, laundry etc. but now most days I find my toddler hanging on my pant leg. I usually get let him watch one video/show for down time but after that it's fair game. Any ideas are really appreciated! How do I still get everything done AND entertain him?????
Oh - and we do put him down for a nap every day and tell him he has to at least have quiet time but I can't get him to stay in his room. I tried baby gating him in his room but he stood there and yelled and woke the baby so my hands are tied (I do not lock my kids in their rooms as a personal preference).
Thanks for any ideas!
Only advice I have is put him to work. This is perfect opportunity to let little helper help you with laundry, cooking, dishes. My child loves playing "little mommy" and helps me do my daily chores. If you can get him into this habit its good for you and him plus the skills are great.
Definetly get him involved in what you are doing. My son is almost 3 and loves to do chores, especially laundry and seasoning food. If its something he can't be involved in like cutting (he is not content to use his own plastic knife) then don't feel guilty about letting him watch a quality video or tv show.
You can try just quietly walking him back to his room every time he comes out during quiet time. You can also try presenting him with two choices - nap or quiet time. You can also make suggestions to him at the beginning of what he can do (color, play with play doh et). Sometimes making that choice is overwhelming. Good luck. For some reason DS just accepted the concept of quiet time from the beginning so we were lucky.
It awful when they decide nap time is over. I am one of those who put every kid down every day at the same time and expected a sleeping child and got one. Until J, he turned 3 and naps were over. It stinks. You'll have to learn new techniques, put a quiet movie in, get a small swimming pool and set it up in a corner with lots of pillows and books for him to read, set a little tykes table up in the living area and put crayons and coloring books on it. Let him paint the table top with pudding, finger paints, any number of quiet activities. It will take some time to train him to be quiet and stay on task but he will eventually get the idea and you'll figure out what keeps his mind occupied for more than 5 minutes.
You could try setting a timer for him to do things. Use small increments until he gets used to doing something and then stretch the time longer each day until it is where you need it to be. Perhaps 10 minutes of something then onto something else for 15 or so. Have the timer where he can see it so he knows what to expect. Ideas to try are resting on his bed, reading books, watching a short tv show, building with blocks ect. I like the others ideas of getting him involved in the work. My 3 year old helps me sort clean laundry by putting it into piles of whose it is so I can fold it easier. Is this necessary, no but it keeps him occupied for a little while and he loves to help. Good luck. I was very sad to when my oldest stopped napping too. It just totally messes up the day for a while until you can establish a new routine.
He needs to learn to entertain himself while you are busy. He has to under-
stand that you cannot entertain 24/7.
I completely understand. My oldest son was 2 1/2 when my younger son was born and we stopped his naps cause I just couldn't do both, but it helped him too go to bed earlier which was a big help. I did the TV thing as well for down time, but if you are needing more than an 1 or 1 1/2 hrs, possibly try a quiet activity in the kitchen as you do things. My son would play trains on his train table, but he loves school workbooks. Maybe set him up with workbooks, colors, some Color Wonder markers or paint at your kitchen table. My oldest son has always been home with me, so he got used to me playing with him all the time so it was a big adjustment for him that mom had more to get done. I understand how hard it is, so maybe getting him near you will make both of you happy. That's what I still do to this day while my toddler naps and my 4 1/2 yr old hangs out with me doing a quiet activity.
