Transitioning from Nap Time to Rest Time

A well chosen video, some important stuffed animals and blankets, and my son would "rest" on the couch, sometimes falling asleep but most of the times not. Once the video was done it was off to do other things, but we all felt better after the "rest" Good Luck!

Greetings V.,
I want to tell you that as the mothe of 5 active children and now a Grandmother of several cuties we found something that worked for us and bless them my children are doing with their own children today.
We called it the Perry Mason hour. By 2 1/2 a child is able to recognize a specific show- for us it was Perry Mason. When that show came on then they knew it was "Moms" rest time and they had to rest as well for me to so they could look at books and be quiet for that time and when the show goes off believe me they will come and tell you. We had special quilts they nested in like Big Bird or used slumber bags so that it made it a special place. I have one son whose family uses Baby Einstein, another Planet Earth or something from History channel even Nemo if it works.I was never blessed to have children nap on a regular basis after 18 months so I think you are blessed to have lasted this long.My Grandchildren seem to nap when they come here only if they can sleep in our bed.Heck I don't mind a bit. Good Luck and I jope that you will contnue to enjoy the challenges of parethood and all the twists and turns that it will have. It is the greatest work that you will ever do. Nana Glenda

Hi, V.,

My daughter is 2.5 and she has pretty much given up napping since age 2. The good news is that though bed time isn't much earlier now, at least she goes down easier! No climbing out of the crib, screaming, complaining, etc.

So, that said, we have put a twist on our quiet time. She doesn't like to be in her room by herself, so I leave her downstairs in the living room/dining room/kitchen, all childproofed. And she plays, reads, hangs out, doesn't feel confined. Meanwhile, I head upstairs to my room so I can check email, read a magazine, be by myself for 15 minutes. That is all the time I get, but it makes a huge difference.

Hope that helps.
H.

My now 3-year old daughter has been having a "rest" for about 6 months now. A little less than half the time she ends up sleeping. She is still in a crib and I prefer it that way, though I know she's ready for a regular bed. Here's what I do: I go through the whole pre-nap routine with stories, etc... and tuck her into her crib. She lies there quietly for pretty much 20 minutes or more. If she's still awake, she will call out and I'll give her some books to stretch out my break. She'll read quietly for another half hour on a good day. My only problem with this method is that I end up tending her halfway through the rest time. I think that if I give her books to start out with she'll never sleep, though.
It'll all change once they're in a regular bed anyhow so you might choose a ritual that will make that transition easiest.

When my son transitioned to "Quiet Time" I started with 30 min. Every 5 days or so I increased it by 15 min., to finally get the time to about 2 hrs. One of the things that really helped with him was listening to books on CD. We would go to the library each week and he got to pick out new CDs. I started with the shorter picture book type, but as his "Quite Time" got longer I switched to kids chapter books (Winnie the Pooh, Magic Tree House, Beverley Cleary). I did not make him stay in bed. He just had to play quietly in his room with toys that did not make noise.

We've been doing rest time for a while now and what works for us is to allow my daughter to play quietly in her room, which for you would mean you give him the chance to be out of his crib. I would try approaching the change by telling him you understand he's a big boy now and doesn't always need to sleep so now he can play in his room quietly out of his crib but needs to stay in there until you get him. I would have him pick out some new toys to bring in his room and point out that playing is much more fun than crying but it's a choice he can make. And, if he gets tired enough let him fall asleep on the floor, my daughter does it on occasion.

We too call it "quiet time" I avoid the N word at all costs and tell my daughter who is now 3 that her baby sister has a nap but she needs her quiet time to get energy to play the rest of the day. I have an ipod in her room with her favorite songs on it and I turn it on the speakers softly, let her chose one doll/stuffy (her favorite baby Sarah always) and a stack of books and then I leave. As long as I leave her door open she'll hang out in there and more often than not she'll fall asleep. Our other deal is that I'll keep checking on her, that way she doesn't feel along and it eliminates the stress that caused the crying in the first place.

My best suggestion is to be consistant, whatever you do, do the same thing everyday. He'll get used to it, make sure he knows that he's not in trouble. If you choose to use his room as his "time out space", he might be afraid being alone in their is being in trouble. Make it a happy thing. A mommy I had a play date with today was saying she convinced her son to do it by telling him she was having a quiet time on her bed too.

Good luck!

Would it work for you to have a special place to all nap together? I understand the need for you to all have a resting time in the afternoon..Is there a foam pad or other place you would be comfortable cuddling with him in the room where his little 8 month old brother sleeps in his crib? Maybe he could "read " his books to you while your rest and then maybe he would be able to relax and sleep next to you when he gets tired...

N. (I had five children in 9 years and I always needed an afternoon rest. Sometimes the older child needs to feel special since the baby always seems to have a special opportunity to be closer to mommy)

Hi V.,
First off, I understand where you are coming from. I found out I was prego on my first son's 2nd bday. That is when he was totally done napping all together. I wanted to hang myself. I talked to his dr and he told me he just doesn't need anymore naps. I thought, hello, I do. Can we give him something to knock him out? JK. I acutally put him in day care 2 days a week in the mornings so I could find my brain. He didn't nap there either. My son is a great sleeper since 7 weeks. He was sleeping 12hrs a night in his crib. The dr said he sleps so well at night so early on that he only needs 12-14hrs a day at that age. What I did was turn on a movie for him on the days he wasn't in school. I remember one afternoon when I was 7 months prego, i acutally fell asleep on the sofa. I was so tired. I woke up and he was still sitting there watching his moving at 2.5yrs old. Of course I flipped out, thinking what the heck happened?

Find things like coloring next to you at the kitchen table. My son was so busy I would get 4 pairs of colored socks out and mix them all up and have him match them at 2.5yrs old. He figured it all out.

Hang in there. Hope that helps.

SAHM. 40yrs old, with 2 amazing funny little boys, 4yrs & 1yr. I move at the speed of light.

We started "room time" when my daughter started giving up the naps. I bought a large visual timer, so she could see "the red" disappear. See www.timetimer.com. It is up on a high shelf in her room where she can't reach. We started our "training" with only 10 minutes. When she successfully stayed in her room to play quietly for 10 minutes, she got lots of praise. Slowly over the past year (she's now 3.9), her time has increased. I put on quiet music, and as her imaginative skills improve, she is now able to handle 1.25 hours by herself. Every once in a while she will fall asleep on the floor or wherever, but not often. She used to really fight that alone time, as she is extremely social and talkative! But now that it's a part of our daily routine, she actually asks for it now! It is wonderful, and all that training time has really paid off. I hear her singing quietly, playing make believe with her toys and "reading", and it is so pleasant to hear her self-entertaining. Oh, and I have a couple of special toys that are strictly reserved for "room time" and she looks forward to playing with them. Good luck!

My son transitioned to "quiet time" at about that age. He was already in a big boy bed though so I would let him choose a couple of toys/ book to play with quietly on his bed. For the first year, he still fell asleep half the time. Once he turned 3 and didn't need naps anymore I let him play quietly in his room for one hour without bothering me. That is my break time and it is a life saver. Since your son is still in a crib, he may feel confined and may be the reason for crying. You may want to try putting a blanket on the floor or just restricting him to his room. Then if he doesn't stay in his room he will have to go to the crib.

Hi V.,
When my son reached that (dreaded) point, he was out of a crib and it was tough. I called it "quiet time" and made sure he had something quiet to do in his room. I'm not a fan of t.v. as a babysitter, but many days he did watch a DVD or video and I knew he was 'resting' for at least an hour. They also have some really cute story CD's and my son liked to listen to them as well. Good luck!