Clicky Poll - Nap Enforcement

GraceInCA · September 2014

ilovemarfa · September 2014

We have set nap times and it's rare that the kids don't go to sleep. Ds2 always falls asleep but now that ds1 is getting older (3 1/2 yrs), he will sometimes skip his nap.

GraceInCA · September 2014

subliminalrabbit said:

E is usually ready for a nap at 11AM or 1PM, depending on the level of our morning activity. Just over the past two days he's really fought it. I'm nervous that he's going to be a hot mess in a couple of hours if he doesn't sleep, so I'm trying my best to get him to go down.

Those are almost exactly the times that M gets tired. Depending on what the day looks like, she either falls asleep around 11, or if we are out and about she falls asleep closer to 1. But we are a "no structure" household so she naps when she wants to nap. One some days I get 2 full 2 hour naps, and on other days she'll doze for 15 minutes and that'll be as much napping as I get from her.

needanustart · September 2014

I am the nap whisperer. I enforce napping from 1:30ish until 4:30ish for the 1, 3 and 4 year old in my charge every day I have them. I run them into the ground with physical activity all morning, give them a huge lunch and warm milk and then if it's colder out turn up the heat and put on white noise in the three bedrooms starting at 1. I go around to each room and read books and usually I can get them all asleep within 15 mins of each other and the process takes less than 45 minutes total. And then I get 3 hours of glory! 3 beautiful hours! I have a 90% success rate.

When this does not happen my world crumbles. Especially if I have one drowsy 3 or 4 year old one on one and I answer nonsensical questions for 3 straight hours. I have a hard time coping with nap fails.

GalLaura · September 2014

My lo gets up between 4-5 everyday so by 9 he's exhausted. He also takes a nap at 2. I enforce them big time becaus he needs them and I need a break. I'm so tired from getting up so early.

BC&LM · September 2014

SS: I know he naps at daycare, but I don't know how quickly/cooperatively he goes down. At home, as he gets older, he doesn't have nap times set in stone; it really depends on where/when we are going that day, how tired or cranky he is, etc. He almost always naps in the afternoon around one or two, but sometimes morning too.

lioness13 · September 2014

She naps sometime between noon and 1 at daycare and at home. She naps longer at home. At daycare they say she sleeps for 45 min and wakes up when all the kids are asleep. At home she sleeps at least an hour and a half to 3 hours.

dmlk413 · September 2014

I'm an enforcer. We follow the same nap schedule as daycare and when it's nap time, she goes in her crib no matter what. It may take her a little bit to settle down and/or she may take a short nap but we still try.

TheTamedShrew · September 2014

We have a routine that I try to stick to (or enforce). There are some days where we have things to do where the nap gets pushed back, but I always at least try and give her the opportunity to nap. If I don't, then she's extra tired early in the evening, and wakes up in the MOTN because her "nap" was pushed back to her bedtime. It seems to mess up the next 24 hours for us. 95% of the time she takes a good 1.5-2 hour nap around 1:00. I have a child that seems to really thrive on a routine/schedule, and needs to be alone in her bed in order to wind down enough to sleep.

P.S. I want to hear more about this "no structure" thing, @GraceinCA.

GraceInCA · September 2014

TheTamedShrew said:

P.S. I want to hear more about this "no structure" thing, @GraceinCA.

We are very loosey goosey with the kids. My son has a bedtime now because of school in the morning, but for the most part we leave it to him to enforce, and pretty much every night he's asleep a short window before or after 8:30 without us making him go to bed. With the baby, we let her stay up as late as she wants. She almost never makes it past 9:30. It's more typical for her to fall asleep around 8:30 or 8:45. As far as naps go, anything goes. I watch her cues, and like I mentioned above there are two windows of time where she's most likely to crash. But if she doesn't? It doesn't really throw off her nighttime sleep so I just go with it.

I also don't feed her on any strict schedule. I always offer her dinner with ours, but if she's hungry during the day outside of our meal times, I let her snack. There are some days she hardly eats at all and I swear she survives on nothing but air, and there are other days where it seems like she eats all the food in the house.

Sorry for the novel.

MorganWP · September 2014

She's usually tired around 1 so she naps then unless we're out or she's with SO's mom. For whatever reason, she cannot get DD to sleep so who knows when she naps when she's there.

Also, I am so jealous that most of you can get a 2 hour nap out of your LOs. DD naps once and its usually 30 - 45 mins.

megaroo64 · September 2014

Often B is ready for a nap at 9:30AM - which drives me batty! Why don't you just sleep in a little if you are going to turn around and want to take a nap in 2 hours???

However, if we keep him moving during that time, we can blow right through that nap time and get a solid nap around 1. So we don't enforce the specific time, but we make sure he gets at least one nap during the day.

BunnyLove416 · September 2014

I'm only around on the weekends for naptime so naps are pretty loose. He has general times during the day that he gets tired and I put him down. If we're out then he naps on the go or doesn't nap, I try not to stress too much about it unless I feel like he hasn't gotten as much sleep as he needs lately.

needanustart · September 2014

I'd like to add that the only reason I'm such a nap enforcer is my kids are AWFUL if they don't get the rest. I mean they all sleep for 3 hours so the obviously need it and I just feel like a failure if I didn't create the right environment and help them get the rest they need. My post above kind of makes me sound like I'm just short of giving them qualudes.

daffy2k · September 2014

Add us to the no structure list. I have always just followed her cues and go with that. That said, she is almost always ready for a nap between 9-10 am and again around 1:30-2. She is a kid that has to be put down as soon as you notice her drowsy cues otherwise she will fight the nap like it owes her money. First eye rub = diaper change and into the crib. By following this rule she usually talks herself to sleep in her crib. If I let her get more tired (ie. if we are out and about or are busy and don't notice until she's really tired) I have to nurse her to sleep or rock/rub her back until she is REALLY sound asleep.

phishgirl29 · September 2014

We enforce all naps (12:45-3) and meal times, but he pretty good about it all without much effort at this point. The only time he didn't follow the schedule was when we were on vacation and not without blackout curtains. Maybe being teachers it's easier for DH and considering our work day is so planned out. Life got 10X easier once we introduced a schedule!

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