Works for Me Wednesday is Backwards Edition today, which means that I get to ask you for help. And, believe me, this could not have come at a better time.
I’m going to ask you the questions that I hit a roadblock with google with yesterday:
How do you make quiet time for your chidren who no longer nap work?
EA and MC have stopped napping for quite some time now, and I am still struggling with establishing a solid quiet time for them.
As it stands, they have two rules for quiet time:
1. Stay on your bed.
2. No talking.
They can play with toys, read books, etc. as long as it is a quiet activity.
But every single day I end up having to go in and reprimand them for not following one of the two or both of the quiet time rules.
At this point, it’s almost more trouble than it’s worth.
But I and they do need a rest period during the day…I’m just not sure how to make that happen.
The alloted time for quiet time as it stands is two hours (1-3), which is the same as Will’s nap time on most days. Is two hours too long for four year olds to remain quiet in thier rooms? Should it be shortened to just one hour?
Should they be able to play freely in their room or should I limit them to quiet activities on their bed as I do now?
As you can see, I need lots and lots of help here, and I’m asking you!
So, please give me some advice on how you do quiet time in the comments section. At this point, I’m willing to try almost anything!
And to see what other moms are asking for help with this week, visit the backwards edition of Works for Me Wednesday at We are That Family.
Amy @ MomsToolbox says
Depending on the child, we switched to “quiet playing in the room time” when the staying on the bed thing wouldn’t work anymore, but we all needed a break.
One of mine naps every day, one needs about 1-2 a week and the other just needs some alone time, so I’ve adapted. We all have quiet time but the arrangement for each child is different… and I don’t discuss the differences in the group setting so the napper doesn’t know what he others are doing.
Also, I do think much over an hour for alone awake time could get tedious. Try shortening it to an hour and see what happens.
Hang in there!!!
Stephanie says
We hit the same problem at about the same age. We shortened the time to one hour, and separated the girls. Otherwise they played together and didn’t rest. One days that that just didn’t work, the girls (generally only one at a time) were allowed to get up but had to play quietly. They were allowed to color or paint, read books in the living room, or do puzzles on their own while I did what I needed to. We still do this with the girls. The last resort is the TV. I will pop in a Thomas DVD and they have to lay on the couch while it suns. They get at least 45 minutes of being still.
I hope you find something that works for you. Mine only nap now if they are sick. I miss that time.
Tanya says
This is a good question. Mine are 5 and 3; neither have napped in over a year. We did what you do for a while, but the actually have the whole upstairs, so now I just restrict them to the second floor. They can play, even play together, as long as they are not fighting, yelling or running. And absolutely no standing at the top of the stairs calling for me! 🙂 This usually works, but on days it doesn’t, the kiddos get their blankets and settle in our bed for a movie. That ALWAYS works and sometimes gives the benefit of a surprise nap.
Tanya’s last blog post..March Ellie-isms & Zach Attacks
Suzanne says
I don’t have any answers, as I’m struggling with this issue, too! I’m eager to hear how others handle it.
Jennifer Scruggs says
My kids are 4 1/2 and 3 1/2. rachel, (the youngest) still needs a nap. They share a room, so there are more and more days when neither of them sleep, since Nathan, who “needs” a nap maybe twice a week will play and keep Rachel awake. One thing I did about 6 months ago was move naptime back to 2pm— esp. now that it’s daylight savings–with it staying light longer, and bedtime not as strict since we are usually outside until 8pm– this has really helped. You might even be able to move Will’s nap back, and get them ALL to still sleep some. 🙂
My current rules are similar to yours– Nathan has to stay in his bed and BE QUIET until Rachel falls asleep, then he can play quietly, or sometimes I let him come out and play in the living room. I agree with a previous commenter– if napping is NOT going to happen, then 1 hr of QT is probably all you can expect right now. The TV does make it easier to get that 2nd hour– but I know you are very limited with what you allow them to watch. I HIGHLY recommend Boz, Veggietales, 3-2-1 Penguins, and Hermie the Common Catepillar videos— GREAT Christian videos, and very entertaining. They might make a good compromise– since, being a “single parent” of sort now, naptimes is ESENTIAL to your sanity— and you shouldn’t feel guilty about needing that AT ALL. You do what it takes to stay sane. 🙂 I’ll be praying God will give you wisdom as you find what will work for your girls.
Happy Mama says
we separate and they (meaning tornado) has to sit and look at books…no talking
Happy Mama’s last blog post..Let The Part y Begin! UBP 2009!!!
Hadley says
May be you could separate them (put one on a pallet in your room?) and start small and build up to two hours. Have a basket of books and toys that are only for quiet time. You can trade them out so they don’t get too bored with them.
Hadley’s last blog post..WFMW – What Works for You?
Tracey says
Around that age, I cut the quiet time to one hour. I still had them stay on their beds, but made sure they had a good number of books or small toys to play with. I agree with putting them in separate rooms or areas if possible for their quiet time.
Tracey’s last blog post..Dream On
Andrea says
I have a (almost) 5 year old, 3 year old, and 19 month old, and I’m expecting in August. My 2 littles need to nap and I *really* need a break by the middle of the day. My oldest never naps anymore (surprise!), but she is required to stay on her bed and be quiet for naptime. She can have books mostly, and she loves to sit and look at them. She gets bored eventually and at that point I usually let her out to (maybe after an hour or so) work quietly on a work book, MAYBE play on starfall.com, or help me with a quiet project (she’s very good at putting away silverware and folding kitchen towels!). Noisy play, tv, dragging out a bunch of toys, and snacks aren’t an option at that point because I still need a break! I’ve noticed that some good on-going classical music in the house for several hours before, during, and after naptime calms everyone.
Also, I heard an idea to let this age group listen to books on CD in their rooms, but I haven’t tried that yet. My two oldest share a room, so I’m not sure how to work that out but it’s an idea!
Andrea’s last blog post..Works for Me: Backwards Edition – Easter Baskets
Melissa D says
I have a 3 year old and 14-month old. The 3-year-old is shedding her nap but can handle an hour of quiet time on her bed. She loves look at Richard Scarry books, especially. Occasionally she will fall asleep for a bit afterwards. My younger one from birth never had a morning nap (!!!) and her afternoon naptime is already shortening from 2 hours to less than 1 some days…. One thing you may try is having some quiet time in the morning for a short time (20 mins or so) so that you can get some stuff done early and not have to rely so heavily on a large block of time in the afternoon. This works great for me since I get up so early that by 2pm I’m exhausted and need that time to rest rather than do housework or other stuff if at all possible. Sometimes I’ll put my younger one in the play yard so that she can learn to play by herself for a bit. Good luck and get some good rest!