In the mist of having newborn twins and a 17 month old, I was willing to find any helpful tools to help me survive. My sister suggested reading the following, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." I somehow found time to read, highlight, take notes, and digest this book and am so glad I did. We followed the napping schedule and soon all three of my kids were taking afternoon naps together (which is a life saver). I would never tell my sister how helpful this suggestion was, but it was.
Today at the ages of 3, 3, and 4 (5 next month - sigh) my kids are still napping. Yes, yes, I know this is not what many others do, but it is what works for us. Nap begins around 12:15 and can go as early as 2pm or as late as 4pm, each typically waking at their own time. And, there are days when we have tasks or events to complete that interrupt nap (like today they all had to go to the dentist in the middle of nap time), and they are all fine. The key with mine is to not let them skip naps for too many days in a row or we are dealing with meltdowns.
Naps are not always easy, and have required some work and adjustments, but to me it is all worth it.
Feel free to ask me some questions, I didn't want to make this a super long post about napping, but am willing to answer some more questions if anyone would like.
We nap, too. If they don't sleep, that's fine (although they usually do). I just expect "quiet time" during that time. :-)
ReplyDeleteSammy is napping about 15% of the time. She lasts till bedtime okay without a nap and then bedtime is a BREEZE. So, I really don't mind either way!
ReplyDeleteTot napped until kindergarten and will still nap on some weekends. Funny you mention that book- I was just looking for mine and couldn't find it. Obviously I loaned it to someone and they didn't return it. :(
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