We all know that naptime is a sacred time for us moms and we are rarely ready to let go of it. But when your child starts showing signs of dropping their nap, you feel as if you don’t have a choice.
The mere thought of losing your alone time is enough to make you panic. When will you bust out chores? Get some quiet? Work on your side hustle? The thought of having your wildings running around all hours of the day can definitely be a little stressful.
But here’s the thing… there is a GOOD solution to a dropped nap. The solution being to learn how to implement quiet time when your toddler stops napping instead. This will be the saving grace for you, I’m sure of it.
Not sure where to start? Not to worry – I’ll be walking you through that exact transition throughout this post. By the end, you’ll feel you can relax just a bit knowing that dropping a nap isn’t as bad as you once thought.
The SECRET to Keeping Your Sanity After Your Toddler Stops Napping
What is Quiet Time?
If you’re reading this wondering what I’m even talking about, don’t worry – I’ll explain.
In simple terms, quiet time is a period during the day in which allows your child to escape stimulation. During quiet time, your child avoids anything with lots of lights, noise, or movement. The purpose of this time is to allow your child’s brain a chance to calm down for a little while.
This is a great time for you to calm your brain down, too. (That’s the major benefit, isn’t it?)
When a child naps, they are giving their little developing brains a chance to settle down. But when a toddler stops napping, they can still do that with quiet time.
Toddler Stops Napping: Signs it’s Time to Transition
If your child hasn’t dropped the nap yet but you’re suspecting it might be time, it’s important to know the signs. The last thing
Here are a few signs to look for to know if your toddler is truly ready to drop that last nap.
It’s difficult for them to fall asleep
If naptime has turned into a wrestling match marathon, it might be time to consider the transition. A 3-hour fight just for a 90-minute nap isn’t exactly worth it, is it? LOL. Plus, you’re so exhausted by the end of it, you end up falling asleep yourself when you never wanted to.
You’ve tried everything you can think of to help – a relaxing routine that includes diffusing essential oils, running out their energy all morning, and everything in between.
NOTHING. HELPS.
When you’ve reached that point of tear-worthy frustration, it might be time to consider other options.
Bedtime routine is a nightmare
You had a full wrestling match with your toddler in the afternoon, and then it’s time for a round two complete with dinosaurs around bedtime.
Your child who should be EXHAUSTED from your long day (lord knows you sure are), is nowhere near being tired. He’s running wild, wanting to play, and can’t get enough stories. Those eyes aren’t even heavy! He just rawred at you like a dinosaur before running off to get you to play tag.
You finally wrangle him into the bath to start your “calming” bedtime routine. But nope – you’re now spending the next 2 hours fighting bedtime and end up passed out on the floor next to him from pure exhaustion.
If you can relate to this, that is yet another sign that naps might have reached their expiration date.
Skipped naps have little to no effect on them
It’s that one day that for whatever reason – naps got skipped. You’re stressing out over what tonight will bring. Will it be endless tears and screaming as you approach bedtime? Are we going to get cussed out in baby language for giving them the wrong color cup? You’re not prepared.
But then the time comes… and much to your surprise – they’re fine. They didn’t miss a beat and nobody noticed that naptime got skipped today. They started getting sleepy by bathtime, but no meltdowns occurred (well none out of the ordinary, that is).
Then the same thing happens again. And again. And again.
When skipped naps have little to no effect on your child, that is a PERFECT sign they’re ready to drop them.
Set the Right Expectations
You figured out that your toddler is indeed ready to stop napping and it’s time to start transitioning over to quiet time. So what do you do next?
The first step is to start setting the right expectations so they know it’s coming and what exactly they should expect. Make them part of the process to help them handle it a bit better.
Last thing you want is to transfer the stress of napping to the stress of your child’s overwhelmed reaction when they notice change happening.
Take it slow and embrace the transition
First and foremost – take it slow and embrace the transition as much as you can. You don’t need to transition to this overnight (in fact you shouldn’t). Instead, start taking a few steps to lead up to it.
Change the name of naps to “quiet time”. This can help your child to transition a little easier. They’re used to the word quiet time and now you just ease into it looking a little different.
Encourage independent play time. If your toddler has never played by themselves before, they might struggle with quiet time. They won’t want to sit by themselves and you’ll be playing tag around the house the entire time. To make it easier, start encouraging independent play.
You can encourage independent play by:
- Setting up a “yes space” where everything in reach is available to them
- Offer appropriate toys that aren’t too easy to figure out, but aren’t too hard either
- Give them plenty of time with you leading up to independent play
- Limit over-stimulation as it makes kids less willing to play alone
Make it a family effort. Set the expectation that “quiet time” will be for everyone, not just for them. Everyone needs space and that’s what quiet time will allow. They will transition easier if they know you also are getting your quiet time. Be sure to start this conversation before it actually happens.
Explain it’s time to rest
Many kids respond better when they understand why certain changes are happening. If your child is one of them, they may
Explain to them that because they no longer need naps, you need to create a time for their brains to rest. Their body doesn’t need it anymore, but that doesn’t mean their brains don’t!
Younger toddlers may gloss over at this, but it certainly can help in some cases!
Set 3-5 boundaries for quiet time
Quiet time will not go well if no boundaries are set – trust me. These will differ from family to family, but come up with 3-5 boundaries that are exclusive to quiet time.
It will take them a while to understand, but they will eventually catch on and come to expect them. Be gentle but firm when you are enforcing them as this is a process. Stay consistent and it will get easier over time.
Keep it simple by only having a few. Too many will overwhelm your child and they won’t catch on to anything.
Some possible boundaries to consider are:
- Stay in your room until mom comes to get you
- If you need something, come get mom (no yelling for her)
- Set aside your pretty drawing to show mom after quiet time is over
- Bathroom breaks are limited to only once during quiet time
- No loud toys or activities during quiet time
Create a “Quiet Time” Environment
Once you’ve set the right expectations, you need the right environment to encourage quiet time. If the environment is too stimulating, it will be really hard to be quiet during this time.
Setup a dedicated area
The best place to start is with the area you choose to utilize for quiet time. You likely won’t want to use an entire playroom for quiet time, but instead a very intentionally setup bedroom.
You might consider having a small table, few select toys, lots of books, stuffed animals, and other items that would encourage quiet time. Avoid having stimulating toys or activities present in the room during quiet time.
Provide exclusive activities
To help with the transition, you might consider having exclusive activities during quiet time. This can mean a wide range of things, so approach it as you see fit.
Things to consider are:
- Age-appropriate puzzle
- Books for them to read
- Magnet activities
- Various open play crafts
The important part is that these things are exclusive to quiet time to get them excited for when that time rolls around. You might even consider setting up a few different quiet time boxes so that they get a different set of activities each day.
Give them something to look forward to
At first, it may help to offer some sort of reward or activity once quiet time is over. Giving them something to look forward to might encourage them to stay put. If they’re old enough, ONLY offer this reward if they successfully follow the boundaries that have been set. If not, you can offer it as something they know is coming each day.
Some ideas to implement include:
- Special 1-on-1 time with mom
- Going to a park or playing outside
- Watching their favorite movie
Conclusion
Implementing quiet time when your toddler stops napping doesn’t have to be rocket science. Set the expectation ahead of time and create an encouraging environment and the rest will fall into place.
Now over to you – are you going to start implementing quiet time for your toddler? Or if you already have, how is it going for you?
Let me know by commenting below!
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