Wednesday Wisdom - The No-Fail Nap Time Trick!

Although I am a mom of 3 older children, I'll never forget holding my daughter (first born) in my arms for the first time and realizing just how little I knew about parenting. So, my plan of attack was to read TONS of parenting books and magazines. Also, my poor daughter has been my "parenting guinea pig"...there were a lot of successes and a lot of "I'll never do that again". Well, it's Wednesday's Wisdom so I'd like to share one of my successes with you.

Okay, a little quiz first. What is the phrase that mom's love and toddlers dislike with a passion? Would you like a hint? Okay, I'll give you one. It happens in the afternoon usually soon after lunch. It's....NAP TIME! Yes, the dreaded nap time. So today I'd like to share with you my no-fail trick to get your child(ren) to nap every day!




Now before I share my tip with you today, I'd like to give you a bit of background on my three kids.

My Youngest
He is 5.5 years younger than my daughter and 3.75 years younger than my older son. We live .75 miles from the elementary school which means my kids were "walkers". So between my middle child going to preschool and my oldest in elementary school, my youngest never had the pleasure of taking naps. So, he just learned to pace himself, slow and steady, and he is that way to this day in everything he does.
My Middle Child
My older son has always LOVED sleeping and contrary to most babies & toddlers, he was not an early riser. He always slept in until 10:00 am and always LOVED his afternoon nap. And just like my youngest, he is this way to this day. Sleeping is one of his favorite past-times and he is truly not a morning person.
My Oldest
My daughter is my oldest and is one who lives her life to the fullest. She is also the one who sees potential and possibility at every turn: the optimist. As a toddler, she would wake up in the morning and even if it was raining cats and dogs, she would say, "let's go Mommy, it's a pretty day!". This love of life meant that she hated naps because if she slept, she just might miss something. However, she lived her life so large that without a nap, from 4:00 pm on was miserable for her and everyone around her.
So, today I'd like to share with you how I got my beautiful daughter to take a nap EVERY afternoon without fights, tears, or struggles. I had a secret weapon and here it is.

Yup, this Playskool tape recorder. "How does this get a child to nap?" you ask? It's really simple.

I first determined that even if my daughter didn't sleep, if she rested quietly for 45 minutes to 1 hour she would be recharged enough to last the rest of the day. Most of our kids (music) tapes were 15-20 minutes in length so if she listened to a tape 3 times, she would have rested long enough.

So, every day at nap time, I would tuck my daughter in and tell her, "You don't have to sleep but you have to rest with your eyes closed. Once you have listened to your tape three times, your rest is over and you can come downstairs."

Well, you'll never guess what happened every time. I would hear the tape play through one time. Then I would hear it play a second time and then........complete silence for an hour or so! Then, I would hear the tape play through for a third time. My daughter had no idea that she had drifted off to sleep and I always had a "warning" that she would be up soon when I heard the music play that third time! A win-win for everyone!

Now, I know they don't sell these tape players and cassette tapes anymore but I would think you could burn a CD and create the same scenario for your little one.

Here's to a happy nap time for you and your little one(s)!

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