This entry was posted on Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 11:43 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Today’s topic? Naps. Yes, I love them and yes, my wife loves them and needs them right now, but that’s not really relevant right now. This particular entry has to do with my daughter, and other children her age. Almost four.
My daughter has taken naps in the afternoon every day for her entire life, even after starting preschool, as naptime is part of their daily routine immediately following recess. The problem with this, however, is that naptime has been a horrible struggle for us almost every single day (for you mathematicians, that’s just over 1300 midday temper tantrums since she was born). My kid and sleep simply don’t get along.
I believe that naps are incredibly important, and there is strong scientific evidence that supports my opinion. Statistically children who nap have longer attention spans than those who don’t. They are less fussy. There is also research that suggests that mental development occurs at a higher rate during sleep than during waking hours.
Above and beyond that, having my daughter nap for an hour in the afternoon benefits everyone else, too. It allows my wife some much needed down time. It gives me a chance to sprawl in front of the TV for a moment, uninterrupted. It also allows us to tidy up the house, catch up on work and maybe even talk to each other about something that does not involve SpongeBob or crayons or pee. Usually we are both too tired to take care of those responsibilities with any great enthusiasm by the end of the day, but still have some juice left early afternoon.
That being said, it’s beginning to become clear to us that, sooner or later, it will be impossible for us to enforce The Nap Policy with our daughter. She has become increasingly stubborn about them (who would have thought that was even possible?) She has also taken to quietly getting out of bed, turning on her light and reading books or playing with her stuffed animals in her room, unbeknownst to us). This seems like a built in solution. We get our down time and she gets some alone time too. It’s a win/win. The only problem with this is that, when we do succeed in getting her to sleep, she sleeps hard. Lately it’s been for a couple of hours. She wakes up refreshed and happy. She doesn’t become testy and whiny in the evenings. And sometimes I feel like she may even have an easier time falling asleep at night after an afternoon nap. So it would seem that, while she still seems to be benefiting physically from afternoon naps, mentally she’s just saying no.
Woe is me.
So the eternal question remains unanswered in our household. To nap or not to nap? Fight her for an hour each and every day then spend the time she actually is napping angry and frustrated? OR, forget the nap altogether and deal with an irritable, crabby child for an hour or two before bedtime each night?
How’s the old expression go? Damned if you do…
-Matt
We’ve been a bit slow in changing up our online baby shop, RedSparks, in the New Year. Why am I telling you this? Because there’s still a bunch of stuff marked down that shouldn’t be! Go check it out!
January 20th, 2009 at 4:24 am
We’re HUGE fans of naps. I think it’s totally worth the struggle.
We’re fortunate that our son doesn’t fight it. At two and a half he’s usually ready by 1 p.m. and will sleep to usually 3 p.m. I also notice that when he has a nap he actually sleeps better at night. Most people would think the opposite.
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January 20th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Okay, I will NOT brag on how my children were good sleepers, day and night.
I vote for the “built in solution”.
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January 20th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
I do not know how much I napped as a child, but by the time I was in High School I used to nap all the time. By college I was always taking a nap after breakfast or lunch up until I had to go to class. I miss those days of napping–wish I could do it at work.
Christopher (AKA: CaJoh)s last blog post..Sending warm thoughts your way
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January 20th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
I could sing an Ode to Naps, I love them so much….and I think Owen is like yours, only 2.5/ He fights it every step of the way, at least at home (at daycare he is an angel, of course), but then he sleeps hard for about two hours and is so much more lovely and fun to be around at night, as well as a better sleeper. So I say fight it tooth and nail, at least until kindergarten!
Koris last blog post..Another Monday
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January 20th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
When my kid started boycotting naps, I did everything in my power in the evening to wear him out so he crashed earlier. And when all else failed – benedryl.
Misss last blog post..Lucky
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January 20th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Um yeah, naps are the enemy to my 2 oldest children. The thing is that I do not fight them on it anymore and they take them on their own. As they get older, it is a luxury that we parents loose.
Good luck!
Krystals last blog post..A new era
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January 21st, 2009 at 1:28 am
I have no useful advice, but I would sure love to have back all those naps I fought when I was little. Good luck!
Maggie’s Minds last blog post..Hearts and Feet Revisited
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January 22nd, 2009 at 2:05 am
Just last year, I finally got my son to start taking good, solid naps alone. Ignoring for the moment that I have a six-week-old who is a crappy sleeper, too, I dread the day my son’s naps come to an end. But every sleep expert I’ve read (and I’ve read all of them) says that when the naps do end, 90 minutes of quiet time is still necessary. It sounds like your daughter has that covered with reading quietly to herself, so you’ve obviously done something right!
Now I must go comfort my crying infant who just woke up… again…
P.S. Look for Sparewear review tomorrow.
Missives From Suburbias last blog post..Role Models
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