Toddler Naps
Anyone really struggling with toddler naps? It’s no secret that naps can be tough at any age, but toddlers can bring a special flavor of struggle.
I’ve got FIVE tips to help you with your toddler nap time struggles.
1. Consistency.
Consistency will ALWAYS be a top tip for sleep. If you aren’t being consistent in your efforts, how can you expect your child to be?
Keep nap time the same every day. At least within a 15 minute window. If your child attends daycare and nap time starts at 1pm, then nap time at home should be 1pm. If you move nap time up to noon, you could experience a short nap or a fight at nap time. Adjust your schedule to accommodate your child’s nap time.
Keep the room environment the same for naps as you do at bedtime. Their room should be consistently the same for sleep. While they might be used to sleeping with a little light at daycare, they should be used to a pitch black room at home and that is what they will expect. They understand the difference between daycare sleep and sleep at home. So give them what they’re used to at home!
2. Routine.
Just like you have a bedtime routine, make sure you have a shortened version for nap times. It’s hard to go from playtime right into a nap. It would be like you working out or coming home from a jog and expected to just go to bed on the spot. Make sure to add a little unwind time before the nap. Start with a diaper change, read a book, close the blinds, turn off the lights, sing a lullaby, put them down, sound machine on, door closed, NAP.
All of these steps in a consistent order help prepare your child’s mind and body for sleep. It communicates to them that it’s time to sleep.
3. Nap after lunch.
Offering lunch followed by a nap is a great start to your “nap time routine.” A big mistake parents make is offering lunch too early then allowing their child to play and get wound up again, THEN try to get them down for a nap.
Lunch provides an opportunity to get them to sit and chill while they enjoy their lunch. It helps them transition from their busy morning of playing into relaxation mode and sets the stage for their nap. Plus, it checks off one of their basic needs, hunger.
4. LOTS of activity.
Keep your busy toddler busy. Whether you are running errands or running around the house, try to engage with your toddler when they are home with you. Set up fun activities and get outside as much as possible. Wearing them out physically and mentally is one of the best ways to prepare them for sleep. They need to empty their tank in order to take a good, restorative nap. Similar to large dog who needs a lot of exercise or they get bored and destructive… toddlers are like that! They need to be stimulated and expend their endless amounts of energy before they can expected to take that long nap. Plus, the feeling of having a parent engaged and intentional with them fills their cup with love and security.
5. Change into comfy clothes.
This last tip has made a big difference for a lot of my parents. Try changing your child into comfy clothes or PJs right before their nap or as part of their nap routine. I know when I fully commit to a nap by changing into cozy clothes and taking out my contacts, I nap WAY better than if I lay on my bed in work clothes or jeans and attempt to close my eyes. Your child feels the same way! They don’t want to wear jeans or a stiff shirt to bed. They’d be much cozier in leggings/sweatpants and a cozy shirt. Better yet, change them into their PJs. It will be a total mind shift if they hop into PJs right before bed. PJs signal sleep at bedtime, so they can signal sleep at nap time, too!
Petite Sleep Tip: The Ideal Sleep Environment. I wrote a whole blog post on the ideal sleep environment here. This is VITAL to making naps (and nighttime sleep) longer and restorative. It is especially important at nap time because it is naturally lighter and louder outside than nighttime.
BONUS TOPIC: Pooping in the crib.
Does your baby seem to wait until nap time to poop? You do your routine, get them down, and they take a short nap because they pooped?
I send my sympathy. There is not much that you can do. I KNOW! It’s probably just a phase though. So that’s the good news?
Here are some tips…
Remember tip 3… nap after lunch? Try not to offer any “binding agent” foods that will induce pooping. Things like berries, raisins, oatmeal, bananas… should be offered early in the morning for breakfast or AM snack. Get the juices flowing early. By lunch, try to avoid those foods.
Does your child have a “spot” they like to poop? My daughter likes to throw a blanket over her head and go behind our couch. She has been using this “spot” for over a year! If your child likes to poop near the art easel or a special activity mat, take them to the “spot” for 5-10 minutes after lunch and have some intentional play that might spark something.
My daughter also used to put her hand down her diaper at the start of a nap. LOTS of kids do this. My daycare provider would change her into a onesie bodysuit I provided and put her pants over that. Then she couldn’t get her hands down her diaper, especially because she went through the pooping at nap time phase. Consider this as part of your “comfy clothes transition” routine.
Lastly, DIAPER CREAM. Lay it on thick. Your child might not wake up from a poopy diaper if they have lots of booty protection keeping them dry. I especially use a thick butt paste before bedtime to keep her dry during her long nighttime sleep stretch.
I don’t know many parents who had success going in their toddler’s room after a short nap to change a poopy diaper and trying to get them back down. So you can try to edit their poop-inducing food intake to the morning or only after nap time. Or you can choose to leave them in their room to roll over and get back to sleep, poopy diaper and all. It can help train them to understand they won’t get out of the crib just because they poop. It will reinforce those short naps. But it’s really up to you, mama!
That’s it. Some simple and easy tips you can implement now to help your toddler start sleeping better and longer at nap time.
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