In some places in America nap time for preschoolers is becoming an endangered species. This post is going to discuss why nap is absolutely necessary and specific tips for getting even the most stubborn child to take a nap.
The Link between Nap and Sleeping at Night
Many parents when enrolling their child in my childcare swear up and down that their child doesn't take naps and doesn't really need them. A few statements later they also talk about how their child doesn't sleep well at night. They don't realize that the one affects the other. If fact, I really don't know if most of today's childcare providers know that lack of a nap affects how well a child sleeps at night.
Overstimulation
It would seem like the opposite would be true. Too much sleep during the day should cause a child not to sleep well at night. However, when a child does not get a good nap during the day they get overstimulated. Overstimulation acts like a dose of caffeine. It causes the child not to be able to wind down enough to get to sleep at night. Then the child does not sleep well causing the overstimulation cycle to continually get worse and worse until the child takes a nap out of sheer exhaustion.
Wait for it . . .
When children first start at my childcare and they begin to take naps regularly, most parents panic because the sleeping at night seems to get worse for the first week or so. I tell them to just wait a week or two before you pass judgment. Sometime during the second week their child sleeps all the way through the night for the first time in a long time or ever, and the parents think I am a genius. They fail to understand that children's bodies need more sleep because they are growing so fast. If you don't make sure they get enough sleep, you get children that are overstimulated and stressed out. I think every parent in America understands that reality.
How Do I Accomplish this Magic?
The first and most important key is understanding children's inner clocks. Children's bodies respond very well to rhythms. When their day has a basic structure they settle into the routine. As childcare providers we can use this information to make nap times much less of a hassle, but it does not come without work. First of all, you must have a set time for nap everyday that occurs around the same time. Don't deviate from it by more than 30 minutes. Next you must have a nap time ritual that is adhered to religiously. At my childcare I read a book, begin to sing a lullaby as I turn out the lights and cover the children with their blankets, and then turn on a sound machine. I have sung the same lullaby everyday for the past 8 years. Despite what you might think, variety in this situation is not a good thing. The same lullaby acts like a mental trigger letting the child's body know it is time to relax. Many children fall asleep during the lullaby. The rest fall asleep as soon as I turn on the sound machine. Lastly and most importantly, you must train the children to rest for the entire nap period. When children start at my childcare I understand that I will be working nap for a while. I have many little tricks that I employ to get children to sleep that I will get to in a little bit, but the goal is to get the child's body used to resting for the entire nap period. If they wake up early, I will either try to get them back to sleep or sit beside them to keep them from waking up the others. Over time, which for some kids is a matter of a week or so and for others may be a matter of a couple of months, the children get so used to resting at that point in the day that they sleep all the way through nap every day thereafter unless they are sick or have some massive turmoil in their life. I have seen this work on children who were severely stubborn about nap to the amazement of their parents. It just takes time and effort.
Stop the Wiggling
I am about to share with you some of my best kept secrets to get children to fall asleep. Many children will fall asleep if you can manage to keep them still for just a few minutes. However, these children are also very adept at wiggling. I have seen them wiggle a toe just to keep themselves awake, and when I stop the toe wiggling they start wiggling their hand. These kids will fight sleep with a vengeance. They will require a lot of patience and more time than others. The trick is to sit beside them and gently touch every body part they wiggle to still them. For the first week, you may not get more than 30 minutes of sleep during nap if that much. However, if you are employing the core of the rest of my suggestions, eventually they will also begin to get used to resting during that time of the day. It will gradually take less and less effort to get them to be still and fall asleep. Finally, they also will begin to fall asleep during your nap time ritual as you set their inner clocks.
The Fan
The next tip comes from my grandmother, and it works very well. Sit next to the child with something that can be used as a fan. Very slowly fan the child. Don't talk to the child. Just simply fan the child. Eventually their little eyes will get droopy and they will fall asleep. This one works very well on those children who don't necessarily wiggle, but also fight nap very hard. I have yet to meet a child who could outlast the fan for more than a day or two.
The Sleepy Look
Another tip that works very well for a child that wakes up in the middle of nap and is still a little groggy, involves simply looking at the child and closing your own eyes very slowly. The power of suggestion is more than many children can resist especially if they are still sleepy. If that doesn't work, I will simply sit beside the child until they go back to sleep or nap is over. As I have said before, you want the child to be so used to resting at that time of day that their inner clock takes over. I protect nap as if it is sacred because I believe it is. I will not allow one child to disturb their own nap much less anyone else's nap. I have experienced the results of training children to nap on a regular basis, and I don't care to do it the other way. The children are calm and happier. They learn far more. It is worth every bit of trouble that comes with the training process.
I hope you have enjoyed this post. Goodbye and God bless!! Check out Natalie's children's books at: https://www.amazon.com/author/nataliewade7457
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