I am having a little bit of a dilema with Kate lately. She is four and should not really have to take naps anymore. she fights me about taking them and sometimes if I make her take one she will keep getting out of bed at night until around 11:00 am. Then other times I let her stay up and I find her like this
or this
or this
A lot of the time we are driving in the car she also falls asleep. Yesterday, I let her stay up and she turned into a little poltergeist. It seems like I can't win. I think I will have to keep giving her naps for now since it is much easier to put up with Kate getting out of bed at 11:00 to ask silly questions than to put up with rabid Kate. I hope she is able to transition from truely not needing a nap because it would be a nice time for Kate and mom to hang out and have some one on one time while Beck and sometimes Kiera are taking their naps. I think we both need that and right now we don't get much of it.
2 comments:
Elizabeth still takes naps...and she still needs one! My sister attended a sleep seminar given by a sleep specialist that said kids need naps until they turn 5. When Elizabeth started resisting nap time we started using a marble system. If she takes a nap without whining and complaining, she earns a marble. If she goes to bed and STAYS in bed, she can earn another marble. When her jar is full of marbles she gets to do something of her choice. It has worked wonders!! I have to be real careful about planning my day around naps, because if she falls asleep in the car, she won't stay asleep for a nap. Maybe that will help.
I think the car naps work best for the transition stage. When my kids had a tiny nap in the car, for even just 10 min or so, it took care of all the drama and they were ready for bed when it was time. I have a hard time thinking of my kids laying there awake for hours (I remember what it was like). I do agree that they need to have some quite time in the afternoon, but I don't expect them to sleep. It is amazing what 30 min of peace and quite can do for everyone in the house.
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