beaners Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 If you do a nap or quiet time with your children, when does it end by? I know I've heard SWB mention 1-3 for her family, and I believe Sleepless in America said naps are best finished by 3. We are still completing our move into our new house, and I think I forgot to pack our routine. :tongue_smilie: If I can't find our old one, I think I'll have to build a new one. I know to get them outside running around, and I know the tricks to getting them to fall asleep. They are just having trouble resting early enough in the afternoon for me to accomplish anything (like cooking dinner!), and it's throwing everything off. So, what does your usual nap time look like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyMSews Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 None of mine actually nap anymore, but nap time was always done by 3pm. We like to eat dinner around 6 and then bedtime starts at 7 or 7:30 for those who still nap...so if they slept past 3, then it would mess up the rest of the day. If they didn't get up and have a snack around 3, then they weren't hungry at dinner. If they slept past 3, then they wouldn't be tired enough for bedtime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 Our kids quit napping by 2.5, when we did have a napper, naps always ended by 3 at the latest or I couldn't get them in bed before 11 at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova147 Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 Here it depends on the season. In the summer, naps tend to last longer, so they don't end until 4. But then bedtime tends to come later too, because it's hard to put them to bed when it's still light out! They still get up about the same time, so they are getting that extra hour at nap time. Even my bigger kids have been known to nap in the summer. In winter, we try to get nap time done by 3 in order to avoid the bed time battle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 It depends on the age, what time the nap started, and what time the bedtime will be. There are nice statistical charts with times in Weissbluth's Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. If my almost-3 y.o. hasn't woken up by 4, I'll usually wake her up so that she can have a reasonably early bedtime. That's if she didn't fall asleep until, say, 2 (I put her in there earlier but she'll talk to herself, etc.). Often I have to get her up by 3:20 to pick the others up from school. Bedtime is around 7, though as she gets older and the nap gets later, it gets trickier. She needs her nap right now, but I predict an ugly transition to no-nap with an earlier bedtime, probably in less than 6 months... If the nap starts at 1, I'd probably wake up by 3:30 or so (certainly by 4) if the child isn't already up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinkerbell Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 All my kids are up at 7, toddler goes down for a nap from 1-3:15. Bedtime is 7:30. If I let him sleep an extra 15 minutes to 3:30 - he will take an extra hour to fall asleep at night! Sometimes my 3-year-old will nap from 2-3. If she naps more than that, she's not asleep for bedtime until after 9pm. I don't know how old your kids are, but if they are having trouble falling asleep for naps consistently - it may be a sign that they are ready to drop the nap :( I feel your pain. Naps are such a delicate balancing act. :svengo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 We have quiet time from after lunch until 2 or 2:30, depending on when we finish lunch. They don't have to nap, but they do have to do something quiet, like lie in bed and read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeacefulChaos Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 DD naps from about 12:30/1 til ? -- one of us goes in to get her at around 4ish. She's usually awake by then, sitting in bed 'reading' a book. The boys just have to be quiet until she's out of her room. Oh, and the kids go to bed around 9. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Buckin' Longhorn Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 My three grandchildren (2, 2, and 3) nap from 12:30 to 3 PM. The oldest one is usually already awake, but I always have to wake up the twins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustybug Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 I never wake a sleeping child. My two youngest still nap daily and my oldest naps on occasion if she needs it. My 4yo lies down between 1-2 and generally sleeps 2-2 1/2 hours. Some days he will sleep until 4:30. I figure he needs the sleep, so I let him be. It has never given me a problem at bedtime. My 1yo(almost 2) lies down between 11-1 depending on when she starts getting a little fussy or when she asks to lie down and she generally naps for 1-2 hours. They generally all are up in the mornings by 7:30, the youngest goes to bed between 6:30-7:30 and the older two go to bed between 8-9. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Quiet time in our house is roughly 1-3 pm. But if my 3 year old is actually taking a nap, I don't wake him up, I let him sleep as long as he needs or he's a demon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Anna Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Rest Time is from 2 - 3:30 pm. Dd2 can sleep until 4:15 or so if she wants, but must be gotten up by 4:30 for the sake of her night's sleep. Monster Mama starts coming out if this routine isn't followed, so I try to stick to it for my sake as well as theirs! Mama Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share Posted May 5, 2012 I'm thinking a lot of the problem right now is the fact that the house is in disarray and our schedule has been even more irregular than usual. I'm working with a 4.5 year old, a newly 3 year old, and an 18 month old. I don't expect the oldest to sleep the whole time, or at all depending on the day. My middle child really still needs that time to sleep though, and she has moved herself onto a schedule where she is sleeping until 5 or so. She can't hold it together through dinner without melting down if she hasn't had a bit of rest in the afternoon. My youngest can start his nap whenever and sleep for about 3 hours, but I need to get him up as soon as he wakes. He has managed to get out of every clothing combination possible to remove his diaper, and leaving him for even 15 minutes can be messy. I think I really need to clear my living area of storage bins and boxes so that we can actually maintain a routine, and then reset everyone back to our earlier schedule. I had forgotten about how much longer the days are, and I'm sure I'll need to take those later nights into account. Being able to walk across any of the rooms without tripping over boxes would probably do wonders for my patience too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 (edited) I would be very careful not to equate down/quiet time with nap time, especially for older kids. Edited May 5, 2012 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share Posted May 5, 2012 I would be very careful not to equate down/quiet time with nap time, especially for older kids. Why? I don't require anyone to sleep, but everyone has to be quiet and leave me (and each other) alone. Sleeping is just a natural result when they are tired. They all have books in their beds if they want to read. We also do audiobooks for my oldest during our quiet time. My oldest can tell time, and my younger can tell time to the hour so that they both know when they can come out if they haven't slept. Is this because older children think naps are for babies, or is it that I have some misplaced expectation? I think I'm pretty reasonable, but maybe I'm wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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