When and How to Introduce Quiet Time
Often, between the ages 2-3 (especially around the 2 year regression), we talk about “nap strikes”. This is where your child will skip naps for a week or two and then go back to napping; but sometimes it’s mistaken as a sign that your child doesn’t need a nap anymore and parents will totally drop it.
Most children will drop their naps at around ages 3-5 and while dropping the nap, they will require naps every few days to help their bodies adjust and quiet time!
How else do you know when to start the transition from napping to quiet time?
If your child is resisting the nap and is under age 3… keep offering the nap every single day!
If your child is 3+ and they are avoiding the naps…. Look for:
How is their mood in the afternoon and leading up to the afternoon?
If you don’t notice a change in their behavior on days when they skip their naps - they may be ready to drop the nap and move to quiet time!
If you’ve adjusted their nap time, shortened it, and you’re still having trouble. it may be time for quiet time.
How to know when to start the 1-0 Nap Transition?
Usually the 1-0 looks like 1 of 2 things:
Your child starts to refuse their nap every day OR
They take their nap every day BUT bedtime is extremely difficult and night wakings or early mornings start!
Transitioning from 1 nap to quiet time is important! Your child still needs that time to rest and reset! Do not expect an instant success but something you continue to work on and build over time.
What is quiet time?
It is a period of unstructured but calming time for your child. It usually takes place in your child’s bedroom and the goal is for your child to rest their bodies and brain even when their nap is gone.
It can last anywhere between 30 minutes to 2 hours and should happen everyday your child is home at that time so it is expected.
How to start the transition:
The beginning of 1-0 nap transition:
If naps aren’t impacting bedtime/nighttime/early morning sleep then we still want to keep the nap
But if they are only napping 50% of the time, the other 50% of the time you want to offer quiet time
You can have them look at a calendar and circle the days they will do quiet time at home and which days they’ll nap. If they go to daycare or school some days of the week and do NOT nap there, have them nap the days they are at home.
If you are in a situation where your child already dropped the nap but you want to start incorporating quiet time, start off with small increments and gradually build up to your goal.
If your child is having difficulty, you can start off by joining them for quiet time in their room and bringing an activity like folding clothes, reading a book in their room and join them!
As they get more comfortable, you can start excusing yourself.
Incorporate a visual to show your child how long they are expected to stay in their room for quiet time.
Since we are still on 1 short nap and quiet time, we use the hatch to show when it is quiet time.(by using a different color for sleep, quiet time and time to get out of the room). When we eventually drop the nap, we will use a clock to show how long he is expected to stay in his room.
Have a quiet time box filled with different simple activities that your child can do without assistance. Fine motor activities such as legos, water wow, coloring, stickers, and books on tape.
Keep this box special for just quiet time so they are excited to play with it!
At our house, we switch out the toys every few days. Liam is now at the point where he will ask for new toys in his room!
Make sure to stay consistent and offer quiet time everyday so they know it is part of their routine and expected of them.
If you’re having trouble introducing quiet time, book a basic chat here and we can get a plan started for you!
