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What do you do when your toddler doesn't nap but still needs quiet time (and mommy does too)? Long back story:
So, A doesn't nap. Hasn't napped in a long time. She would be in her crib and read or play with her stuffed animals and sometimes nap (like 10%). Everything was fine until about a month ago when we switched to a toddler bed. She was so bad
She would pull every book, hanger, diaper, etc out from around her room. She would sit in front of her sister's crib and prevent her from napping. She'd be in and out of her room a million times for potty, water, forgot to wash her hands...
We all need nap time in the house. H actually naps (and still sometimes take a morning nap), I sometimes nap but need down time, and A needs "alone" time or she gets overwhelmed. So, we decided that A could quietly color or read in the family room during nap time. The problem - she needs more structure than that. She is 3, so making a huge mess is par for the course, as is the fight to clean it, but there has to be a better way.
We started on Sunday with the first 30 minutes being spent working with me on various workbooks (writing, etc). She really enjoys it and actually willingly worked for 45 minutes yesterday. Then she made a huge mess with paper scraps and crayons and 10000 princess "postcard" pictures. So I told her that today, she will get 1 coloring book, 1 set of crayons, her writing book, and 1 dry erase marker (for the book) - and that's it. She's not destructive in the "draw on the walls" kind of way, so that's not an issue.
I'm tempted to wipe her iPad and only fill it with educational stuff, but is that ok? WWYD??
So, A doesn't nap. Hasn't napped in a long time. She would be in her crib and read or play with her stuffed animals and sometimes nap (like 10%). Everything was fine until about a month ago when we switched to a toddler bed. She was so bad
She would pull every book, hanger, diaper, etc out from around her room. She would sit in front of her sister's crib and prevent her from napping. She'd be in and out of her room a million times for potty, water, forgot to wash her hands...We all need nap time in the house. H actually naps (and still sometimes take a morning nap), I sometimes nap but need down time, and A needs "alone" time or she gets overwhelmed. So, we decided that A could quietly color or read in the family room during nap time. The problem - she needs more structure than that. She is 3, so making a huge mess is par for the course, as is the fight to clean it, but there has to be a better way.
We started on Sunday with the first 30 minutes being spent working with me on various workbooks (writing, etc). She really enjoys it and actually willingly worked for 45 minutes yesterday. Then she made a huge mess with paper scraps and crayons and 10000 princess "postcard" pictures. So I told her that today, she will get 1 coloring book, 1 set of crayons, her writing book, and 1 dry erase marker (for the book) - and that's it. She's not destructive in the "draw on the walls" kind of way, so that's not an issue.
I'm tempted to wipe her iPad and only fill it with educational stuff, but is that ok? WWYD??
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