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Home › Articles › Development › If You Snooze, You Lose?

If You Snooze, You Lose?

Knowing When It's Time
to Give up Naptime

By Lisa A. Goldstein

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

  • The battle to get your child to nap is more exhausting than the child's behavior that caused you to think he or she needed a nap.
    • The Transitional Period
    There is a transitional period because while some kids can go cold turkey, others can do OK without a nap for a few days but accumulate tiredness and crankiness, says Dr. Laura Jana, a pediatrician in Omaha, Neb. Some kids really fare much better taking a nap even past the age of 4, she says. "I just suggest paying attention to whether or not [not napping] is [due to] the lack of a well-established routine, conducive environment and/or the inability to fall asleep or if it is truly that the child isn't tired and doesn't need one."

    Some children whose parents swear they're not nappers – often since the age of 2 – benefit from a nap once they fall asleep, says Dr. Jana. Kids may very well make it past naptime just fine but become cranky, hyper or whiny uncharacteristically early in the evening as a result of fatigue.

    Sadie Baram Sharfstein of Pittsburgh, Pa., started skipping naps when she turned 4. She told her mother she wasn't tired. "I, of course, didn't listen at first and that just created more problems," says Lisa Sharfstein. "Once I let go of the idea that she had to nap every day or the world would end, I was able to listen to her and respond more appropriately."

    According to Sheedy Kurcinka, the transitional period can last around six months. That's a long time – it feels more like six years to parents! Sheedy Kurcinka recommends having a regular "siesta" time right after unch, when there's a natural dip in body temperature and it's easier to fall asleep. Invite your child to sit with you and read and snuggle. Make sure the environment clearly communicates it's OK to sleep, so dim lights, close shades, turn off the TV, pick up the toys, etc., she says. Read to him, offer a little massage or back scratch to calm him. "If he hasn't fallen asleep within 45 minutes, siesta is over and you know it will be an early bedtime so he can get his 11 to 12 hours that night," says Sheedy Kurcinka.


    Pages:  1  2  3  4  


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