Mom Needing Advise on Nap Time/toddler Beds

Hi

I work at a daycare and when its nap time we lay the children down on ther tummys, with there blankets on a mat and pat there backs they go right to sleep. hope this helps.

M.

My daughter went through a transition too when we got her a toddler bed. She has a favorite blanket and animbals that she likes sleeping with and if she doesn't stay laying down in bed them she gets them taken away. It only took a few days for her to understand that we wanted her to still rest.

Hello,
I am a stay at home mom of twin 3 1/2 year old boys and went through this exact problem last year. I thought I was going to go crazy! I had to separate them for naptime and still do to this day. They do fine together at night. Luckily, I have a spare guest bedroom (don't know if you have that option). I used to have one nap in a Pack N Play and now I just have the old crib mattress that I lay on the floor and one brings in a special blanket and stuffed animal with them. Sometimes I alternate who sleeps in the other room, but I have one who prefers it so they usually go by choice and it isn't a big fight to make them go.

I also have another friend who was going through this at the same time as me (just after age 2). She reassembled her cribs and bought crib tents to contain them and once they couldn't get at each other they slept fine.

Hi K.,
We only have one 2 year old and that has been tiring enough! We have the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, MD. This book helped us a lot with our older child when he was a baby.
There is a section in the book for this type of situation. I won't say we've had overnight success, but things are getting better. We posted the "sleep rules" and go over them, use a gate on the door when needed and use a rewards chart and dollar "prize bag" whenever my daughter naps and sleeps in her bed at night.
Good luck!
M. W.

Have you tried laying in the room with them? Maybe putting on a recorded story, or mellow music.

Hey I'm not sure if this will help but I use it for my 3 year old son to help him not wet the bed at night. He really loves stickers and so I bought all his favorite kinds and when he don't pee the bed he gets a sticker in the morning and we have a sticker chart on the fridge (it's just a piece of construction paper) but he loves putting stickers on there. When he gets 20 stickers we go to the store and he gets to pick out a toy. He was really excited when we started this and it helps a lot... but don't forget to give them a sticker, I know I have a few times and wow he gives me this look like I did it on purpose. Hope this gives you an idea. -N.

You sound like a great mom! I so remember the difficulties of naptime! My girls reached a point (and I don't remember the exact age, but around 2 or 3) that they did not want to take naps anymore. My guess would be that the beds are not the reason the girls don't want to nap. The best advice I ever got was..."that this too shall pass".

Have you tried just having them stay in their room for quiet time? As long as their room is childproof and there are quiet activities for them to do you can just make the rule that this is their quiet time and you will check on them in 10..15...20 minutes whatever you are comfortable with. Be consistent! It might take some time to get them back into their routine. Another idea you might try is the "first_____ then _____" strategy. How this works is you tell them that FIRST you nap THEN you get to....whatever is their favored activity...i.e; play a game, color, play outside, etc....you can even make a visual schedule for them so they know what to expect. Pin it up on your fridge at their eye level. As they finish each activity cross it off, so they know what is coming next. A picture schedule works best, and you don't have to be a great artist...your kids will get it.

Hang in there...and remember...that this too shall pass!

Good Luck!!

K., I definitely sympathize with you! Have you tried putting them back in bed each time they get out until they don't do it anymore? This sounds silly, but it can work. Each time they get out of bed, you simply place them back into bed without engaging them too much in conversation, just say "It's naptime" the first few times, then don't say anything at all. For the first few days you might have to put them back in bed forty times in an hour, but after those few days it should work. Good luck.

My son refused to nap at home a year before he quit napping at day care. I substituted 'story time snuggles' where we'd curl up under a quilt on the big bed and read a quiet story, look at picture books, or I'd sing to him. We both got quiet time, even when he didn't sleep. Since your twins can wind each other up, maybe try a competition for who can wind down the best. Let us know how it goes!

Hi,
It sounds like they are just having fun in their new room like you have told them they would. What you can do now is to go into the room with them when it is nap time and create a very special process for them to have around nap time. Something like...both of them in their beds, then a story or song. Then eyes closed, maybe soft music. Something special.
Peace, J.

You might try putting them down a half hour apart to see if one will go to sleep first and not be able to provide entertainment for the other when it's her turn. Then again, it may just wake the first when you put down the second. Of might be worth a try though.

It sounds like you need to seperate them at nap time.....maybe the one on best behavior that day can nap in momma's bed or something like that.
Good Luck it sounds like you have your hands full!

When my boys were that age and in toddler beds I had a story time with them at nap time and read them to sleep. It was a great bonding time for us, helped develop their literacy skills, and they would fall asleep while listening. They would request their favorite stories over and over and over. I loved this time with them. We still have stories before bed and my oldest is 16 and youngest is 12.

quiet time in bed can sometimes lead to nap time. tell them they need to stay in bed but can have books or wgatever they need, then stay firm ... whetever punishment you normally do they get it every time they get up. Or start taking away favorite items tell they get the point.

Give them a snack before nap time - slows them down. make it a ritual. Wrap them in a cozy blanket, sing to them untill they fall asleep...don't leave the room until they do so. You have to set the boundaries.

Just be firm that they need to be quiet on their beds for an hour, the same time every day. Call it quiet time!

I have had several that stopped napping every day at two years old. But every third day they would actually sleep during "quiet time".

It takes work to make a habit, but if you want it-perservere!

Jem-mom to seven

Our nap time routine became more complicated when our twins went into big boy beds, too. (Around 2 years old... I can't remember exactly how old.)

We agreed to let them try quiet time instead of nap time, but usually they were so tired that they'd eventually sleep. Our bedtime routine (for both nap and bed time) is to pick out stories, read, pray and get tucked in. Although it wasn't our first choice, for a while we had the boys in separate rooms because they just wouldn't go to sleep. You could try playing quiet music, low enough that they have to be quiet to hear it, during their nap time and let them get up when the music is over. It's worked for several of my friends with toddlers!

Good luck on this... mommies of twins need the nap time every bit as much as the twins do.

Hi K....I'm laughing because I remember my now 8 year old doing the same thing and there was only one of her! Okay, so here's some ideas:

1. Is there anyway to split them up during nap time? Can one of them sleep on your bed? Maybe they can alternate weeks if that seems like a treat to them.

2. My five year old and I play the "nap game." Whoever sleeps the longest wins. Of couse, she always wins because I only lay down for about 45 minutes but I always make a big deal about "you better not win today" and "geesh you're the best napper ever...I never win!" I see your kids are only 2 so they may not quite get the concept of that yet. But when they do, maybe you can even make a "prize" like whoever wins the nap game gets to pick the snack or something like that.

3. I assume you're reading a story or have a good routine that leads up to nap time. We eat lunch, watch Dora (it comes on at noon), read a story and take a nap. Everyday the routine is exactly the same, you can set a watch by us. Try being really consistent and predictable.

I hope something I offered helps...I've held onto naps for my dear life (like I said my youngest is 5!) because it's the only time I can get anything done around here! LOL

L.

P.S. 38 year old stay at home mom to 8 and 5 year old girls.

My mom used to tell me that if I laid in my bed for 10 minutes without talking and keeping my eyes shut, I was allowed to get up and go without a nap. But most of the time, it did the trick! I was asleep! She told me now that sometimes it didn't work and you have to be prepared to keep your word so that the kid trusts you the next time you do this.

I thought it's funny now as an adult and sounds like it works! Hope that helps!

I am a mom of twin girls as well. I had a 3 1/2 yr old daughter and 21 mo old twin girls when my son was born. It is hard because you are so tired. Have you tried putting one down and letting her go to sleep and then putting the other one down? I don't know if it will work but it is worth a shot. Hopefully the excitement of the new beds will wear off and they will go back to taking good naps for you. Have a wonderful day! J.

Oh my goodness....you must be exhausted!!!!
My daughter sounds like your girls, too. We tried so many different things. She is now 2 1/2 and what works best with her is to let her go down for her nap and bedtime with a small toy and some books in her bed. We tell her if she stays in her bed, she may keep the toy and books. For several weeks, she tested this and we had to go in several times at the beginning of naptime and bedtime and take one book at a time and eventually the toy. She was distraught over this, but nothing else was working. Now, we are able to ask her at each naptime what she needs to do in order to keep her books and toy. She says, "Stay in my bed." It almost always works.
Best wishes!

The last response was good. Have you tried having them both lie down and reading a story to them and staying in there until they are at least lying quietly? Even if they don't sleep you might find that lying quietly will give them the rest that they need to let the rest of the day go better. If they are wanting to sleep at bedtime, obviously they still need their naps.

Also they are at the stage where they are trying your authority so sticking with your guns is important. You are the adult and the one in charge so don't let them walk all over you!

I am a 34 year old mother of 4 children. When two of my boys were younger I also did a home daycare and the best advice I have it to put all of the children on the same sleeping schedule, if possible. Our schedule was having lunch around noon while I nursed my newborn and then we picked up toys, read a book and changed diapers. After that all of the kids and I went into the bedroom for a nap. I made sure the room light was dimmed so it was relaxing and the light wouldn't keep them awake. I would lay between two of the children that were a little harder to get to sleep and rub their backs in a slow counter clockwise circle and before about 10-15 min. they were asleep. It was also a chance for me to relax and rest for a bit in the middle of the day to help me get though my day too.

Having an infant may make this more difficult but maybe if all of the children are in the same room your twins will know that they at least have to stay quiet for the "baby sleeping". As long as they are not able to keep themselves going they may relax long enough to fall asleep. Having the same routine at the same time every day is very helpful too.

Hope this helps.

I vote you separate them.