Creating Quiet Times
I need quiet time. For the past two and a half years, I get this rush as soon as my child goes down for nap--what can I do now? How much cleaning/cooking/blogging/emailing/reading/gardening/exercising/napping can I do in this short block of time? It's time just for me, and until recently, it's been very consistent. I knew I'd have at least 1-2 hours to myself.
Of course I knew that my child wouldn't nap forever, and I even expected that my son, (who's always been a bit resistant to napping) would give it up sooner than most. So I'm not surprised that we've hit a nap strike these past couple of weeks. Part of why I haven't really worried about this is because all of my friends and relatives have told me that when their kids started to give up their naps, they just gave them "quiet time" on their bed. A time when they can look at books or play quietly with some toys, while Mom can get some uninterrupted time to herself. Great.
So my question is...REALLY??? I would like to know how this is accomplished. My child is resisting naps because he does not want to be quiet or alone in his room, so how in the world am I supposed to get him to have "quiet time"?
My first day attempting to give my son a quiet time resulted in him running back and forth from my room to his, throwing cars down the hallway, and finding my cell phone by my bed and dialing it (which woke me up from my 10 minute nap). It ended with lots of tears and crying as I finally put him in his room and forcibly held his bedroom door closed, in hopes that he would get the picture (he did not).
Today was attempt number two. Realizing that I may have been a bit unrealistic yesterday, and my methods were obviously lacking, I tried a different approach. I told him if he laid down in his bed that I would lay down on the floor, and we could both nap (yes I'm still hoping that he might sleep). So while I'm laying on the floor, my son actually starts playing quietly with his toys and looking at books. This is exactly what I envisioned quiet time to be, except for the fact that I am laying on his floor, pretending to be asleep, thinking about all the other things I want to be doing. So as soon as I tell my son I'll be in the other room getting the laundry, the magic spell of playing quietly is over. He runs out of the room behind me, wanting to help, grabbing other toys, etc.
So, I'd love some practical help or suggestions. Am I being too selfish wanting time alone? Does being a mom by definition preclude that? How can I establish a quiet time routine where I don't have to be monitoring/supervising it? What is a realistic length of time? I'm used to him napping an average of 2 hours a day, so cutting back to like, 20 minutes, isn't going to cut it for me. Should I continue trying to have him actually sleep?
Ironically, the reason why I've been able to write this blog (without interruptions!) is because my son fell asleep a half hour ago while watching a Sesame Street DVD on the couch. So he's a couple of hours behind schedule, but maybe not all hope is lost.
Of course I knew that my child wouldn't nap forever, and I even expected that my son, (who's always been a bit resistant to napping) would give it up sooner than most. So I'm not surprised that we've hit a nap strike these past couple of weeks. Part of why I haven't really worried about this is because all of my friends and relatives have told me that when their kids started to give up their naps, they just gave them "quiet time" on their bed. A time when they can look at books or play quietly with some toys, while Mom can get some uninterrupted time to herself. Great.
So my question is...REALLY??? I would like to know how this is accomplished. My child is resisting naps because he does not want to be quiet or alone in his room, so how in the world am I supposed to get him to have "quiet time"?
My first day attempting to give my son a quiet time resulted in him running back and forth from my room to his, throwing cars down the hallway, and finding my cell phone by my bed and dialing it (which woke me up from my 10 minute nap). It ended with lots of tears and crying as I finally put him in his room and forcibly held his bedroom door closed, in hopes that he would get the picture (he did not).
Today was attempt number two. Realizing that I may have been a bit unrealistic yesterday, and my methods were obviously lacking, I tried a different approach. I told him if he laid down in his bed that I would lay down on the floor, and we could both nap (yes I'm still hoping that he might sleep). So while I'm laying on the floor, my son actually starts playing quietly with his toys and looking at books. This is exactly what I envisioned quiet time to be, except for the fact that I am laying on his floor, pretending to be asleep, thinking about all the other things I want to be doing. So as soon as I tell my son I'll be in the other room getting the laundry, the magic spell of playing quietly is over. He runs out of the room behind me, wanting to help, grabbing other toys, etc.
So, I'd love some practical help or suggestions. Am I being too selfish wanting time alone? Does being a mom by definition preclude that? How can I establish a quiet time routine where I don't have to be monitoring/supervising it? What is a realistic length of time? I'm used to him napping an average of 2 hours a day, so cutting back to like, 20 minutes, isn't going to cut it for me. Should I continue trying to have him actually sleep?
Ironically, the reason why I've been able to write this blog (without interruptions!) is because my son fell asleep a half hour ago while watching a Sesame Street DVD on the couch. So he's a couple of hours behind schedule, but maybe not all hope is lost.
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