The Magic of Quiet Time

So I've posted before about toddler E giving up his regular afternoon naps. 

I was worried, really worried. How would I get some 'me' time during the day? The time that toddler E uses to take his afternoon nap is a block of precious child-free time for me to get things done (or just sit and stare at the wall which happens more often than not) and it keeps me going until bedtime. 

5 September 2013

Thank goodness for talking books!

I read somewhere that some parents change nap time into 'quiet time'. So the child does not necessarily have to sleep (this was causing all the drama between toddler E and I) but gets to play quietly with their toys or books and mama gets a break too.

So I decided to try it out and my 3 'either / or' rules for toddler E's quiet time are:

EITHER

1. Toddler E plays with his toys, but he has to play on his own 

OR

2. I will read story books to toddler E in bed where he usually takes his nap

OR

3. Toddler E will take a nap if he doesn't want to do either of the above

It's been working quite well, toddler E usually starts by saying he will play by himself, sometimes reading a book (looking at pictures or listening to an audio book) and he stays awake for the entire hour of quiet time but I can lie down for 10 minutes to recharge. And sometimes he'll ask me to read him a few story books then chose to nurse and take his nap.

This arrangement works because toddler E feels like he has a say in naptime and I still get some rest in between.