The Saga Continues
There are at least three posts on this blog about my constant struggle with sleep/nap time, most from the past six months alone. Well, the battle isn't over yet...
Waverly is two now, and quickly outgrowing nap time. I can handle that, but the problem with both our kids that they still need nap time, they just won't allow themselves to sleep in the middle of the day. I know this because by dinner time they are cranky, ornery and defiant -- all things that do not occur when a solid nap is accomplished.
So what is my retaliation? Let them have a 30-60 minute "quiet time" (a suggestion from another dad on the podcast I got to take part of), and then a car ride. Want proof they still need a nap besides the aforementioned behavior? They are usually both sleeping within three miles.
And so I drive around a bit, wasting gas and destroying the environment, and then park in my driveway and write some on my laptop until Ellie usually wakes up screaming. I guess she is bewildered or uncomfortable or something, but she often wakes up from these car naps with an outburst of "Dad, go!" or maybe just an outright yell. It is kind of funny, but usually wakes up Waverly, who would have slept another fifteen or twenty minutes probably, if given the time.
The first time I tried this method was a few months ago actually, when the nap time disappearance was first occurring. I drove to a McDonalds to get some coffee, and then opted out of the coffee when it was $2 for a pretty terrible cup (I think I expected a $1 deal). Next I drove to a nearby skatepark and watched some kids rip while I waited, hoping the metal didn't wake up the girls. It wasn't half bad (though it made me want to go skateboarding instead of sit in the car), and kind of worked well for the girls. I also discovered a cool neighborhood across the highway I never knew existed, though again, wasting gas and destroying the environment.
Yes, this is the latest in an ongoing drama of attempting to get sleepy children to succumb to sleep. I would like to say this is the finale, an anticlimactic battle in a not-so-entertaining movie, but I think it is more likely a "to be continued..."
Waverly is two now, and quickly outgrowing nap time. I can handle that, but the problem with both our kids that they still need nap time, they just won't allow themselves to sleep in the middle of the day. I know this because by dinner time they are cranky, ornery and defiant -- all things that do not occur when a solid nap is accomplished.
So what is my retaliation? Let them have a 30-60 minute "quiet time" (a suggestion from another dad on the podcast I got to take part of), and then a car ride. Want proof they still need a nap besides the aforementioned behavior? They are usually both sleeping within three miles.
And so I drive around a bit, wasting gas and destroying the environment, and then park in my driveway and write some on my laptop until Ellie usually wakes up screaming. I guess she is bewildered or uncomfortable or something, but she often wakes up from these car naps with an outburst of "Dad, go!" or maybe just an outright yell. It is kind of funny, but usually wakes up Waverly, who would have slept another fifteen or twenty minutes probably, if given the time.
The first time I tried this method was a few months ago actually, when the nap time disappearance was first occurring. I drove to a McDonalds to get some coffee, and then opted out of the coffee when it was $2 for a pretty terrible cup (I think I expected a $1 deal). Next I drove to a nearby skatepark and watched some kids rip while I waited, hoping the metal didn't wake up the girls. It wasn't half bad (though it made me want to go skateboarding instead of sit in the car), and kind of worked well for the girls. I also discovered a cool neighborhood across the highway I never knew existed, though again, wasting gas and destroying the environment.
Yes, this is the latest in an ongoing drama of attempting to get sleepy children to succumb to sleep. I would like to say this is the finale, an anticlimactic battle in a not-so-entertaining movie, but I think it is more likely a "to be continued..."
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