How to help a toddler nap

Young children, from birth to approximately three years old, need to sleep several times during the day to regain the energy they use and be able to be one hundred percent for all their activities through sleep. However, many children do not quite like napping, since they see how their siblings or other adults are awake and want to be with them.

Napping a child against his will will not be an easy task. You will need a lot of patience and have the necessary keys for the child to lie down voluntarily and agree to sleep for a while during the day for their own benefit.

At PregDream we tell you how to help a small child take a nap, so that he or she is rested and you can take advantage of this short time for your own tasks.

1. MAINTAIN A ROUTINE

Young children do very well following a routine for all the actions they do on a daily basis. This routine helps them learn what to do at each moment of the day and, thus, not to complain when they have to do a certain thing, such as falling asleep.

So, if you nap at the same time every day, it will be more difficult for you to complain and not understand why you should sleep this little while. It will be part of your day to day, like eating or showering, so you will internalize it as something normal and you will miss it the day you cannot take a nap at this time of day, being sleepy.

At daycare you will probably have one of these stipulated routines and it will be easier for you to get used to napping when all your classmates are also sleeping. However, you should also follow this routine when you are with other family members or with the person who takes care of you, otherwise it will be impossible for you to get used to taking a nap and the child will want to be always awake and with the adults.

2. MAKE HIM FEEL COMFORTABLE IN THE CRIB

As much as if your boy or girl sleeps in a bed or in a crib, you should make them always feel comfortable in it. Therefore, remove all objects that could disturb him to sleep and let those that make him feel comfortable and help you sleep . Perhaps they have a favorite blanket or stuffed animal that they like to cuddle to make them feel more comfortable. Or perhaps they have a small light next to the bed or bed so they don’t feel unprotected in the dark.

Be that as it may, if your child needs any of these objects to take a nap during his first years of life, you must respect this will. Little by little, over time, you can remove them, but for now it is better to let him rest with them, since he first needs to get into the habit of sleeping during nap time to feel rested and with more energy during the afternoon.

3. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

The child may feel helpless during nap time because you are not next to him or her. Therefore, you must arm yourself with patience and dedicate as much time as necessary so that they can fall asleep and be comfortable throughout the nap time .

Like at night, you can choose to read a story to him, lie down next to him or sing a song to him. You should avoid playing with the tablet or watching television before going to bed, as these activities can further disrupt your brain and make you less likely to sleep.

Right after eating is the ideal time to put the child to bed , since with a full belly it is normal for them to feel a little more sleepy. If the food was heavy, maybe it would be better to wait an hour to put them to bed, otherwise they may have a tummy ache while sleeping, nightmares or burning when they wake up from a nap.

The room should be left as a room only for rest, so it is preferable that children play in another room and also eat in a different room. Thus they will relate their room and their crib or eat as a place simply to rest. In addition you can turn off all lights and close the blinds and curtains to make the room look darker, making it look like it’s night and the child to nap more comfortably.