Naptime Tricks for Toddlers and 2 Year Olds

Sometimes it's difficult to get children to sleep when you want them to. Working in daycare, I've been with a lot of kids that just refuse to take their afternoon naps. Toddlers and 2's are the worst to get to sleep. I'm currently the toddler teacher at the daycare I work at, and these are some tips and tricks that I've used to help my group of toddlers fall asleep easier when 12:30 comes around and they are ready for their afternoon naps.

Routines

Establishing a daily routine is very important, especially for toddlers. For example, my morning schedule before nap is as follows:

6:30 - 8:00 arrival and breakfast time, free play

8:00 - 8:15 clean up breakfast, change diapers

8:15 - 9:00 circle time, story time, select activities from the lesson plan for the day

9:00 - 9:30 morning snack and clean up

9:30 - 10:00 outside play

10:00 - 10:15 change diapers, free play for the kids

10:15 - 10:30 music, exercise, movement activities

10:30 - 11:00 art (M-W-F) and sensory activities (T-Th)

11:00 - 11:30 lunch time and clean up

11:30 - 12:15 free play for the kids, change diapers

12:15 - 12:30 *I lay the cots out for nap time, the kids know what will soon be happening, then I read a story or two to them before they go to sleep.

12:30 - 3:00 nap time

It's also important to keep your daily schedule consistent, so that the kids will get used to the routine and expect what will come next. If you are constantly changing the schedule, the kids will be confused and you will not have structure in the classroom.

In my daycare, all of the classrooms have naptime, except the Infant room, which has individual naptimes according to each child's needs. However, we may all have different routines for our group of kids. We all have CD players in our rooms, allowing us to play music. For naptime, I play soothing music. My favorites are a CD of love songs by Jim Brickman, a CD called Pooh Corner with songs by Kenny Loggins, and a CD of saxophone music from Kenny G. This music actually puts ME in a "sleepy" mood. This is a very important part of the naptime routine. Playing music drowns out silence, and other noises throughout the center that may distract the kids from sleeping.

Most of my toddlers have special "blankies" they bring from home that they sleep with at naptime. Some of the kids also have pacifiers, or "binkies" they like to have for nap. I get any of those "comfort" items ready for nap, so that each child is comfortable and secure.

For the first few minutes, I let the child lay there on his/her own and relax. I don't immediately try to get them to sleep, unless he/ she is an active child that likes to jump off their cot and disturb other kids. I give them some time, in hopes they might fall asleep on their own. I find that my kids will sleep longer and better when they fall asleep on their own, without my help. If they don't fall asleep, my trick to actually putting the child to sleep, is patting their back gently. I cover them with their blanket, and pat the middle of their back until they begin to drift off into "la la land". Then, I decrease the patting to slower and slower, until they close their eyes and go asleep. Then my work for naptime is done.

Tips that I've learned for naptime: Never play fast music, like Mousercise or the Chicken Dance right before naptime. You may think the movement and action will make them tired, but actually the opposite is true. The kids will get energetic, and expect to play and be active, instead of sleepy for naptime. My recommendation for a pre-naptime routine, read them a book. Just as adults do before bed, it calms you a bit and gets you ready for sleep. You wouldn't run 2 miles on the treadmill right before bed, would you? No, because that would get your body moving and wake you up, instead of making you relaxed. Same goes with toddlers.

However, all of these tips may just not work at all for those few kids that just do not want to take a nap at daycare, or their parents do not want them taking a nap. Find an alternative activity for those kids, and make sure it doesn't disturb the others. You will find that the older the kids get, the less they need to sleep during the day. My toddler group is still full of young ones, from 16-20 months old, so their bodies do require a longer nap, than say, a 5 year old. Allow the kids that don't sleep to sit quietly at the table and color, or sit on their beds and read a book.

Good luck with your naptimes, and if you don't already have patience with toddlers and 2's, then you will probably learn some once you're put to the test of naps.