I’ve spent a fair amount of my parenting years doing my best to get my kids to sleep. Some of my tactics have involved walking, bouncing, rubbing, shushing, and even running a dryer with my baby in her car seat on top of the dryer. Of course, loading my babies up in the car and going for a drive rarely failed me. I think my husband even once loaded up one of our babies in the stroller for a walk the wee hours of the morning. I’ll bet the neighbors really enjoyed her screams from the sidewalk. So, having spent so much of my time getting my kids to sleep, I find it interesting that I’m now doing everything I can to keep my daughter from sleeping. Of course, I’m talking about the dreaded transition from nap time to no nap time.
At some point, all three of my children have hit a point when they still need a nap to be in good humor, however if they get the nap, they won’t fall asleep until 10 pm or later. Then, mama struggles to be in good humor. Generally I opt for keeping my 3 year old from napping. Did I mention that skipping a nap also allows me to put her to bed earlier? Sure, there are times where failing to let her sleep would be wrong, but most of the time she can get by with minimal crankiness, and so I keep her up. Therefore, I’ve had to learn a whole new set of skills.
Some of the things I’ve done to keep my children awake are….
- Gently shake their hands or feet.
- Talk very loudly.
- Sing very loudly.
- Give them a snack with a bit of sugar.
- Give them ice water to drink. (A gentle splash on the face wouldn’t hurt either.)
- Open all of the windows in the car if we're driving.
- Tickle them.
- Turn up the radio.
- Go outside to play.
- And when all else fails, brew a pot of coffee and give her a cup.
Okay, I’m totally kidding about that last one. I have, on occasion, given my kids a sip of soda, but I’ve never given them a cup of coffee. Anyways, I figure I need it more than they do.
All kidding aside, what have you found yourself doing to ensure that your children don’t fall asleep and make going to bed at night a battle. Inquiring minds want to know!
.