Naptime – As Dr. Phil says, “This isn’t my first Rodeo”

Naptime  -Yes it is !

I have 4 children.  My youngest is 20 months old.  Going on 5…because he’s the youngest.   And the next stage we’ve entered is the ‘climbing out of the cot and wanting to sleep in a real bed like everyone else’ stage.

It’s fine. He’s a little younger than the others were but that’s okay.  I am prepared to do the ‘put toddler to bed, toddler gets up, put toddler back to bed, toddler gets up again’ dance without even breaking a sweat.

Why?  Well as I told my ‘look-at-me-out-of-bed’ toddler that I’ve been here before. I’ve done this three times before.  And I’ve won every battle. I am not about to lose one now.

Naptime -Mummy’s done this before

“Because you see my son”, I say as I’m pulling the covers back over him again, “I know how this will end.  You think it’s very exciting that you can climb out of your cot. You think it’s even more exciting that you’re in a big bed; with no barrier. You have a freedom that you’ve never experienced before and you don’t know what to do with it. So you will overdose on it. Because you think you can. But I tell you this little one, I will prevail”.

My son is looking at me intently.  He thinks I’m telling him some sort of fairytale.

“This is no fairytale”, I tell him.  “Fairytales are make believe and this is real life. You see you need your sleep. You do. And once you realize that this newfound freedom that you have been granted isn’t going to be taken from you, you will feel at ease.  You will lay back and close your eyes and have your midday nap.

And mummy will resume her normal midday routine. It’s time for sleeps now”.

Naptime and the rest

So this got me to thinking.  Does your ability to handle these sorts of situations get better with each child, or does each child manage to strip away a little bit of resolve every single time?

Does becoming a parent teach you patience or is it something you acquire after having children?

For example, do you become more immune to noise or does it really drive you to distraction that even a cricket can send you loopy?

For me, there are some things that don’t bother me as much anymore.

  • You’ll only eat cauliflower raw, not cooked? Fighting it is futile. (Lesson learned with Child no 1).
  • You want to climb trees? Fine. (Lesson leaned with Child no. 2).
  • You refuse to wear socks, even when it’s cold.  Whatever. (Lesson learned with Child no 3).
  • You want to feed yourself even though you can’t quite work the fork? Okay. (Lesson learned with Child no. 4).

But toddlers will have midday naps and this is not open for negotiation (Lesson learned by Children no. 1, 2, 3, and soon to join the ranks, Child no. 4)

 This blog was sent in by the gorgeous Maria who blogs over at  Mum’s Word

Head on over at check out some of her other great posts

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Nathalie Brown

Child Behaviour Consultant at Easy Peasy Kids
Child Behaviourist and researcher. Creator of "Less tantrums. More smiles". I look at the bigger picture and think outside the box when working with children and their behaviour. Their world is different. As adults we sometimes forget this. Happiness Creator in my spare time. Eater of chocolate and cake.

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Comments

  1. manda rainbird says

    not open for negotiation …this will be my new motto with the triplpets (14 months) LOVE IT!

    • Hi Manda,

      I’ve changed my ‘not open for negotiation’ saying for “Zookeeper says no”.

      My family and I went on a trip to NZ and we visited Wellington Zoo. At every enclosure there was a sign that said “Zookeeper says no”. It could have been to feeding, tapping on glass, whatever was necessary.

      So the zookeeper has become the impartial judge in my house too.

      Glad you liked the post.

      Love & stuff
      Mrs M

  2. Haha ! One of my lessons with my second one is actually to do with nap time…..Instead of all the time I used to spend on trying to put my first to sleep this time I just go with the flow and gosh it feels good!

  3. So true, you learn lessons with each child but you do know that some things you can give and take and others mum always knows best! Very funny post

  4. bubble936 says

    Children definitely teaches us patience.
    We have to modify many of our fixed rules…If my son wants to eat rwa vegetables then my new rule is ‘its ok to eat raw pumpkin and raw vegetables” . Ultimately i want to live in peace.

  5. I love this, going with the flow. It puzzles me sometimes when I see parents fighting with their kids over the littlest things.

  6. Virginia Mason says

    Oh this made me laugh as I can relate to exactly what you are saying! Having my own children has taught me to have extra patience and learn what rules work well for our family. My husband has definately relaxed too with the second child and has learnt to use ear plugs when necesarry. LOL.

    • Hi Virginia,

      I don’t use earplugs but I do put on my ipod; as long as I can see them.

      Watching them carrying on is a whole lot easier than listening to them carry on. Buys me a few minutes of sanity 😉

      Love & stuff
      Mrs M

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