Quiet Time: Music to My Ears

When Grace was a baby I always said that I had the worst napper on the face of the earth.  No matter what I did I could not get her to nap.  She never took 2 naps a day like most babies do, and the one nap she took would be an hour and a half on a good day.  It turns out that since she slept 13-14 hours a night, she didn't really need long naps.  Good for her, I guess, but not so good for Mommy.  When she turned 2 she went through a month (or so) long phase where she stopped napping completely.  She was no longer sleeping 14 hours at night, though, so I was sure she really NEEDED a nap. I tried every day, and she would either cry and throw a fit or just sit in her bed and talk and sing at the top of her lungs.  I freaked out- "She is way too young to stop napping!" I thought.  Not to mention, I was pregnant and needed naps myself.  Thankfully, it was just a phase at that time.  She went back to taking naps, albeit short ones, most days. 

Then, a couple of months before she turned 3, it happened again.  No matter what I did, I could not get Grace to nap.  Most days we ended up in an all out battle in which she would scream and cry, kick and throw things (did I mention that I have a very strong-willed daughter?), and end up NOT sleeping.  After a couple of weeks of this, I though, "Ok, we've got to try something else.  This kid is not going to take a nap." I tried putting Grace in her room and told her to read books for an hour.  The problem was she "read" through every book in about 15-20 minutes and would then yell, "I'm done!"  Then, I decided to just have her "play quietly" in her room for an hour.  The problem with THAT was that my girl does not have a "quiet" setting.  She would stay in her room, but I would hear her singing and talking so loudly that she was waking Norah up from her naps.  Grrr... I was getting frustrated- especially after I took Grace to her 3-year check up, and after telling the pediatrician that she had dropped napping, she (the Dr.) told me, "That's alright, as long as she still has quiet time each day." 

I really was at my wit's end.  I knew Grace needed time where she was calm and quiet, and I DEFINITELY needed an hour of quiet to myself!  I finally got online and started searching around for ideas.  I found a couple of ideas on Pinterest and, after tweaking them a bit, decided to give "quiet time" another go.  I'm sure you all are dying to know what happened.........


.....Well, let's just say that I'm typing this blog in a relatively quiet house without a 3-year old asking me what I want to play every 2 minutes!

I finally found a method that seems to work.  I came up with a "Quiet Time" chart:  a piece of card stock on which I drew 8 different activities that Grace can play by herself in the basement for an hour.  The card stock is covered with contact paper (two pieces stuck together with the chart in the middle- cheap lamination!) and is clipped on the fridge. 

Every day before quiet time, Grace is told to pick three things from the chart to do, and then she sticks magnets on them.  Then, I walk her down to the basement, remind her of the 3 activities she has chosen, set the timer on my iPod (anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 hours) and tell her I will see her when the alarm goes off.  We've been doing this for about 2 months, and it has been amazing!  There are still some days when she yells upstairs, "Mommy, how much longer do I have?"  But, for the most part, Grace plays quietly by herself and I have an hour to MYSELF! 

I found the idea for a chart on Pinterest, and got the idea of giving 3 specific quiet time choices in an article I read.  It has been a great combination for Grace.  She loves to look at the chart and stick the magnets on it.  And, by choosing 3 options on her own, I think she feels a sense of ownership in her quiet time.  She knows that if she finishes her 3 activities and the alarm hasn't rung, she is allowed to play something else as long as she stays in the basement and does it quietly.  She has even chosen sleep on occasion, and I've gone into the basement after an hour and found the alarm ringing and Grace out cold on the couch. 

I am so thankful that I finally found a solution to the "Quiet Time" predicament.  At least for now, our house is a much happier place in the afternoon, and we have less tantrum throwing and mommy-daughter battles.  And, I sure do love the sound of peace and quiet :) I'm gonna mark this one down as a win for the Mommy!