Don't sleep, just lie down...

[DocDCT]

A common trick to make the kids rest in the afternoon when they are too old to accept the idea of a nap is to tell them they don't have to sleep, but just lie down quietly in the dark room for a short time. They often fall asleep in a few minutes even if they think they're not tired (and if they don't, probabily they don't need to rest).
Some people reported that this trick works even for tweens or teens, while for others it is useless.

Have you ever tried it and did it work?

EDIT: since maybe it is not clear, I'm talking about midday breaks at Disney, not toddlers napping at home.

 

[loves to dive]

I tried it when mine was little, I'd even lie down with him. Result? Mommy would fall asleep and kid would get up and roam the house, telling anyone he encountered to shush, Mommy was napping.

 

[pigletgirl]

We do this now with DD1 who is 2.5. She's never been a big napper, but I do require her to be quiet for an hour in her room. She has books and quiet toys in her room that she can play with. Many times she ends up snoozing for a good 1.5 hours, and we're always grateful for that.

At Disney, she naps regularly.

 

[DocDCT]

Of course, my question was about Disney and older kids (even much older ones!) who don't nap at home, but may still get tired in the parks.

 

[loves to dive]

When my son was smaller at Disney, I would just go by his moods. If he was grumpy, we would go back to the room and I would turn on the TV and let him watch Disney for a while, which would usually either put him or me or both of us to sleep. As he got older, say around 12, he actually liked a good afternoon power nap and even now as an adult, we will take a break and go back to the room and both of us just have some quiet time.

 

[mom2grace]

We do it and ours are 12 & 14. Sometimes they sleep, sometimes they don't but at least it a break from the stimulation.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Useless for us. Our first trip was when CP had just turned 5. I trotted out the "let's just go lay down for a while" that first day. She said "I'm not stupid mom, our daycare teacher said that. You want me to take a nap, and I won't sleep no matter how long I lay there. I'm not tired. I will obey you if want me to lay down, but it isn't going to work" Never tried it again. She honestly didn't nap ever after the age of 3 anyway. We went rope drop to close that year and every year since.

 

[GEM]

My son hasn't napped once that I can remember - at home or at Disney - since he was about three. I used to try that, but it would never work. It certainly wouldn't work now at 12. We either stay at the parks all day, or sometimes we take a break to go back and swim or just relax in the room and watch TV or something. No napping, though.

 

[DisneyCAL]

Um it works on me and I'm 30!

 

[belle1986]

Um it works on me and I'm 30!

Me too!

 

[roseaster]

I guess it depends on the kid. I have had nappers and non nappers. We never did the mid day break thing, though. My kids, when they were still of napping age, napped in the stroller.

In general, though. I had 2 that would work on. I had 2 that they could lay there forever during the day, and if they weren't tired, they weren't tired. Both actually just laid on the cot in preschool and never slept. I had one that LOVED his naps. He was the 1st in daycare and preschool to lay down and didn't want to go to kinder because "I can't take a nap."

 

[monorailsilver]

My oldest was 12 the last time we went, the minute her head hit the pillow she was asleep. My son on the other hand in pitch black kept saying "dad/mom can we ride on x when we go back later?" He was shushed a lot! My youngest also just passed out. Maybe because they are all up by 6:30, out the door no later then 7:15 and when we return at night we are out til at least 10.

 

[DocDCT]

My oldest was 12 the last time we went, the minute her head hit the pillow she was asleep.

Did she protest (sometimes they do even if they are exhausted!) or was willing to nap?

 

[monorailsilver]

Did she protest (sometimes they do even if they are exhausted!) or was willing to nap?

No she didn't. The 2nd time we took her she was almost 5 and hadn't napped in years so I took her swimming with the baby in the belly while my husband napped with our 22 mo old.

Big mistake. She needed that nap and fell asleep in Epcot but thankfully went to bed easily that night.

She is the kid that needs 12 hrs sleep still at age 14 so there was no argument there.

Plus she and my other kids know they were better off taking that nap vs being tired, actually I think they know the drill, not that we go often. As much as I would love to be at the pool for my break like when I was younger it just doesn't work that way anymore. So we have dedicated pool days with out a mid day break.

Oh and who couldn't fall asleep in a pitch black room? Those Poly rooms are wonderful that way.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

Useless for us. Our first trip was when CP had just turned 5. I trotted out the "let's just go lay down for a while" that first day. She said "I'm not stupid mom, our daycare teacher said that. You want me to take a nap, and I won't sleep no matter how long I lay there. I'm not tired. I will obey you if want me to lay down, but it isn't going to work" Never tried it again. She honestly didn't nap ever after the age of 3 anyway. We went rope drop to close that year and every year since.

My goodness. We have yet to make it past 2pm without a nap, and my son is six! I think some people are nappers and others are not. My son got the napping gene from my side of the family. When we travel with my parents my poor husband is often the only one awake in the afternoon, everyone else is willingly napping. Lying in a dark room would do nothing to make my husband sleepy, but the rest of us would be out cold in a few seconds.

 

[Minnesota!]

Even though my kids never fought naps, even when called naps, if there was too much "going on" and I thought they would be sad about going to sleep, I would just tell them to kick back with their blanket and take it all in. I would turn on the stroller fan and within 3 minutes, they were sawing logs.

I think the thought, to them, of us trying to "take away the fun" by "making them sleep", can really be a hindrance to them falling asleep. Take off the "pressure" of "having to nap" and they will conk out on their own Not on high alert for "nap time"...they are relaxed enough to be lulled to sleep!

ETA - SOOOOO many quote marks. Sorry

 

[mommysaurus]

My goodness. We have yet to make it past 2pm without a nap, and my son is six! I think some people are nappers and others are not. My son got the napping gene from my side of the family. When we travel with my parents my poor husband is often the only one awake in the afternoon, everyone else is willingly napping. Lying in a dark room would do nothing to make my husband sleepy, but the rest of us would be out cold in a few seconds.

Ditto for us. My son is 8.5 and naps every single day. Kindergarten was rough at first but eventually he learned to move his nap to after school time. He asks for a nap regulates that himself. As a single mom I'm very thankful for my born napper. I hope it continues until high school graduation lol

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Ditto for us. My son is 8.5 and naps every single day. Kindergarten was rough at first but eventually he learned to move his nap to after school time. He asks for a nap regulates that himself. As a single mom I'm very thankful for my born napper. I hope it continues until high school graduation lol

My goodness. We have yet to make it past 2pm without a nap, and my son is six! I think some people are nappers and others are not. My son got the napping gene from my side of the family. When we travel with my parents my poor husband is often the only one awake in the afternoon, everyone else is willingly napping. Lying in a dark room would do nothing to make my husband sleepy, but the rest of us would be out cold in a few seconds.

Mine never needed the "recommended" amount of sleep, even as an infant. If I made her go to bed at 8:00 as a preschooler she was up at 4 or before.

 

[roseaster]

I think it is really dependent on the kid. I have 1 that was absolutely done with naps by 2, and unless she were ill, she wasn't napping no matter what. I have another who can still (at age 10) nap at the drop of a hat.

The napper, interestingly enough, is the kid that is up by 8 at the latest every morning no matter what time he goes to bed, and the non napper can sleep until noon.

They just get their required amount of sleep in different patterns.

 

[mommysaurus]

Mine never needed the "recommended" amount of sleep, even as an infant. If I made her go to bed at 8:00 as a preschooler she was up at 4 or before.

Kids are just so different. Mine is in bed by 7:30 or 8. I get him up at around 6:15 and then he takes a nap after school as well.

On the weekends hes in bed at 8:30 or 9 and up between 7 and 8 with a longer nap.