But Dad, I'm not tired!

[WMorganS]

How do you black out a room for naps?

We love it when we can take mid-day nap breaks. This works out great in some rooms, like Kidani where the shades are awesome, but sometimes it's really hard to manage because the drapes let in so much light at the top and around the edges. It's particularly difficult for our kids, who can't stand wearing night masks.

I've tried stacking pillows up against the edges and piling stuff along the tops of the curtain rods where they sleep, but it never really works well.

Does anyone have a good solution for this? I've thought about bringing duct tape, but I'm afraid it might damage the walls or leave a sticky mess!

 

[maxiesmom]

I can't sleep with any light in the room either. Clothes pins are great for pinning curtains together so the light doesn't come through the spot where they meet. For the top I use pillows and maybe a few towels. One of the chairs jammed into the right spot can help keep the light out too.

I would never use duct tape or anything sticky. I don't think there is a way to make the rooms totally dark, but you can do a decent job utilizing the stuff in the room.

 

[sunnydays28]

Are you driving? If so and you have the room (flat on the bottom of the trunk or cargo area) take foam core boards. Cheap, lightweight and can be cut to size to fit exactly in the window.

If flying, buy 2 dark blue or black twin sheets or large pieces of dark fabric and 2-4 of the smallest curtain tension rods and pack them in your suitcases. Depending on how large the window is, you can cut open the end of the sheet and run the rod through the hem, or put the rod in the window first and throw the fabric over the rod.

 

[disnut8]

Binder Clips. Never travel without them.

But quite honestly, my "close your eyes for five minutes and if you are still awake after that, you can get up" works every single time. Kids don't have a concept of time, have no idea how long it's been and will fall asleep eventually or at least just zone out. Just an idea.

 

[WMorganS]

Thanks for all the blackout suggestions. I should have responded sooner, but I'm still trying to figure out what will be simplest / best for us because we like to travel really light.

I was thinking of adding aluminum foil or black garbage bags to our www.gardengrocer.com shopping list, but I don't think either would work without masking tape, and I don't think I'd trust the masking tape to come off really cleanly.

I'll try a few things at home.

If I can get foil can stay up without using tape, a 25' roll alone might do the trick.

 

[4kids4karen]

College/Military dorm style: Take a aluminium foil and scotch tape or painters tape to cover the windows.

 

[WMorganS]

College/Military dorm style: Take a aluminium foil and scotch tape or painters tape to cover the windows.

Agreed, this is the "typical" solution. But *most* DVC rooms are nicer than dorm rooms ;-) And I know from experience that masking/painters tape can leave a mess if you leave it up too long. Will it come up clean without damaging the paint or leaving a residue after a week?

I guess I'll just put some up now and reply back in a week ;-)

 

[maxiesmom]

If you are using foil, I think you could clip enough of it to the top and sides of the curtains to help a lot, meaning you have to use very little (if any) tape.

Never knew about the foil trick. I may have to try that myself.

 

[TwinkleKS]

My DD's get a kick out of wearing sleeping masks when they are on vacation. Not every kid will use them, but it might be worth a try.

 

[WMorganS]

Agreed, this is the "typical" solution. But *most* DVC rooms are nicer than dorm rooms ;-) And I know from experience that masking/painters tape can leave a mess if you leave it up too long. Will it come up clean without damaging the paint or leaving a residue after a week?

I guess I'll just put some up now and reply back in a week ;-)

And the winner is clearly masking tape and aluminum foil. No residue at all after being up for more than 2 weeks!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Binder Clips. Never travel without them.

But quite honestly, my "close your eyes for five minutes and if you are still awake after that, you can get up" works every single time. Kids don't have a concept of time, have no idea how long it's been and will fall asleep eventually or at least just zone out. Just an idea.

This is what we always did.

And I still bring binder clips on every trip because there is usually quite a bit of light even at night. It doesn't bother my kids but it bugs me.

I may be horrible but I just didn't want to cater to the kids to the point that I was bringing alot of extra stuff to block out the room light. I had so much other things that I had to bring for them.

 

[scrapquitler]

How do you black out a room for naps?

We love it when we can take mid-day nap breaks. This works out great in some rooms, like Kidani where the shades are awesome, but sometimes it's really hard to manage because the drapes let in so much light at the top and around the edges. It's particularly difficult for our kids, who can't stand wearing night masks.

I've tried stacking pillows up against the edges and piling stuff along the tops of the curtain rods where they sleep, but it never really works well.

Does anyone have a good solution for this? I've thought about bringing duct tape, but I'm afraid it might damage the walls or leave a sticky mess!

How about teaching them to sleep in a room that's not pitch dark? This reminds me of a friend of mine that insisted that her house be dead silent while her kids napped. She wouldn't even watch tv in the living room because the noise might disturb them! It only disturbed them because they weren't used to it! Get the kids used to sleeping in a normal room without pitch dark and you won't have to worry about this kind of stuff ever. If the kids are tired enough, they will nap. Mine just napped in the stroller, there was lots of light there.

 

[WMorganS]

This is what we always did.

And I still bring binder clips on every trip because there is usually quite a bit of light even at night. It doesn't bother my kids but it bugs me.

I may be horrible but I just didn't want to cater to the kids to the point that I was bringing alot of extra stuff to block out the room light. I had so much other things that I had to bring for them.

Yeah, but I'm dealing with broad daylight and getting them to sleep during a short nap break, so I want a real blackout.

Also, since I'm using GardenGrocer.com, which carries aluminum foil, all I will need to bring is a roll of tape.

 

[buzznina]

After reading this, man am I glad that both our DDs had no problem zonking out in the stroller while at the parks
Just wanted to mention that they make a painters tape for delicate surfaces that does not leave any stickyness behind.

 

[bentopher]

There's this neat product....

http://gro.co.uk/gro-anywhere-blind

 

[bumbershoot]

After reading this, man am I glad that both our DDs had no problem zonking out in the stroller while at the parks

Or rather that by the time we ventured beyond Anaheim and went to Orlando, DS was years past napping. Also that I understand that not everyone can nap (I myself only typically napped when in college and when pregnant...my mom said I never even napped as a toddler much to her chagrin) no matter how peaceful it might be. If I'm sleeping in the middle of the day, I'm almost certainly ill.

The one time I insisted on DS taking a nap at Disneyland was enough. Took forever, then I actually fell asleep by accident, and when I woke I was groggier than if I hadn't napped! Big mistake.