Naps past napping age

[dprincessmom]

My kid (now 13) only naps when she is sick or at a theme park. When she was little we called it a "rest" with dim lights, cool AC and quiet reading time. Normally 5 minutes after she lays down she is out. We rope drop, nap/rest, and then back for park close. The rest in the middle of the day allows us to do this.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

It's quiet time. DD5 can choose to nap or not. When we were at WDW, she had a few short cat naps. Spaceship Earth, she passed out in the first five minutes Most of the time she was running on pure adrenaline... Bedtime is MUCH harder!

 

[DocDCT]

A trick I learned from my parents (because it worked like a charm on me): "Okay, you think you don't need to nap. Prove it to me. If you just lie on this bed with your eyes closed for 10 minutes, you can get up and play and we won't complain."

Never made it.

Yes, this tricks works well at any age when you know they are tired, but they don't want to admit it.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm 50 and i go back for a "mid-day break" otherwise known as a nap. And my nephew takes that time to play on his computer. Works for both of us!

 

[Uncranky Donald]

I thought this totally applied to adults when I read the titled I was watching a rendition of the 7 dwarfs with my dearest friend and her 3 children last week . Her middle DD (my spirit animal) 4 years old says "That one is like you Mommy! He falls asleep ALLL the time!!" I started dying, with a 5,4 and 1 year old, yes napping and "resting" is important and obvious to EVERYone!!

 

[eeyoreandtink]

My now 13 year old has been going to Disney since age 5, and has never napped at Disney. Certainly not at 10. No amount of attempted trickery on my part would have changed that, and going back to the resort for an nap is just inconvenient. Our most recent trip is the only one where we have ever done it, and only because I was recovering from the flu and still not 100%. We went back one day early in the trip for a midday rest. DD and DH hit the pool while I slept.

 

[ktlm]

Not gonna happen in my family. We learned when DD was 2, she was a nap in the stroller not a mid-day break kid. Now at age 11, she is an open to close no nap kid and has been since she was 6 or 7. Pretty sure she gets that from us. In fact, last summer we stopped at Disneyland on the way back from Hawaii. Because of a tropical storm we wound up having to leave Hawaii a day and a half early on an 11:15 p.m. flight and wound up with 2 extra DLR days (we had 3 planned). We got to LAX at 7:30 in the morning after an overnight flight where we maybe slept 3 hours. Drove to DLR, checked in to the Fairfield Inn (DLH was full so we couldn't get our extra night there); waited about 30 minutes for them to clean a room (which they were great and tried to get one for us fast because they knew we were exhausted); and then my plan was to sleep a while before hitting the park. DD had other ideas, she laid down for about 20 minutes then came over and started begging DH and I to get up and take her to the park. We finally just gave in and went as clearly there was not going to be any sleeping- and I think she made it until 9 or 10 that night before she was ready to go back to the hotel and go to bed!

 

[BLAZEY]

When DD8 was younger she would nap in her stroller. She is a deep sleeper and we could walk for a couple of hours, get a snack, take turns doing single rider lines, watch a parade or show. This trip she napped the day we arrived. We took a red eye flight, after picking her up from school a bit early and she slept on the plane. Killed a couple of hours at Disney Springs while waiting for our room. Got our room had a nap for a couple of hours and hit the parks. (I added a couple of days to our passes while at disney springs!) I am lucky my kid is a sleeper, usually doesn't fight it and can do it almost anywhere!
She would rather sleep on a plane taking a red eye than catch an early flight the next morning! I'm perfectly fine with this!

 

[kreckl]

My son stopped napping at 14 months. We had to adjust. Never a car sleeper, certainly not a Disney napper. We just scheduled to enjoy our day, some early mornings, some early nights, down time....It actually makes for a great vacation for all of us.

 

[Nancyg56]

On vacation we take breaks. I never cared if DGD napped or not, but she had to rest, but to be honest, after my DH took her swimming and my DD gave her a warm bath, she would fall asleep.

 

[MrsSLF]

My DD otherwise hates naps EXCEPT when at WDW because she is exhausted and stimulated from all of the fun. We go back in the middle of the day to the hotel and relax. We might go to the pool or simply nap and get ready for the second part of the day. I'm excited to take her in June and stay up late to visit the parks as late as we can.

 

[Sagginit]

I first went when I was 12 and then 13 the next year with my father and brother who was 14 and 15 on those trips. We went in the summer and would do pool in the afternoon and then nap. I am a napper by nature but on vacations with the early mornings and heat I nap well lol. Even on days I can't sleep its always nice to just lay down in a cool room so I suggest you present it as family rest time if you have nap resistors.

 

[gatormom2tots]

At Disney the family rule is everybody naps on park days- seriously! We usually stay DVC or off site condo so everybody gets afternoon naps in one of several rooms. The older ones are allowed to have their tvs on but usually fall asleep as well.

Husband and I never pass up the opportunity!

 

[Julylady]

We often return to the resorts to "rest." We close the drapes and turn the AC up full blast so that we all snuggle down. No talking. No books or electronics allowed. You must shut your eyes to rest them for at least 30 minutes. 9 times out of 10 everyone sleeps. And we NEVER nap at home. Kids know that after break time is over (we only let them sleep about 45 minutes), they can choose between swimming or returning to theme park.

 

[Travelstovegas]

We're going late Nov/early Dec this year. My DD will be newly 6 then and my DS will have just turned 4. My DD hasn't napped at home for almost 2 years, and my son isn't a regular napper at home either, but will sometimes. However, they both will fall asleep in the car if they've had busy days. So, I'm planning on renting a double stroller and anticipating that they might each nap while we walk around or take a break during our park time. We've gone to theme parks in the past over a weekend and they have both lasted from morning til close, so I'm not planning to take a mid-day break every day but am willing to consider it if they seem like they need it. My husband has the super power of being able to fall asleep within 5 minutes, any time of day, so he'll be happy to nap if we do break. I couldn't even nap well during pregnancy, despite wishing I could. I have never been able to easily fall asleep during typical awake times. So I guess we'll see how it goes!