Trying to End Naptime Issues

[LuvBaloo]

We never did the go back to the hotel for a nap thing. We tried going back for a rest once before changing and going back to MNSSHP, and it was a disaster. When they are tired the kids will fall asleep quickly on the bus. Then by the time we get back to the hotel, they've just had a quick snooze, and don't want a nap. In the hotel room, they'd just lie there asking when they can get up. And I've never understood going back to play in the pool for a rest, as playing in the pool was just as tiring as being at the parks (definitely cooler though)
But we also never made it for rope drop. We'd usally get to the parks around 1/2hour after opening. They would have fall asleep in the stroller if they were tired enough, or fall asleep waiting for Fantasmic or other situations.

If you can try shortening their naps now, and getting them to bed earlier, then in WDW, they might be okay without the nap.

 

[mitsybella]

I recommend the stroller idea, take either single or double stroller, if they get tired and want a nap you can stay in the park, let them nap and at least one parent can still go on a ride (maybe the ones they are too short for), try to make their naps shorter, but let them nap other wise you won't be able to stay late and see the fireworks, my two are usually night owls at home the fight going to sleep but at Disney they were ready at 8-9pm to go to sleep, I will be pushing the naps this year and they will be 3(almost 4) and 5, I want to see more than 1 firework display this year!!!

 

[badblackpug]

That is why we never did the afternoon break thing. They always fell asleep on the way back to the room and then weren't tired and wanted to swim when we got there. It was a waste of time. We just stay in the parks and leave when we are tired. ...and my baby was 8 months on our last trip, so sleeping in the stroller was to be expected. With the bigger kids, from about 3 on, they were soooo excited that they ran full tilt at the parks all day, and then conked out for the night when we got back to the room. That is another reason I don't use a stroller. I want them good and tired when we get home so they sleep. No sense them being rested and me exhausted from pushing them around all day.

 

[AirGoofy]

We went back for naps in the afternoon with my two DDs when they were younger. I originally hated the idea, but I felt better after a short nap myself. Also, decide what they and you enjoy more. If it is the fireworks, then let them nap in afternoon and keep them up for that fireworks. If it is too loud, then plan to leave earlier. Also, the heat in the middle of the day really zapped my children. Now, they are both in school and no longer nap, we try to take them places to nap (Carousel of Progress). I think Epcot has a 15 min movie in France that my children enjoy sleeping through as well.

 

[mommalissa]

And why are you making them so tired they run a fever and vomit? Sheesh, woman, just let them sleep.


QUOTE]

I believe that at four, their schedule should be flexible enough for us go and do things. When they were babies, they were on a very strict schedule. I made sure they never missed a nap. At about two, I started working with them on becoming more flexible. At this point, if we are out at the zoo, shopping, visiting family, I don't think we should have to stop what we are doing to hurry home for a nap. We are just now really starting to get out and do things without having a lot of help. I want the three of them to be able to go and do and enjoy things that other kids do. They don't get sick everytime they miss nap. I have no way of knowing what is going to cause them to get over tired. Is it because I let them walk to much? Should we have skipped a family outing? I am not going to restrict what we do because every fifth, sixth time someone gets over tired and sick.

 

[deva]

Some kids need more sleep, some need less. It sounds like yours need more. Kids outgrow napping at their own pace. Forcing them to give up sleep will, at some point, lead to crankiness (and in your case, physical illness). They have plenty of other waking moments to enjoy kid stuff. Let them get their needed rest.

At the parks they will surely be exhausted. Even if they have given up naps at home a day in the parks will zap their energy. IMO there is nothing worse than watching parents drag/push/pull cranky kids around or trying to get them to enjoy dinner in the parks after a long day.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

And why are you making them so tired they run a fever and vomit? Sheesh, woman, just let them sleep.


QUOTE]

I believe that at four, their schedule should be flexible enough for us go and do things. When they were babies, they were on a very strict schedule. I made sure they never missed a nap. At about two, I started working with them on becoming more flexible. At this point, if we are out at the zoo, shopping, visiting family, I don't think we should have to stop what we are doing to hurry home for a nap. We are just now really starting to get out and do things without having a lot of help. I want the three of them to be able to go and do and enjoy things that other kids do. They don't get sick everytime they miss nap. I have no way of knowing what is going to cause them to get over tired. Is it because I let them walk to much? Should we have skipped a family outing? I am not going to restrict what we do because every fifth, sixth time someone gets over tired and sick.

Without turning this into a mommy war, I would suggest that you need to be more flexible in your requirements instead of forcing the kids to be more flexible with their schedules.

Your statement "I have no way of knowing what is going to cause them to get overtired" does not make sense to me. How about, "Not Enough Rest". Kids give lots of signs when they start to get tired before it turns into fevers and vomiting.

Some kids need more sleep, some need less. It sounds like yours need more. Kids outgrow napping at their own pace. Forcing them to give up sleep will, at some point, lead to crankiness (and in your case, physical illness). They have plenty of other waking moments to enjoy kid stuff. Let them get their needed rest.

At the parks they will surely be exhausted. Even if they have given up naps at home a day in the parks will zap their energy. IMO there is nothing worse than watching parents drag/push/pull cranky kids around or trying to get them to enjoy dinner in the parks after a long day.

yeah, in all our trips (49), I will never understand why people don't pay more attention to their kids needs when they're in the park. It's like, dammit, we're in the happiest place on earth, we are going to have fun even if junior is sunburnt and exhausted and has been in the stroller for 15 hours straight.

Ya just gotta chill with kids, go at their pace, and be prepared to toss the itinerary if it doesn't work. We had lots of "Plan B" vacations where my original plan just got blown out of the water because of the kids.

Soon enough, they'll be tweeners and you'll be wondering where the little kid went .

 

[mommalissa]

For those of you who have answered in a non-judgemental way, I appreciate the thoughts you have shared with me. I am thinking about what is the best way to handle this situation.

I never thought that asking for advice on how to end naptimes would have turned into this. I know I am not the first person who has had kids that took naps and they needed to end - for whatever the reason whether school, vacation or something else. From my previous postings on other topics, I thought this would be a chance to learn from experienced parents and to get some truly positive feedback - whether it be the answer I wanted or not. I did not expect to be made to feel like I am not in tune with my kids or their needs. I pay attention to my children, I try to make sure all their needs are met, and for the most part we work around them not them around us. The last time one of them was sick from lack of sleep, we were out having a great time, he was fine and enjoying the activity, then he went from playing hard to I am tired and need a nap, so he went down from a nap. He slept for about 2 hrs got up, laid around, got sick, and then down for the night. He was still sleepy the next day so we cancelled our plans.

If they say they are tired we take care of them. It is when we are out several days and they just get run down. One day they are fine - no complaints, asking to go - and the next they are too tired and sick. THe next week we could do the same things and not have any problems.


If anyone has anything helpful to add to suggestions that have already been made, please PM me.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

For those of you who have answered in a non-judgemental way, I appreciate the thoughts you have shared with me. I am thinking about what is the best way to handle this situation.

I never thought that asking for advice on how to end naptimes would have turned into this. I know I am not the first person who has had kids that took naps and they needed to end - for whatever the reason whether school, vacation or something else. From my previous postings on other topics, I thought this would be a chance to learn from experienced parents and to get some truly positive feedback - whether it be the answer I wanted or not. I did not expect to be made to feel like I am not in tune with my kids or their needs. I pay attention to my children, I try to make sure all their needs are met, and for the most part we work around them not them around us. The last time one of them was sick from lack of sleep, we were out having a great time, he was fine and enjoying the activity, then he went from playing hard to I am tired and need a nap, so he went down from a nap. He slept for about 2 hrs got up, laid around, got sick, and then down for the night. He was still sleepy the next day so we cancelled our plans.
If they say they are tired we take care of them. It is when we are out several days and they just get run down. One day they are fine - no complaints, asking to go - and the next they are too tired and sick. THe next week we could do the same things and not have any problems.


If anyone has anything helpful to add to suggestions that have already been made, please PM me.

This is a different story than the one you first presented. It sounds like he came down with a cold and wasn't feeling well for several days, which is different than "they get so tired they run fevers and vomit".

Anyway, sounds like you have everything well in hand. Enjoy your next trip to Disney, I'm sure you'll do fine.

 

[snoopy5386]

I would just plan for a nap break every other day or every 2 days. Will they nap in a stroller?

 

[badblackpug]

I'm sorry about the judgements, OP. Unfortunately, it does happen. My kids didn't nap really after the age of 3. But with the afternoon breaks and touring schedules, some folks on the DIS have an opinion they just won't veer from. We have never been commando tourists. We have never been to rope drop. We have never taken afternoon breaks. This goes against many folks ideas of how you "should" tour the parks, but it works for us. I let 3 and unders use the stroller, and let them nap as needed. Everyone else walks, and goes the whole day. Yes, there is whining as we leave the parks that they don't feel like walking any more, and they conk out on the bus, but they go right to sleep when we get home, and they sleep all night! Again we aren't going at a crazy pace, we let the children set the pace, and we always take time to "smell the flowers." We always have a sit down dinner, so that is refreshing. I understand you need to get your kids on a more "normal" schedule, not just for WDW, but for school and everything else. Good luck!

 

[micheleq]

To OP -- sorry about your MIL's breast cancer. I think it's great that you are taking a trip with her to WDW and I understand how she wants to be with her grandkids.

My DD4 stopped napping around age 2, and now my DD2 is phasing out naps. She's up by 7-7:30 am and on days she does not nap I put her to bed 7-7:15pm (if she naps, she goes to bed by 8pm). If she's really cranky, it's lights out by 6:30-45! She sleeps thru the night, but needs to get to bed early.

If you start to shorten their naps now, and put them to bed a little earlier each night, by the time school starts and it's time for your trip, you should have them in a good place.

Good luck! Naps are always a challenge! I had started a thread about naps a few months ago and got some good feedback if you want to search my profile.

 

[disfan07]

my cousin is 2 1/2 and began giving up naps when she was 21 months old!! Her mom is 38 weeks pregnant with her second and a fiesty 2 yr old who wont nap and a ballooned up mom dont go together very well

The kids i babysit for, the 4 1/2 yr old still naps occassionaly. She doesnt need a nap everyday but she needs "down" time still...she gets teenage atitude when she gets cranky...when she does take naps, she sleeps for a good 2 hours at least. she is still inpreschool this coming up year so naps will still take place when needed when she gets home at 1.....her mom has already said that during kindergarten, since shes only going half day kindergarten she can still get a nap in the afternoon if needed. She sleeps for 11 hours (7:30-6:30) right now at night. When we go to disney next year, we expect both her and her 3 yr old brother to need at least 9 hours/night plus a nap...heck, im 20 and last yr my friend and i slept for 7 hours/night and went back for 2 hour naps...in real life i function for like 17 hours on 6 or 7 hours of sleep


I work with 3 year olds. We have one kid who if she did not nap she would get nasty to the point wher she woul dtry and bite people.
We had another 3 yr old who would fall asleep rgth away at 1:30 and we would get her off her cot at about 3:30 and she would finally actually wake up between 3:45 and 4:00....she wasnt mean or anything wihtout a nap she was just really really tired.

I say defintiely try to shorten the naps littel by little. dont take them away all at once. That will be a recipe for disaster. At disney though, your kids will probably need as much if not more sleep than they do at home. So if you're going to skip naps during the trip, dont be surprised if they sleep longer at night adn wake up later i in the morning

 

[missmun52]

Shorten the naps little by little and put then to bed earlier each night. At Disney I would have a stroller and let them nap in that though. If they are going into pre-k or K then they will be taking naps in school.

I think you may set your self up for a bad day if you expect them to go from rope drop to closing without a nap. I cant even do that in all honesty. I get cranky and tired, so does my hubby, when we start getting like that we know its time to go to the hotel for down time which can mean watching TV on the bed, going for a swim and/or taking a nap.

 

[floridascgirl]

We have a similar problem, just shifted to a different part of the day. Our son is 11 1/2 and still needs to go to bed by about 9:00 PM. It wasn't until this year that we could make it this late. His bedtime before that was 8:00. If he doesn't get his sleep, he is a basket case the next day...lots of tears, no stamina, etc... If it happens a couple of nights in a row, he inevitably gets sick.

This early bedtime had advantages, but also makes it difficult to go out with company, sleepovers, and especially having fun in Disney. We have never really been able to take advantage of evening EMH, and all the fun nightime stuff. I'm hoping to be able to push it to at least 10ish each night during our upcoming trip in December.

PS. He didn't give up his afternoon naps until 1st grade either!!!

 

[Nicolepa]

Thanks for the idea of shortening nap time. That's something we can start working on tomorrow.

To answer some questions: They go to bed at 8:30 and are up around 6:45-7:15. Even when we skip naps several days in a row, they are still usually up by 7:30.

I would like to end naps before we go to Disney so I don't feel like we are wasting time or money. We are staying off property so I am guessing it will kill almost an hour to get the kids out of the park, loaded, back to the resort and down for a nap. By the time they nap for 2-3 hrs. and we have to do the process back to the park it wouldn't be worth going back. I have always said that I didn't want to take them when they were this little but this is a trip my mother-in-law planned. She wants to take all of the grandkids before it is too late. She had breast cancer earlier this year and her kind has an 80% reoccurrance rate and she wants to go when she knows she will be able to enjoy it.

I had also thought that they might be able to catnap during some of the shows or on Carousel of Progress.

We were planning on having a full day in a park then the next day would be a slower day so they had a chance to recoup.

Also, I need them to get past naptime before they start school. I cannot have one of them sick every few days during the school year.

You say they still get up at the same time but have you put them to bed earlier? Their internal clocks tell them to get up at whatever time. That is very hard (if even possible) to change. What you can change is their bedtime. They obviously need that much sleep or they wouldn't be napping every day. If you insist on getting rid of their nap you must put them to bed earlier. My 7yo son gets up between 6-7 no matter what time he goes to bed.

I also don't understand why they have to give up naps once they go to school. Sure they can't do 3 hour nap but an hour after school might be needed. My oldest napped until she was almost 6. Not every day but a lot of days. She would get home from preschool or Kindergarten at 3 and I would give her a snack and let her watch a movie. She would usually fall asleep. When the movie was over I woke her up.

 

[princessmom29]

You say they still get up at the same time but have you put them to bed earlier? Their internal clocks tell them to get up at whatever time. That is very hard (if even possible) to change. What you can change is their bedtime. They obviously need that much sleep or they wouldn't be napping every day. If you insist on getting rid of their nap you must put them to bed earlier. My 7yo son gets up between 6-7 no matter what time he goes to bed.

I also don't understand why they have to give up naps once they go to school. Sure they can't do 3 hour nap but an hour after school might be needed. My oldest napped until she was almost 6. Not every day but a lot of days. She would get home from preschool or Kindergarten at 3 and I would give her a snack and let her watch a movie. She would usually fall asleep. When the movie was over I woke her up.

I would also suggest going to bed earlier and see how that does. I know that for us there is no way a nap after school will happen just due to scheduling. DD will go to aftercare until I get off, and will not get the opportunity for a nap, and when we get home it is homework, dinner, bath, bed. That is on the days we don't have dance or cheer. She is 5 and we phased out naps over the summer o get ready for K. I just put her to bed about 15 min earlier and shorted the nap for 15 min.I added 15 min every week untill we were not napping at all.