I am trying to establish an afternoon "quiet time" for my ds. He has not napped in a long time, but I still want him to have some down time in the afternoon. (Not to mention that I wouldn't mind a nap once in awhile lately!) I just wondered if any of you have done this, and how you have successfully implemented it.

I am putting ds in the guest room since dd naps in their bedroom. He has books, usually a magnet game or a puzzle for something to do. How long do you think is reasonable for quiet time? Is an hour too long? Should I start with a short amount of time and build up? I am constantly sending him back into the room because he comes out and says "Mommy, I am done with quiet time."

I know this is a transition/teaching time for him - I don't expect perfection by any stretch of the imagination. I just wondered what anyone's thoughts on the subject were....TIA!

Hi Kim,

I have always just implemented that we all take quiet time in the afternoon regardless if we nap or not. DD is five and she stopped taking naps two years ago. She has a room full of toys that she has access to. I ask that she stay in her room for two hours or until DS wakes up. However if he sleeps longer, she can come out and be with me.

Since you are just starting with your DS, I would begin with maybe 15 minutes and work your way up to two hours a day. I would make sure he has several things to play with as their attention span is short while they are little. It may be hard at first for him to stay by himself for a while but just keep sending back to the "quiet room" and he will understand that you expect him to stay until time is up. You might also set a timer for him so he knows when to come out on his own. :)

You have basically said what I was thinking...you know how sometimes you just need someone else to confirm that you are not crazy/unreasonable! A timer is a good idea that I had not thought of though. Thanks!

My ds is 3 and 1/2, and surprisingly, he still naps for 2 and 1/2 or 3 hours each day. Crazy, I know! However, I have several friends who have children that quit napping around age 2 or 3, and they just implemented a "rest time" which usually involves staying in their room for about 1 hour each day. They can read books or put puzzles together, etc. but they must stay in their room and play quietly. One friend even put a digital clock in her son's room and showed him what numbers must be on the display before he can come out. So, he just keeps an eye on the clock and doesn't come out before the correct time. She said he feels like such a "big boy" getting to have his own clock.

I totally hear you about the whole, "sometimes I just need a nap" thing!! There are days when I think I would just collapse in the middle of the floor if I didn't get some sort of break in the middle of the day.

Encouraging them to play in their room is also great for them to learn creative/imaginative play because it forces them to be alone with their thoughts and let their imagination run wild. I can remember playing alone for hours as a child, and I never ran out of things to pretend. Children are so good at that kind of thing.

You may also want to quietly play a "scripture-set-to-music" CD (assuming he has a CD player in his room) because then he would be learning Bible verses while playing...especially if he heard them day after day. I play one of those types of CD's while we're riding in the car, and I was amazed the other day when my ds who, as I said, is 3 and 1/2 quoted, "Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is, your heart will be also." Needless to say, I was floored!!!! He didn't miss a single word of it. So then I said, do you know this verse....I proceeded to say the word, "Love", and he jumped in and said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, Love your neighbor as yourself." Again, he quoted the entire verse not missing a single word. He learned every single bit of those from listening to that CD!! That's just an idea about playing that kind of CD for your ds while he is resting or quietly playing. You may already do that now, but all I can say is that I was shocked by how much my ds retained from just listening to the scripture being sung to music.

I hope that you have much success in whatever you decide to try!!

One friend even put a digital clock in her son's room and showed him what numbers must be on the display before he can come out. So, he just keeps an eye on the clock and doesn't come out before the correct time. She said he feels like such a "big boy" getting to have his own clock.

We do this! When DD was little, we used the timer. Then she had a wall clock. I cut a piece of black electrical tape in the shape of an arrow and placed it next to the number of the hour in which she could come out. It helped her to learn to tell time because she had to remember the big hand needed to be on the 12 and the little hand would be pointing to the arrow. Make sense? Now that clock has stopped working so we use a digital clock. I just stuck a post-it note to it with the correct time that she can leave her room. It works for us! :)

You may also want to quietly play a "scripture-set-to-music" CD (assuming he has a CD player in his room) because then he would be learning Bible verses while playing...especially if he heard them day after day. I play one of those types of CD's while we're riding in the car, and I was amazed the other day when my ds who, as I said, is 3 and 1/2 quoted, "Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is, your heart will be also." Needless to say, I was floored!!!! He didn't miss a single word of it. So then I said, do you know this verse....I proceeded to say the word, "Love", and he jumped in and said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, Love your neighbor as yourself." Again, he quoted the entire verse not missing a single word. He learned every single bit of those from listening to that CD!!

I love this idea!! [clapping] Where can I buy one??

The best ones I have found so far (our church gave these out to everyone) are the Seeds cds.

http://www.seedsmusic.com/

I have Purpose and also Faith. They are both great to listen to...very uplifting, and my 3 and 1/2 year old loves them too.

You can listen to samples of the songs on the website above.

I hope you like them. [dance]

The best ones I have found so far (our church gave these out to everyone) are the Seeds cds.

http://www.seedsmusic.com/

I have Purpose and also Faith. They are both great to listen to...very uplifting, and my 3 and 1/2 year old loves them too.

You can listen to samples of the songs on the website above.

I hope you like them. [dance]

Thanks! I'm going to check these out! :)

Those scripture CDs sound like a great idea! I will probably check them out too!

I am going to have to sort out what ds can have to play with during quiet time since he is not in his room. (Not that it would really matter, since at this point in their lives, they don't get toys in their room other than their fav stuffies and a few books.) I like the idea of teaching telling time. We might use both strategies mentioned as dh is insistent that we teach analog first.

I use our quiet time for me to work in the yard. DS is 4 and he knows that he is not to come out of his room until I come to get him. I also take the monitor with me incase there is an issue. I just make sure he has gone potty. Depending on what I am doing, I will tell him. Like yesterday, my DH had to go out of town and take care of estate stuff of his father's so I wanted to help work in the yard. I was spraying round up in the front yard. I told DS that and that no matter what he was not to come outside and was not to let the dogs out that they could get hurt.

He does pretty well when I tell him it is quiet time. Sometimes he will go to sleep, but mostly he plays in his room and has his books.

I've started using the timer and that is working well for us. He still tries to sneak out a bit, but not nearly as much as before. I've been using quiet time either to rest, have some computer time (like today) or make phone calls and such.

WOW! FINALLY scripture music that's actually good quality! Thanks for sharing Seeds Music... definately will be ordering some of that!

My daughter hasn't been napping since the day she turned two... I was definately grieving about that for a while... especially since my son was 3 months old at the time and I just wanted a nice break.
Since the day she dropped her nap, I've still made sure she has quiet time. I do the exact same routine as when I put her down for a nap... put her in bed, give her her soother and shirt (her blankie but it's one of my shirts... I know strange but long story) and turn on her noisemaker and shut off the lights. Some times she sleeps, most times she gets out of bed and plays... at first she would get out of bed and come out of her room which was pretty dangerous. I once was in the kitchen with the dishwasher on and there was a break in the cycle and I heard her yelling help for me... and I got up there and this huge picture frame had fallen on her foot. She still has a black toe because of it....

After that incident, I put a gate up in her doorway to prevent her from coming out without us knowing... It works well for the mornings and the middle of the night too!

So ya, the gate thing... it's great!

Laura

After that incident, I put a gate up in her doorway to prevent her from coming out without us knowing... It works well for the mornings and the middle of the night too!

So ya, the gate thing... it's great!

Laura

In the last place we lived, we used a gate in the kids doorway for that very reason. The apt we lived in was really NOT kid friendly and there just wasn't anything we could do to completely eliminate the hazards. But at our new house, things are much better (and of course, ds is older). The open concept we have means I can hear him just about anywhere. And if I need to go to the garage or basement then I take the monitor with me.

I've started using the timer and that is working well for us. He still tries to sneak out a bit, but not nearly as much as before. I've been using quiet time either to rest, have some computer time (like today) or make phone calls and such.

Glad to hear that your quiet time routine is working out well, Kim! :)

I thinking of ordering the smaller Seeds CD to try it out...or should I just order one of the full-length CDs? It's really great, right? :)

mamatotwo777 - you could definitely just start out with one of the smaller cd's....Faith is a great one! It was the first one that I got, and I loved it!

The song, New Creation, on that cd is one of my favorites. :smile: