Give It A Rest Already! Your Child's Naptime Is Time For YOU.

Provided by: John Dorwart

Oh yes! NAPTIME! You just have to love that little bit of time where the house gets quiet. Toys lay still on the floor. No flashes of children as they blast through the room. There are no demands for drinks or something to eat. No talking or constant questions that need answered. Everything in the house gets peaceful...

Doesn't naptime bring about such wonderful peaceful atmosphere perfect for relaxing?

HECK NO!

As a parent you know that your day can get quite hectic trying to balance everything on your plate. It is stressful enough just trying to keep up with the little critters let alone get anything important done. Naptime is about the only time some parents have to catch up on housework, phone calls, to-do lists, and other whatnots.

But let me ask you something...

How can you perform as a parent day in and day out if you don't give yourself a mental and physical break every once in a while? The thing is you can't because you WILL eventually break down mentally and/or physically if you don't take care of yourself first. This is why naptime is just as important to YOU as it is for your CHILDREN. There needs to be some sort of "me time" during the afternoon where you can take a break and recoup.

If you do find yourself working on the to-do list or just wasting this potential "me time" naptime can provide then why not make slight changes?

Plan Your Day To Get Things Done Early

I am not going to tell you how to plan your day. That is totally up to you. You don't have to plan every minute but you should plan to get the chores and items on your to-do done as early in the day as possible.

One handy way of being able to do this is get as many things done before your children wake up in the morning. Yes this does work but many times, from experience, your own activity in the morning signals "wake up time" for the kids.

Not to worry if this is the case...

All you have to do is plan mind-consuming activities for your children where you can quiet them down just long enough for you to get things done. Depending on your chore load you many need several activities to accomplish this.

Rule of thumb is to get 90% of all to do's for the day done before naptime. If you are having trouble doing that then you are overloading yourself. Try delegating some of that overload to family, friends, or hire someone to help you out. If you are consistently overloading yourself then you need to take a hard look at ways to reduce some of the load. You will typically find that there are MANY things on your to-do list that doesn't HAVE to be done! You only think you do. Only do the absolute necessary and SPRINKLE the discretionary during spots of free time.

Dedicated Naptime

If you don't already have a dedicated naptime for your children you should. It may require some training for a couple of weeks but your child will follow through and it is best to start in the early stages of childhood. Every day you should dedicate a naptime about 1-2 hours. Schedule this naptime not too early and not too late. Mid afternoon works best. Also set a dedicated wake up time. You may find that you over indulge in "me time" and end up with some late night high-energy children.

Dedicated "ME Time" During Naptime

Write down some of the things YOU would LOVE to do with your newfound time. Just generate some ideas so that you don't feel lost and looking for something to do. If you want to do chores, fine. That is up to you if you enjoy it. If you follow your plan to get 90% of your chores done then you shouldn't have anything really to do during this time anyway so take the break! If you want to read a book, meditate, work out, or anything else that is fine also. Just do anything that you enjoy that time and give yourself the kind of break your body needs. If you are physically worn out then do something physically relaxing. You get the idea. Just be flexible. Being flexible reduces stress levels.

NOTE: Be sure that any chores remaining are not stressed over. You made a plan and trust the plan will work. Don't ruin your "me time" with needless worries.

Remember "Me Time" Comes First

Plan your "me time" in right at the beginning of naptime. This way your "me time" will be done first and won't be interrupted by an early wake up. This is a rule you should adopt and stick with it. If you don't you will find that you will short change yourself by doing other things. You have to be sure to get the full amount time you set for yourself. Just make sure your whatever it is you do does not disturb the nap.

The whole point of all of this planning is simply to give yourself a little "me time." This is a reward just for you. You deserve it because you work hard. Besides, your health is vital to the health of the family. If you break down the family breaks down so it is imperative that you stay as healthy as possible. So stay healthy and make naptime your time too.