I have been struggling lately with Davey to try to get him to nap. He will stay in his bed (amazingly) but falls asleep usually only every 3rd or 4th day. I would leave him for at least an hour, but usually by that time he was yelling loud enough that I worried it would wake Charlie, and that was not worth the break from him.
Then I consulted my "sleep bible" (aka Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child - which I would recommend to anyone) and it had two recommendations for a child who is trying to drop his nap prior to his 3rd birthday:
1) Make a poster (all bling'ed out and fun to look at) with these sleep rules:
At bedtime we...
- Stay in bed.
- Close our eyes.
- Stay very quiet.
- Go to sleep.
2) Reward following the sleep rules with a treat.
Yes, the book actually recommends a food reward and cautions that "this method is guaranteed to fail if the treats are insufficiently motivational." I found this method surprising, but I like it! The author explains that social rewards (smiling, hugs, praise) just aren't powerful enough to change a strong-willed two-year-old (describing Davey right there) who is fighting sleep for the pleasure of your company. It's easy and I knew it would work with Davey if anything did.
So far it has worked very well for us (and I actually didn't even make the poster - I planned to, but the treat for falling asleep was working so well that I haven't needed to bother with it yet). Now Davey gets a cookie every afternoon if he falls asleep. He slept 5 days in a row after I began rewarding him.
The second day, he asked for a glass of milk with his cookie (just like Daddy).
He kept repeating, "I dip it, I eat it. I dip it, I eat it...."
Yahoo for cookies & milk!
5 comments:
I'm glad you posted your blog address on facebook! I love reading blogposts from friends although I don't really have a blog (it says I do, but I really haven't updated because there is little time with school and all). Maybe when the kiddos come and my life gets more interesting to read about :-) What a cutie-- i dip it, i eat it.
That kid will do anything for some sugar, won't he? Oh my GOSH I love that boy!
When Lucy went through this later last year into early this year I rewarded her with a Popsicle. I only had to do it for about a month if I remember.
I think I will die the day Ryken stops napping. He still sleeps every day 2-5.
With Alyssa we told her it was quiet time. She could sleep or play with one quiet toy, it didn't matter... but she HAD to stay on her bed. She would generally play for a while and would always end up falling asleep. Only a few times will she end up staying awake the entire time.
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