Ma Maven | The Mom Without A Manual

Why won’t my toddlers take a nap?

It’s like I have to fight to put them down while they’re fighting their own exhaustion. Whereas I, an adult, would love the opportunity for somebody to tell me, “Put everything down. You look like you’ve had a hectic morning. Go take a nap as long as you need. I won’t bother you.”. For my kids, on the other hand, the sound of me telling them, “ It’s nap time!” in a sing-song fashion, is met with instant groans and forceful pushback. Who knew that toddlers where so strong?!

WHAT DO THEY REALLY NEED?

I’m beginning to gain a better understanding of what their needs are. That includes what I need to do in order for my toddlers to sleep better. So I’m not doing double the work, before I even start to utter the words ‘nap time’ to them, I realize my toddlers need more physical play.

MORE PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

I think I’ve made up a few games since my oldest had become more mobile where the objective was to get him moving. I of course have continued on the tradition with the youngest two seeing much success. These games do not take too much planning or brainpower since my little ones like simple things. I’ve incorporated some old and some traditional activities that had been a surefire way to get my munchkins rubbing their eyes just before lunch.

Quick disclaimer, I can’t quite say I’m the originator of the activities I am about to mention only because there is nothing new under the sun. However, for the purposes of this blog, I will attempt to name them and provide an adequate description.

Search and Find
Color Toss
Bubble Blast

These three games are low effort for a tired mom who barely gets a decent night’s sleep. It’s me, I’m the tired mom. Let me explain how the games work.

1.) SEARCH AND FIND

Does anyone remember the extensive search and find books you could get from the school library? If so, the rules of the game are similar yet more 3 dimensional and simple. I would take two or three toys, place them in obvious spots around my home, and tell them to get them for me by calling out what I am searching for. If there is one thing I learned since becoming a mom is that your kids watch where you put things. That being said this activity is easy to tailor to each of my children’s heights and understanding. I found my oldest enjoying this game when I wanted to teach him the alphabet. He would run all around the house collecting post-it notes, each one labeled with an upper or lower case letter of the alphabet.

2.) COLOR TOSS

No matter your child/or children’s level of color recognition this is still a fun and simple game to play. I take five or so play yard balls that vary in color and toss it into their cribs while I shout out the colors. For some odd reason, my children find it fun to grab the color I’ve called out as fast as they can and toss it back into the designated bin. This can be done with their toys, plastic eggs, and even laundry. Yes, I make it work to my advantage. We get the laundry sorted and the children get nice and tired after color coordinating a load.

3.) BUBBLE BLAST

Bubble blast is by far one of my most favorable indoor games to play that will tire out my toddlers. A quick store run or Amazon order for a jumbo bottle of bubbles is usually no biggie. Whether I use the provided wand that comes in the bottle or get fancy with a bubble-blowing machine, watching their faces light up with joy as they jump and spin to pop the floating balls of the solution gets them excited and tired. Of course, I try to make it educational and count as many as I can while they are making their attempts.

AND IF ALL ELSE FAILS…

Find your exits. If all my go-to tricks of the trade are played out, meaning the kids just aren’t feeling it and are still bouncing off the walls like Thing One and Thing Two from Cat In The Hat, I gear up to head out. Shoes on, snack bag loaded with no other destination in mind than making it back to our beds.

The idea involves ditching the stroller and going for a short walk around the block. My expectation is that I will be doing some heavy lifting on the way home seeing as though my toddler’s legs are always too tired to make the journey back, even if it’s less than a quarter of a mile.

Now that the children outnumber my husband and I, 3:2, I bring the push car buggy and my trusted baby carrier along. After a family walk up the block and back, we are usually ready for a mid-day bath and nap. Granted walking with a 23 pound toddler in a carrier will wear me out as well, it is worth the trip.

Am I the only one who has gotten creative when it comes to getting their toddlers to nap? I would love to hear activities that have worked for your family!