Search Results for: blog mourning the loss of napping

Working-Napping

Being a parent is hard work. While I imagine it never really gets easier (but only changes as children grow up) there are certain blessings to be found in the present if we look hard enough. I’m not saying I don’t like being a father (I love it!) and I’m not saying that our son is an annoying pest (he isn’t) but I am saying that sometimes you just feel overwhelmed. I never realized how much work I should have been doing with all of the time I had until our son showed me how long it took to read … Continue reading →

Napping and Memory

I’m a big fan of naps. Back in my radio days, I often kept a weird schedule — up at four in the morning and at work by five-thirty. I’d be done for the day around two in the afternoon… and would often take an afternoon nap to recharge. Even now that I’m keeping a more normal schedule, I often find myself wanting a nap around two in the afternoon. I enjoy curling up with the dogs and taking an afternoon snooze. I don’t necessarily need to do it, but it’s good to relax a bit and wake up with … Continue reading →

Mourning the Loss of Napping

I have heard more than a few times that naps are a parent’s saving grace! If it wasn’t for nap time, many parents of young ones would truly lose their minds. I think that is why it can be so disconcerting when a child either gives up naps, or turns out to be the sort of person who requires less sleep. We worry for the health of the child and we also wonder what we are going to do as parents without that nice nap time break! I know that in my own parenting, it came as quite a shock … Continue reading →

Are Short Naps Better Than No Naps?

When many of us think of naps for our child or children, we think of a nice long 2 hour rest in the middle of the day. Of course, not all children comply with a parent’s fantasy of what nap time ought to look like. Some children are great nappers and they lover their 2-3 hour respite as much as mom or dad does. Other children, however, are content with a little cat nap or even give up their naps all together. For those parents who have cat nappers, I wanted to dig into the question: “Are short naps better … Continue reading →

How Long Should a Good Nap Be?

I have mentioned before that concerns over whether or not a child is getting enough sleep start early for most parents. We start by fussing over how to get them to sleep through the night and how to balance out all the sleep needs and schedules in a family. Soon, we are trying to come up with a good, working bedtime routine and as our children grow and their sleep patterns change and shift, we have to adjust to these as well. One of the questions that comes up concerns napping–not only how old a child should be when he … Continue reading →

How Much Can You Really Shape Sleep Habits?

Periodically, I try to write about the trials and tribulations of the family sleep “issues” because this seems to be one of the topics that comes up most often in conversations among parents—especially newer parents of young children. Napping, how many hours of sleep a child needs, the exact arrangement of those hours, where the child sleeps, etc. are all big concerns for many parents. Now that my three are nearly grown and I look back, though, I wonder just how much of an impact or how much control I have actually had in shaping their sleep habits… I do … Continue reading →