The top nap tips to help your child fall asleep
Firstly, some reassurance that if your child finds napping tricky you aren’t alone and you aren’t doing anything wrong.
So many parents find naps tricky and it’s hard not to take it personally!
Falling asleep for naps is all about sleep pressure as children don’t produce any sleep hormones during the day, and you can’t simply force your Small to fall asleep if they aren’t tired enough. Well, you can but it’s very frustrating for both of you!
Here’s some nap tips you need to know:
There are no nap ‘shoulds’
Shove the shoulds! Shove the expectation they should sleep at the time the wake windows or sleep schedules say they should (this includes my own nap gaps!) These may work for your child, but there’s a good chance that the timings may need tweaking to work for them and their unique sleep needs.
relax around naps
It’s really hard to do this because let’s be honest, it’s hard when they won’t fall asleep when you think they would- but the more pressure we put on the nap the less likely they are to sleep!
Shift your nap mindset
Your role is to offer your Small a nap and give them the opportunity to sleep. But your Small can only fall asleep when they are regulated and ready for a nap. So you aren’t responsible to push or physically put them to sleep.
Have a morning wake-up window for smooth daytime naps
I don’t expect your Small to start their day at exactly the same time every morning, but waking up in roughly the same 30-minute window each day not only helps establish their circadian rhythm it also helps their naps be a bit more consistent
create repetitive nap rituals
This can be as simple as changing their nappy, singing the same song or having a cuddle before trying for a nap in their carrier, pram or cot. But repeating these little rituals every time can really help them recognise it’s sleepy time
Connection before nap separation
Having some quiet time to connect together before trying to attempt a nap could help your Small settle if they find separation tricky. Anything goes but some ideas are reading, singing, puzzles, blowing bubbles or simply just being together for a bit beforehand
Optimise their sleep pressure
If they’re fighting naps or taking a long time to fall asleep (longer than 30 mins) chances are they need more time awake to build their sleep pressure or fill their connection cup before they are ready. My suggestion would be to give them a bit more awake time before trying
put a Time limit on trying for a nap
I’d suggest never spending more than 15/20 minutes maximum trying to settle your child for a nap. If they’re ready for a nap and are regulated chances are they will be asleep within this window. FYI I’ve personally never spent more than 15 minutes settling my Bets to sleep.
If they’re not settled to sleep within this time, take a break and try again in a bit (around 20/30 minutes later).
Avoid the nap trap
I see so many families in practice that are in the nap trap - they are spending all of their day focusing on trying to get their Small to nap. And I totally understand this because there’s this narrative that naps need to be perfect and precise to get a settled night’s sleep. But there’s SO much more to sleep than naps, they are often only part of the puzzle, they don’t need to be perfect and the nap trap can be hugely stressful for both of you.
I really hope these tips ease up the stress around naps for you and they come a bit easier for
your Small!
But if you have any nap questions and want some advice that's totally tailored to you, then my care calls are perfect for you. You can book these here.
Need more support with supporting your child to fall asleep alone?
My bedtime boundaries course talks you through all the steps you need to move away from feeding, rocking or patting to sleep to your child falling asleep alone in their sleep space
And FYI there’s no talk of sleep training or leaving them to cry themselves to sleep.
Explore: e-Courses could help you manage your Small’s sleep
