Often people describe resistance to naps this as their child ‘fighting naps’ but it can be more helpful to consider they just cannot find their way. Here are 5 things to consider.
1. Slow down the transition: you might need to give them more time to prepare for the transition between what they were doing and experiencing to be ready for sleep. Take some more time with the routine that you have in place whether that’s more time for cuddles, a book, a chat, a song or whatever you do. Slow it down. 2. Change the order or what you do for the transition: sometimes it can help to change the order of steps you normally take for their nap routines. This can help shift gears
and emotions sometimes or even add something
new or different.
3. Connect: remember that this time before sleep is a really important time for connection for your little one. Even if they are falling asleep on you, sleep is still a form of separation. Fill up their love tank in the time through their nap routine and focus on that nurture, presence and connection. 4. More time awake: Sometimes the sense they are fighting the nap is actually because your little one just isn’t ready for sleep. Experiment with more time awake. It’s so important that your child has an appropriate level of sleep pressure to be ready for sleep. Undertiredness can be a big roadblock for sleep...in fact there is so much unnecessary fear about overtiredness that I find more parents are struggling to get kids to sleep before they are ready.
5. Dysregulation: there is this common misconception that too much sleep pressure or overtiredness causes this resistance and problem. It’s actually not the high sleep pressure that’s the blocker to sleep. High sleep pressure = sleep. So what’s going on? Some little ones gets cranky or agitated or dysregulated from being tired and THAT is the roadblock. This creates a stress response which gets in the way, not the fatigue. So if that’s your child, then pull back the timing but remember dysregulation can be caused by many things so focus on calm for sleep. Always love, Annie x