In Defense Of Naps

Mr. Scientist, I’m pretty sure that if they spent one day with my two and ½ year old sans nap, they’d retract their statement almost as quickly as they would run screaming out of my house. 

He needs a nap. If he doesn’t get a nap there are a few things you can count on:

First of all, it means he will fall asleep early.  That sounds great right? More quiet time at the end of the day. Might actually have time to read that book I’ve been staring at for weeks. Maybe I’ll be able to do one of those Pinterest crafts or have some time alone with my husband….

That’s not what happens. It means he’s so tired he doesn’t eat dinner and whines at the table while throwing food. It means I carry him to the bedroom and put him to sleep while my food gets cold. It means he will be fast asleep by 7:00pm. Then, about an hour after I go to bed, he will wake up ready to go. Not the sort of gentle, sleepy waking where I can snuggle him back to sleep. It’s a wide awake and ready to play. Usually it involves sitting up in bed and screaming out something like “DADDY LETS GO RIDE A ROLLER COASTER!”  Then, my husband and I take turns staying up with him for the next three hours (until he’s tired again).

That’s not all that happens when he misses a nap, missing a nap also means that the second part of our day is spent listening to whining that sounds remarkably like fingernails on a chalkboard. He whines because his toy broke when he hurled it across the room. He whines because Nickelodeon has the audacity to show commercials between episodes of Peppa Pig. He whines about everything! 

When he misses a nap, it doesn’t just mean that we are going to have to deal with his over tired behavior, it doesn’t just mean that we will lose our sleep… it also means that I don’t get my break time. I’m sure that to these scientists with their fancy lab coats and days spent discussing important adult things with other scientists …well I’m sure my need for a quiet reprieve from my toddler sounds frivolous and selfish. Let me assure you, it’s totally necessary. If I don’t get at least one hour away from preschool cartoons, picking up plastic dinosaurs, and toddler speak… I might just go insane. 

So, I call bologna on your little study fancy scientist people. I invite you to spend a day at our house and then tell me how naps are totally unnecessary. Oh, and can I suggest a future study? How about next time you study the effects of skipping toddler naps on the stay at home moms. You might be surprised by the results. I’ll gladly volunteer to be a test subject for the control group.

Written by: Sara Parise