I have never liked car-naps. True, I didn’t ever have a colicky baby that we couldn’t get to sleep. Quite the opposite – I had an excellent sleeper. And that excellent sleep needed to occur in the crib, upstairs, so I could get stuff done. Period. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and a place for the car nap, but an unintended one is just the worst. As any parent will tell you, a car nap, somehow, seems to break all laws of time. As the Honest Toddler explains one minute of car sleep = one hour of bed sleep. So annoyingly true!
If any of my little ones fall asleep in the car, no matter if it is a nano-second before I pull into the driveway, they awaken bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as if they have slept for hours. And just like that, there goes mommy’s free time my child’s much needed, beneficial sleep. This phenomenon is common – and while many will manage to make the car nap work for them, others, like myself avoid it at all costs!
Below are a few tips for avoiding and preventing the dreaded car nap:
(click READ MORE below to see the rest of this article)
1. Schedule accordingly. Plan all outings precisely to allow for no car travel time near the child’s nap. My twin girls still take two naps a day, so this gets tricky. I have a very small window of time that I can travel with them in the car without worrying about them falling asleep.
If you MUST venture out close to nap time –
2. Music! We happen to love Laurie Berkner’s music – and after three kids, everyone knows the words. Most of the songs are really fun and upbeat. With mommy singing along, you stand a pretty good chance of keeping those little eyelids open.
3. Sippy Cups. Handing them a sippy cup might buy you a bit of time. I’m not one for snacks in the car for really little ones (I had a very scary mommy moment when my son was little) but for older children, a small bag of puffs or yogurt melts are a good option to have on hand.
If you get desperate, you see heavy eyelids, or there is nothing but quiet from those that are rear-facing…
4. Gadgets! I keep a few of my children’s smaller gadget toys in the diaper bag, ones that they don’t play with often (so they’re ‘new’ and ‘novel’). These work great for reinvigorating a toddler!
5. Distract, Distract, Distract! I have gone as far as using the power window to crack the window open & closed. Open & closed….Clearly best done on warmer days, at low car speeds AND with little ones that are not capable of reaching the window. I’ll take a car nap over pinched fingers! Enlist an older child – my three year old knows he is not allowed to poke, bother or otherwise touch his twin sisters while in the car… but I ask him to play peek-a-boo or something similar. Lately, his favorite strategy is making up strange voices and talking to them as a pirate or something like that. Hey, whatever works.
If you do find yourself with that little one asleep in the car, you can choose to accept it – there will be no nap today. By all means, in this situation ATTEMPT to get the child into the house while sleeping. I assure you, it almost never works…but it never hurts to try. You can also, if possible, go with the car nap. There’s been a few times that I’ve parked in the driveway, killed the engine and let them nap a while with me in the car. Some free time, even if in my car, is better than no time at all.
New Mom Essentials : Being Prepared with Little Remedies
Managing Stress as a Parent
Must-Haves for a Calm & Happy Baby
Water Safety Tips for Kids
Leave a Reply