‘Sno Time Like the Quiet

December 16, 2008 stephhwilliams 3 Comments

I love “quiet time.” In our house, “quiet time” is code for “nap time.” Early on, it seemed our kids responded better to “quiet time” rather than “nap time,” though they almost always ended up napping. It’s just something about telling them that they don’t have to go to sleep as long as they play quietly in their rooms that makes the whole situation better.
Wonder Boy’s quiet time is always a nap and a glorious one at that. I put him in his bed, where he sleeps for between 1 and 2 hours (yippee!). He wakes up happy and ready to play more; and I feel refreshed because I’ve had some quiet time to … do whatever (like blog, for instance).
The Girl and Boy Genius don’t really have quiet time anymore. Being in school all day and then going to bed early (to keep from being cranky in the a.m.) has eliminated the need for the early afternoon quiet time. That’s not to say that they don’t sometimes still need it — when the whining and fighting intensify, that’s usually a sign. For the most part, though, they’ve outgrown quiet time.
But not today. Today is a “snow day,” i.e., no school. That didn’t stop the whole lot from waking up as usual this a.m. So the past 6+ hours have been filled with “I’m bored”s, “Can we have a snack?”s, “There’s nothing to do”s, “I don’t want to play with him/her”s, and on and on and on. Oh yes, the weather outside is frightful, but that’s nothing compared to what’s going down in this 1100 s.f. apt if quiet time fails! Wonder Boy’s gone down for his nap and all through the house not a creature is stirring, for the time being, at least. I wonder how long it will last…

3 People reacted on this

  1. I remember those days – those wonderful days when you could announce “it’s time for quiet time” and they would all go take a nap, read a book, etc. With mine at ages 17 and 20, I don’t think that will fly (although sometimes it is much needed)…..but who knows….Hope you had a fun snow day! You are a good mom!!!

  2. Oh, yes! Naptime is GOLDEN. Sometimes Mommies need a nap, too. Love your blog…will definitely keep it bookmarked.

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