Today I want to talk a little bit about playing in the crib. If you are a veteran of the Sleep Sense program, this might sound like something you’ve experienced. If you’re not, this might sound like the craziest thing ever. If youíve got a child who’s not sleeping well, the idea that they might be playing in their crib is probably pretty crazy to you, but it happens. If you’ve got a child who can sleep well, can sleep independently, feel great about their crib, is happy to go there when it’s sleep time, you will find that there will be periods in your child’s life where they’re having a party in that crib all by themselves.
I can remember going through it with all three of my children, specifically, around nap time. I’d put them down for their nap, they’d have a party in there, for an hour or more, before they finally would fall asleep. I get asked that question, What should I do? He’s in there playing and heís supposed to be napping, or he’s supposed to be going to sleep at night. I don’t know what to do? Should I give him trouble for it? Shouldn’t I?
My advice is to definitely not give trouble about it. It’s often a developmental phase that youíre child’s going through. It often happens around the eighteenth to the two-year mark. It has a lot to do with language acquisition. They’re learning so much at such a rapid pace, they need time to process that.
They often do it by babbling or singing or talking, and that’s part of the process of just organizing all this new information. Try not to panic about it. If your child’s in there for an hour, hour and a half, shouting, and singing, and having fun, yes, they didn’t sleep, but it was still a break. You got a break. They got a break. It’s still a rest because there are limited chances of running around and moving in one’s crib. You can just call it nap time. Go in, get your child out, and proceed with your day.
If he doesn’t nap you may need to move bedtime a little earlier to try and compensate for that, but try not to panic. It usually fades out in a week or two, and then they go back to napping well. Same thing with bedtime. It could just be, developmentally, that your child needs some time to play, and talk, and do all this stuff. Give it a week or two and see if it goes away on its own. If it doesn’t, then you may need to look at eliminating the daytime nap.
I find that most toddlers will happily take a nap, but then at bedtime wanted to a have party until 9:00 at night. If that’s happening, into the third, fourth week, it’s time to look at the nap. Otherwise, I want you to just let it go. It boils down to what I say often, is that you can’t force someone to sleep.
You could go in there and scream the house down if you want to, but if he’s not going to sleep, he’s not going to sleep. You just remind yourself that you’re giving him ample opportunity to take a great nap, get to bed on time, sleep a perfect night. You’ve given them all the skills he needs to be an excellent sleeper, and the rest is up to him. If he wants to play for an hour before he passes out, fine. If he wants to play through the whole nap, Oh well, It’s not going to last forever. It’s an important part of their development.
Sleep can be a challenge and we are always here to help with great free training, downloads, and resources. Join my free Slumber Made Simple Facebook Group, I host monthly free training on Newborn Sleep and for children from 4 months through 5 years in my Save Your Sanity Sleep Bootcamp, and share my secrets to sleep in my 7 Tips for Restful Sleep Guide, which you can access here and start changing your sleep today! Also, check out my Instagram where you can get even more tips and tricks for successful sleep!
My name is Courtney Zentz, a Pediatric Sleep Consultant from Philadelphia, PA, Postpartum Doula, Lactation Counselor and founder of Tiny Transitions. As an award-winning sleep consultant, I help exhausted parents teach their infants & toddlers to sleep well every night with gentle, customized solutions and both group and private coaching options, so your family can all be at their best. Based in Philadelphia, I work in-home and virtually to provide the support families around the globe that need to all be at their best. Join me in my Slumber Made Simple Facebook group, where you can ‘meet’ me in my live weekly Q&As, get valuable free content and build a healthy sleeper for life!
