Parenting
Parenting is a journey that comes without a guidebook. When I try to explain the chaos of raising kids to those without any, I liken it to being a scientist. Each child, at their various developmental stages, presents a new hypothesis that you must test and either validate or refute. Every day, you don your lab coat (which, let’s be honest, is just a pair of yoga pants), fire up your Bunsen burners (thank you, microwave), and mix your beakers (bottles of formula) while diligently jotting down your observations (those post-its are practically a novel on my fridge).
Dropping my three-year-old’s afternoon nap this summer has proven to be a colossal miscalculation. It’s a hypothesis that has been thoroughly debunked by his late-day mood swings. I fully accept the blame for this; I thought he was ready.
But here’s the catch: kids are not like scientific data that you can mold to your will. You can’t manipulate them the way you can with test results. We can’t “un-ring” that bell, and once he’s glimpsed the world without naps, there’s no turning back.
As summer approached, we decided to enroll both of our older kids in the same day camp. Our nine-year-old adores this camp, so it made sense to send his little brother too. The only hitch? The camp wraps up at 3:45 PM, which is a full 45 minutes after my toddler would typically start his nap.
“No worries,” I said confidently. “He can handle it!”
Oh, how wrong I was. Naps are essential for three-year-olds.
After a month at camp, while he enjoys being a “big boy” and making new friends, he returns home cranky and completely drained. Convincing him to lie down and unwind at four in the afternoon is an exercise in futility. A few times, he has dozed off on the way back, but those instances are rare. When he does nap in the car, he usually wakes up the moment I carry him inside.
In short… I’m in trouble.
The afternoon nap was a blessing for everyone. My toddler would wake up refreshed and ready to unleash his energy on the world, while I relished those two precious hours of peace. I now look back wistfully at that serene time, before I mistakenly thought I could let go of naps, imagining I could reclaim my freedom from 3 to 5 PM.
So, I’m here to share my lesson learned from this parenting misstep. For the love of all that is sacred, if you are lucky enough to have a napping child, hold onto that precious time with all your might. Don’t let go! I can’t stress this enough. No one should endure the agony of a three-year-old clinging to their leg, wailing, “MOMMY! MOMMY! I WANT MOMMMMMY!!!” for 45 minutes while you try to prepare dinner and your partner is stuck in traffic.
This is my public service announcement. Learn from my mistake: Long live the nap!
This article was originally published on April 16, 2013.
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Summary:
In this humorous yet insightful reflection on parenting, Emma Carter shares her experience of mistakenly dropping her toddler’s afternoon nap. Drawing parallels between parenting and scientific experimentation, she emphasizes the importance of naps for both parents and children. After realizing that her child was unprepared for the no-nap life, she urges fellow parents to cherish and protect naptime as a vital part of their daily routine.