Everything You Need to Know About Quiet Time For Toddlers

As children get older, every parent will go through the nap time refusal stage. A lot of times it is before parents are ready for nap times to be over! We implement quiet time for our toddlers and have no plan on looking back any time soon!

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What is Quiet Time?

Quiet time is a way to introduce to your toddlers to down time. It can be very beneficial to toddlers who are refusing naps as it will keep them on a routine. Your toddler can also rest during that time. Even if they are not napping, they can sit in bed and read books by themselves quietly. That gives their body some rest time so that they are recharged for an afternoon of fun!

What is the Importance of Quiet Time for Toddlers?

1. Quiet time can give toddlers the chance to rest with no outside distractions. There is no TV, phones, tablets, etc. for kids to play with.
2. It also gives your toddler the chance to choose whether they take a nap or not. Maybe they play in their room for the whole two hours, or maybe they decide to lay down and nap. But it gets to be their choice. And we all know toddlers love to be independent and make their own choices!
3. It allows for independent play time. During the day toddlers can be dependent on playing with their caregivers or siblings for entertainment. When quiet time comes around and your toddler goes to their room alone, they will learn how to play on their own.
4. Fosters imagination. When your child only has a few toys to play with it will allow their imagination to run wild. You’d be surprised the things toddlers can do with only a few toys!

How to Implement Quiet Time for Toddlers?

We had a seamless transition from nap time to quiet time with our oldest child. When she started refusing nap time and getting upset we would tell her, “You do not have to go to sleep if you do not want to. If you’d like to play or read books you can. But it is quiet time, so you do have to stay in your room.”

After a few days of that her attitude towards it completely changed! She would start going in and playing right away. Now she actually sets up her room for quiet time as soon as she wakes up in the morning so it is ready for after lunch time.

We would struggle with our toddler wanting to come out of quiet time early, so we implemented the use of her hatch sound machine. We have it red during quiet time and turn it blue when quiet time is over. She knows she has to stay in her room when it is red and the minute it turns blue she lets us know!

Recommendations for Implementing Quiet Time

1. Have a completely child proof room ready for your kid to play in. We use our children’s bedrooms, because they are childproof.
2. Have age appropriate toys for your children to play with in their room.
3. Have books in their room for them to read.
4. Utilize a time to wake clock like the hatch sound machine for quiet time. The good thing about the hatch sound machine is you can use bluetooth to change the colors on your phone. I have a timer set for my kids sound machines, but if we need to end quiet time early for some reason I can keep them on routine by turning the sound machine blue.
5. Use the monitor. We have a video monitor in both of our children’s rooms. So during quiet time I keep the monitor on so I can keep a close eye on what the kids are doing and make sure they are safe.
6. Make it sound exciting to your children! Don’t make it sound boring. I know some people will create “quiet time bins” that their children can choose to utilize during quiet time.
7. Try to transition straight from nap times. When your toddler begins to refuse nap time, immediately start quiet time with them. That way they don’t get used to not having to go to their room for a certain amount of time and then have to re-transition back into it.
8. If you are starting from a period of your toddler not having that routine start small. Implement 15 or 20 minutes per day and slowly add more time until you get to the time limit you want to use.
9. Make sure to have your ground rules set in stone. Decide what your rules will be prior to implementing quiet time and then stick to them.

How Do You Choose Activities for Your Toddler?

We really give our children the freedom to choose what quiet time activities they want to do. Make sure all activities that are offered are safe for that specific age. For example, don’t give a two year old toys with choking hazards or that are meant for 5 and up.

My favorite toy for my oldest is the Nugget couch we have! It was such a good investment. She will make forts, cars, jumping tracks, etc. during quiet time with her couch. It has fostered so much imagination for her.

We also leave books in their rooms where they can read. My oldest will actually pick up books to read and make up her own stories.

Little people are another good toy for quiet time as long as your toddler is of the certain age specified on the product. My oldest plays with her little people and the castle at almost every quiet time!

The possibilities for quiet time activities are endless. It really depends on how comfortable you as the parent are with what kinds of activities you want your kid to play with.

How Do You Encourage Nap Time During Quiet Time?

Personally we keep our children’s lights dim. We don’t turn on overhead lights and we close the curtains. They get small lights on so they can see to play, but so they can go to sleep if they decide to sleep. We gave my oldest a Christmas tree in her room for Christmas and it was the perfect amount of light. She actually asked to keep it up longer, so she still has her Christmas tree up for that purpose only!

Some days our kids will choose to nap and other days they don’t. I try not to stress about it too much. If my oldest does take a nap we let her stay up until 7:30 instead of going to bed at 7pm. She gets very excited about that when she takes a nap!

If you feel like your child needs to nap you could use an incentive like that. When she naps then she gets 30 minutes of play time with mom and dad after her sibling goes to bed. That is usually when we break out the toys that our youngest can’t play with.

What is the Benefit of Quit Time for the Parents?

1. You get time to rest. If you are a stay at home mom you can be going from 6am (or before!) until bed time. This can give you an hour or two to rest, read a book, watch a TV show, etc.
2. It gives you time to work if you work from home. For me and my husband, we utilize quiet time to work so that we don’t have to spend all of our time on our computers/phones when the kids are awake.
3. It gives you time to do self care. Maybe you want to shower, get ready for the day, read your bible, etc. This time allows you to get things done that you want to do.
4. You could clean/do chores during this time as well. I personally don’t use quiet time for much cleaning. I may do a 20 minute timer with a little cleaning, but I like to include my kids in the cleaning tasks we do.

Do you think you’ll be implementing quiet time for your toddler or preschooler any time soon? What tips and tricks will you use to make the transition smoother? Let me know in the comments!