How to Prevent Toddlers from Napping in the Car
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Sleeping children are a beauty to behold, especially at home in their beds. I’ve never been a stickler for kids napping at home. I’m okay, in fact, more than okay with car naps on a long drive. Ever sit in bumper-to-bumper LA traffic with a screaming baby?
Yeah, you know what I’m talking about….
However, if it’s a quick trip from the park to home, I’d rather they waited before they snoozed. A 15-minute catnap is enough to blow a 3-hour naptime out of the water.
I’ve had toddlers for the last 12 years now and nothing’s changed. If I don’t engage my little one for the entire ride, she will fall asleep, even if we are one block from home. So, we try to keep FishBaby awake until her crib is in sight.
Here are some ways we attempt this miraculous feat:
- Sing songs, NOT lullabies. Try rousing, piraty, laughing, clapping songs.
- Talk about the day. Beginning babblers often love this.
- Ask questions that require an active response, like “Where’s your nose?” “Point to your eyes.”
- Look for vehicles of a certain color or look for tractors, fire engines, etc.
- Hunt for the monkey in the trees. Yes, I lie to my kiddo. But, it works. We talk about monkeys and look for them in the trees we pass.
roll all of the windows down…this works especially well when it is wintertime:) We mom’s do what we gotta do to protect that oh so wonderful naptime!!
My babies are no longer little, but your post and other readers’ responses brought back some great memories for me — thanks!
We had a tiny little car when my kids were babies which made it much easier to keep them awake because I was so close to them (I nicknamed myself Annoying Mom when they were sleepy because I’d do anything annoying to keep them awake!). Now with the larger vehicle we have (mini van) I can’t imagine doing what I did back then because they’d be too far away and could tune me out!
I, too, was guilty of taking the scenic route if they did indeed fall asleep, or I’d even take the opportunity to drive to the next community over (about an hour’s drive) to get them a longer nap and then we’d run errands there.
That picture is just so so sweet. I’ve used your tips too. I get my daughter to help distract our little guy from truck-napping as he’ll often nod off as I turn onto our road. Have I told you lately how much I enjoy your blog? 🙂
@Sarah @ Mum In Bloom, thank you on both counts. 🙂
And just for the record, the car was stopped when I took the picture. Heehee.
We tickle his feet. 🙂
I have been guilty of taking the scenic route home if my boy falls asleep in the car. When we were on vacation recently he wouldn’t nap in the house, so my hubby and I ended up taking a few long afternoon drives around the beautiful island just so he would sleep and we could relax, enjoy the scenery and talk.
To stay awake we count big trucks, look for “tree tunnels” and sing silly songs as loud as we possibly can!
One time I was desperate and I had a cup of water in my cup holder. When we got to any stop light or stop sigh I quickly flicked a little water on him. It worked like a charm. Of course, I would never spray him in the face, just his feet. He actually loved it and thought it was pretty funny.
My son really doesn’t fall asleep in the car that often, but if he did I would honestly think about keeping a little spray bottle with water in it. Again, only to be used when the car is completely stopped.