My children are in different stages of development. That makes life hard when you are trying to be appropriate with them and maintain your own sanity. My son doesn’t really need two naps during the day. He has been sleeping for about an hour in the morning and for a little over two hours in the afternoon. My daughter could almost do without a nap at all, but on those extra active days we are all miserable at 6:00 in the evening with whining and fussing and complaining, and the occasional screaming fit.

It is 9:00 in the morning, and I just put my son down for his morning nap. I can hear giggling and the occasional crash of something within his reach from the bedroom (he likes to take the hanging diaper bag from the changing table now that he has the strength to lift it, and we’ve had to move the lamps and pictures from the area around his crib.) My daughter is having a tea party. It is good for her to have the time in the morning to play without her brother pulling at everything. It is good for me, for that matter. This is our routine, a morning nap at 9:00, play time, snack time, play time, lunch, then the long afternoon nap where dad gets an opportunity to recharge and cook dinner.

I like our routine and am reluctant to let it change. I think, however, that the time is approaching when we will no longer have a time for morning nap without my son bothering my daughter, and we will have to find a way to interact together for the entire morning. Everyone is getting older and learning to play together a little more successfully (including me) and both kids are getting better at following directions and helping clean up. I just don’t know if I have the energy to entertain both children for an entire morning, and I don’t want that to influence my decision about whether or not my son takes a nap.

I feel like the morning nap is required by me these days, not so much needed by him.