We Don't Want to Take a Nap!

It's Nap Time!

Ah... naptime! It quickly becomes one of the favorite times of day for any parent. It doesn't even matter who is taking the nap - it could be the kids or you! This story is all about naptime and a little secret weapon you may want to add to your arsenal.

Saturdays

When the kids were small, and still taking naps, my wife worked on Saturdays leaving me with the children. We had a lot of fun on those days - we might go out to lunch, go to the park, play in the yard or, if the weather wasn't great, we would play with big cardboard bricks or the "Lego"-like wipes boxes (empty, of course.) I don't know who had more fun, me or the kids, but the fun was real and we still laugh about some of the stuff to this day.

As much fun as we had there was still the matter of the afternoon nap - necessary to ensure an absence of crankiness as the day wore on; mine and theirs. It started to get progressively more difficult to get them down for a nap but one day the heavens opened and an angel delivered unto me the perfect weapon - deceit! 😇

My wife and I had a wooden, queen-sized bed at the time and the kids started wanting to sleep in it. They were big enough so that I didn't have to worry about them falling out but I tucked them in pretty good anyway. This particular afternoon they were adamantly against going to sleep but I had a plan. Once I got them to lie down in the bed I told them about the "contest".

The Contest

The winner of the contest did not have to take a nap; this got their attention. The rules were simple - they had to lie still, eyes closed and no talking. The kid that stayed awake the longest was the winner and didn't have to take a nap! I started the contest and told them I would be back in a few minutes to see who won. Can you guess who won? Yes, it was me because both kids were asleep almost before I got to the end of the hallway. I have to be honest, I certainly did not expect this to work but it did. When my wife got home we all told her about the contest.

Now, as surprised as I was that the "contest" worked, I was twice as surprised when it worked a second time! Yes, that right! The following Saturday we played the same game at naptime and they fell asleep without a fight. Sadly, this was the last time it worked - despite my best efforts. I even try it now, more than twenty years later, but they just look at me and walk away shaking their heads. Now it seems my wife and I are the only ones who take naps and I am okay with that.

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Both images were obtained from Pixabay and require no attribution.

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