It is so hard sometimes to lay down the law and be consistent.

I hear the words so tempting in my head, “Just this one time.”

But it doesn’t work that way, you have to have one really really bad afternoon in exchange for a lot of great afternoons.

Here’s how it works:

You give your child a limit- no toys at naptime.  You do this because they won’t sleep if they take a toy in at naptime.

For a day or a week, it works great, “Remember, no toys at naptime.” 

Then the day comes (you knew it would) “I want my TOY!!”  Screaming, kicking, the whole gamut.


This is the moment.  You could give in and give him the toy knowing that he will be happy and fall asleep in the next 20 minutes and you will have a great afternoon and be able to visit with your friends after nap like you had planned and all will be well.

OR

You can stand your ground and say, “Sorry, no toys at naptime” and know that for the next hour and a half, there will be screaming and he will never take a nap and you’ll have to cancel your plans with your friends and just hope that you can make it through dinner and to bedtime tonight.

The first option sounds so nice and it is so tempting that we often choose that one.  But the second option will set us up for so many nice afternoons in the future because our children will believe us when we set a limit and they will stick to it.

When you are faced with the option of one really horrible afternoon for a lot of great afternoons- hold strong mama!  You can do it!