Nap Time?

[YzmaRocks]

 Hi! I'm new to Love and Logic (I started reading the book last night, finished it early this morning). I started trying it out this  morning and things are going rather smoothly, much more smoothly than I expected actually. I do have one question though. What do you do for nap-time/nighttime when the child keeps getting out of bed? I can't put him in his room since he is already there and I don't know what to do. Any advice?

[TweenAndTwinMom]

If the child is less than probably 2 I'd say you just put them back with as little time and attention as possible.  I'd say the same if they are over 2, but then I might also take away an after nap privilege.  For example, if they usually do a certain thing after nap, I'd say, "Uh Oh, it's sad we can't do that today.  Mommy is so tired from putting you back in your bed so many times before your nap".  I also suggest making nap and bedtime routines as consistent as possible so that your child realizes it is coming and is not negotiable.  Another thought is to give choices such as door open or door closed, song or story, light on or light off, etc., and then if they get up you can revoke the choice - "Uh Oh, it's sad you got up.  Now we will have to close the door."

[hailnbray]

 love and logic is about natural consequences. if hes not sleeping hes not tired. Let him sit in his bed with a few quiet toys. as long as hes in his bed and quiet its ok. he will sleep when hes tired. keep in mind the next morning when hes crabby life will still go on. he will miss out on the fun stuff for being crabby and odds are he will sleep earlier the next day.

[Kiter]

I agree with Hailnbray. Part of natural consequences, logic discipline means we need to thinkg more naturally about parentingin general.

thinking of reasons why the child doesn;t fall asleep quickly......... addressing those as well as you can and then seeing what happens.

Is the child not tired? Do they need to get out and run around more?  Watch TV/Videos less (not saying they are bad always, but they can make it hard for a child to fall asleep if they are viewed right before bed)

Maybe the child is overstimulated before going off to bed and need some help unwinding.

Lavendar & chamomile added to a warm bath, a nice body massage with warm lotion (choose lavendar or chamolmile)

Warm milk (I added chamomile to my son's warm milk before bed). Reading quietly ?looking at books.

maybe the child needs a ritual they do before they sleep. try a  certain bedtime ritual and do it consistantly for a few weeks. Some kids crave structure. (and some do NOT).

Maybe it's time to move the bedtime half an hour later.

and tired, crabby kids(from their own not going to sleep) miss out on fun.

I never told my kids they had to sleep. not even at little toddler or now as high schoolers. I just tell them it is time to for them to be in bed and be quiet (so I can sleep). I think not telling them they have to sleep actually helped my obstinate stubborn son to be OK letting himself sleep.