Oh, how I used to cherish my children’s nap times! There was such a brief period when they were all preschoolers when that mid-day respite of three sleeping children was a true gift. Then, of course, naps became obsolete. They were either a battle-ground or they just disappeared. But now that my kids are older teenagers, I’ve been surprised to notice the nap has returned. And, without any nagging from Mom. It is very odd to hear one of them announce they are going to take a nap, or come down stairs after having had a little pre-dinner snooze. Very odd, indeed.
As for me, I am a dedicated lover of the nap. Even though my kids gave up napping when they were younger, I continue to sneak in the Sunday afternoon nap, or the 5:30 nap in the evenings just to make sure I’ve got enough gumption to make it through a long day. But, in recent years, my kids have actually teased me about my naps—and they tried to do an intervention regarding my weekend naps on the living room couch. But, now I see that they are rediscovering the joyful rejuvenation of napping.
I suppose their coming back around to the land of napping was inevitable—after all, they do tend to cram a great deal of activity into their teenage days. They get up early to get to school and then there is soccer practice or band or “hanging out” with friends. Then there are hours of homework, staying up late to watch television or chat online or on the phone. Weekends, it seems, they never sleep! So, while I was a little surprised when they all started snuggling in for naps again, it is one teenage stage that I’m quite happy to see. A couple weekends ago, my daughter and I both settled in for an afternoon nap after we’d spent the morning at the Farmer’s Market on a Saturday. What a cozy, delightful, rainy afternoon that was!
See Also: Catnaps, Naps and Your Toddler and Can Napping Help Your Business?