Quiet time, quality time
Noah Boin, 3, left, works by himself while Angie Boin works with her oldest son, Aaron, 7, while home-schooling at their Fawn Township home.
By BETH BENCE REINKE for Smart
Marylee Hall’s New Freedom home is no stranger to noise -- after all, she has a toddler and a newborn. But, thanks to careful preparation and planning, the Hall household does quiet down for a few hours each day.
“The baby sleeps a lot, so we are able to coordinate naps at the same time,” Hall said. Using a routine before nap time has helped Hall’s 1-year-old daughter make a smooth transition from playing to resting.
“After lunch, we play in her room with the door closed with soft music on for about a half-hour,” Hall said. Then she gives her daughter a pacifier and blanket and puts her in her crib for her usual three-hour nap.
When her boys were younger, Fawn Grove resident Angie Boin also was able to coordinate napping and rest time each day. Now at ages 7, 5 and 3, the boys rarely nap, but they still rest several times a week and on Sundays.
“We come home from church, then we have lunch, then they rest,” Boin said.
She takes a relaxed approach, allowing the boys to do quiet activities while lying or sitting on their beds. As a result, Boin’s youngest son has learned to play quietly by himself while she is home schooling the older boys. “Sometimes, he is knocking over stuff and coloring on the table instead of his book,” she said with a chuckle. “But for the most part, he is good.”
Want some quiet time of your own? Try these mom-tested tips.
• Give this part of the day a special name such as “rest time” or “quiet time.”
• Do quiet time every day, if possible, to keep kids in a routine.
• Put all children in quiet time simultaneously. If you have a baby or toddler who naps, that time is your best bet.
• For children who no longer nap, have them lie quietly on their beds for a designated length of time, like an hour. Sometimes they might even fall asleep!
• For older children who have trouble being totally unoccupied for an hour, allow one of these quiet activities during rest time: reading or looking at books silently, listening to books on tape or CDs with headphones, putting jigsaw puzzles together, coloring or drawing.
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