How to get your toddler to have a day sleep

This post is sponsored by Big W

It’s been said that when you become a parent the days are long but the years are fast. And it’s true, they were right (whoever they are). I think Baby Time advances at a much faster rate… kinda like dog years.

So far this has been pretty true for us. Time flies when you’re sprawled out on the floor playing with your kid and his Big W Toys, and drags on and on and on and on when you’re breastfeeding at 3:00am. When it’s minus two degrees. And the heater doesn’t work. And you can’t reach your phone.

To demonstrate my point, here’s a handy graph for you. You’re welcome.

As you can see, time moves the fastest while your child sleeps. Because it’s in graph form, it must be true.

Tricky has been threatening to completely drop his day sleep over the past few months and I WILL NOT LET THIS HAPPEN. I am determined. Despite the immediate shift in the time space continuum that occurs the moment his head hits the pillow, I still covet a moment of alone time. You know, because cleaning the house while a toddler is playing is like trying to stop the Titanic sinking using only a squeegee and a bucket.

A toddler nap may only feel like five minutes but in that time, I become a Domestic Goddess. I can do the dishes, hang out the washing, grab some lunch, tidy away toys and go to the toilet alone, with the door closed, without a hip high whippersnapper demanding I look at his Duplo creation for the 300th time.

Recently I’ve put in a lot of effort in to researching how to keep the increasingly elusive nap as part of our routine and I’m happy to announce that I have discovered a cure for no-nap-itis that is so far foolproof and, as an ethical bonus, requires no gaffa tape.

Step 1: Go to the Big W Online Store

Step 2: Buy a trampoline

Step 3: Set it up

Step 4: Let child bounce*

* a minimum of four hours at a time is recommended for optimum effectiveness

Four easy steps, only one of which requires an allen key or a screwdriver. Hooray! Let's jump for joy... LITERALLY!

If your child is anything like Tricky, he will bounce for hours. He will resist, rather loudly, when it’s time to go inside for a nap, BUT he will slip in to the land of nod quicker than you can say “Mama needs a Twitter fix”. In some cases, he will succumb to sleep INSTANTLY.

At that point you are free to run around and do all the things that are nigh on impossible to do (or at least do well) with a toddler under your feet. Important things like cooking dinner and catching up on the deadlines that have gone whooshing by. It is also the perfect opportunity to put your feet up with a cuppa and do bugger all.

What age did your child give up a day sleep? Did you attempt gaffa taping them to the bed?