Transitioning From Pack in Play to Mats

[mac60]

At what age do you transition to mats for nap. I normally wait till they are 2, but have 2 19 month olds and thought I would try it, and omg, day one was so so, day 2 was hell, so back to pack in plays and plan 2. I am trying to get the pack in plays out of my spare room, but not working right now. I am going to get an 8 sided play area off of EBAY and split it to 2 sqares for napping, in hopes that I can transition that way, and also the fact that pack in plays are so hard to take up and down on a daily basis, at least the ones I have, so hopefully my plan 2 will work. I hate this part of transitioning from pnp to mats. Some kids tend to do well, others no way.

[Liliya]

I start at 15-16 month,I put mat in same place where pack and play were.
For a few days,maybe a week or even more,I sit next to the child until he falls asleep.With two,I will sit between them,rub their backs. They learn fast.
I hate pack and plays,because they take a lot of space.
I can not imaging having two in my room.
Good luck.

[Pammie]

I don't transition out of the pack and plays until after the first time that the child tries to climb out of it on their own:-)
I've had kids do their first "escape" at 18 mo, and others not till 4!
When I do work at transitioning them though, I make sure that they're *really* tired at nap time (lots of non-stop, gross-motor/physical play those mornings) and then I find that I have to position my rocking chair right beside their mat for the first couple of days and stay right with them so there's no playing-around..just right to sleep. Definitely, the older the child, the easier the transition, but even my younger ones only take about a week till they're napping well on their mats.
Good luck!

[momofsix]

So far, I've done it at about age 2, with good results for all but one. I did what you talked about Mac 60, and put a gate around him--he would NOT stay in one spot, and I coul not spend the whole nap time rubbung his back and watching only him! I felt kind of guilty about that, so I'm glad I'm not the only one who used a gate for nap In the fall I'll be moving four little ones out of pack-n-plays, that should make for interesting nap times!

[mac60]

Originally Posted by momofsix

So far, I've done it at about age 2, with good results for all but one. I did what you talked about Mac 60, and put a gate around him--he would NOT stay in one spot, and I coul not spend the whole nap time rubbung his back and watching only him! I felt kind of guilty about that, so I'm glad I'm not the only one who used a gate for nap In the fall I'll be moving four little ones out of pack-n-plays, that should make for interesting nap times!

You should not feel guilty. Some kids transition much better than others. We have to do what works with a group, not just one child. There is nothing wrong with keeping a child safe until they learn to stay put.

[momofsix]

Originally Posted by mac60

You should not feel guilty. Some kids transition much better than others. We have to do what works with a group, not just one child. There is nothing wrong with keeping a child safe until they learn to stay put.

So true--thanks!

[originalkat]

I agree...all kids are different. I had 19 month old twins once that slept (and stayed) on their cots really well. But my 2.5 year old dcb is STILL in a pack and play because he kept getting up early and going to other kids cots to wake them up. I was getting so stressed out about it that I broke out the pack-n-play and all has been well. I cant wait to get rid of it...but its not worth my sanity!

[Carole's Daycare]

Kids are all different- I had a little girl who napped well and easily in her crib, and I transitioned her at 15 months to nap mat in preparation for her little brother. (so I only had to have one crib at a time ) Now that her little brother is 20 months- I thought about transitioning him, but, frankly, he's difficult even in his pack&play. His sleep schedule is less consistent, so he often is in the spare room in his playpen during nap awake for at least a good part of naptime. I'm not willing to have him wake everyone else up, so, until he's old ready to understand consequences for running around and making noise during nap- he stays in the playpen. I could possibly tough it out w/ him on a mat with some level of compliance in a few weeks, but, honestly its easier to wait.

I start them around 11 months. Sitting by them until they fall asleep. If they dont take to it well I wait a week. then try again. soon they are just wonderful in their new beds.

Originally Posted by Carole's Daycare

Kids are all different- I had a little girl who napped well and easily in her crib, and I transitioned her at 15 months to nap mat in preparation for her little brother. (so I only had to have one crib at a time ) Now that her little brother is 20 months- I thought about transitioning him, but, frankly, he's difficult even in his pack&play. His sleep schedule is less consistent, so he often is in the spare room in his playpen during nap awake for at least a good part of naptime. I'm not willing to have him wake everyone else up, so, until he's old ready to understand consequences for running around and making noise during nap- he stays in the playpen. I could possibly tough it out w/ him on a mat with some level of compliance in a few weeks, but, honestly its easier to wait.

What do you use as a consequence for running around and making noise at nap time? It's our only time to clean and disinfect, etc, but we have a 3 yr old dcg who wakes up in the middle of nap and gets up and wakes the other's up. Plus she'll talk so loud. If we tell her in a whisper that she needs to be quiet, she answers in a louder voice, "when's nap time over?" If we were to give her a quiet toy to play with or a book, she'd just make more noise. If we aren't right beside her, she gets up (and if we're right beside her, there's no way to get anything else done). Suggestions?