Pretend Nap Time

Pretend naps can last as long as twenty minutes, as I discovered today.

If someone else understands this, please let me know. My children like to play pretend sleep. They grab pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals, lay them in random places, and pretend to take a nap. PRETEND to take a nap.

They’re not as peaceful as real naps. Otherwise, they’d be no big deal.

I get the appeal of pretending to do stuff. Kids usually pretend to do stuff they see adults doing, but either aren’t fully, or in any other way, capable of doing themselves in the real world; driving, cooking, constructing buildings, etc. Pretend play is great for using the imagination, role-playing, and practicing for things they will do later in life.

But pretending to take a nap? Napping, which they are fully capable of doing at virtually any time they wish. This doesn’t make sense. I’m ok with this for now, because they still take real naps. But if they continue to pretend nap and then rebel against real ones . . . well, I don’t know what will happen, but it won’t be a happy day for anyone.

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