Why and How to Have Daily Quiet Time for Your Children
Having daily quiet time for my children (and myself) is something important to me. Though I will admit, I don’t always make it happen even though I should. I want to share with you the why and how of quiet time for your little ones and yourself today.
Why Daily Quiet Time?
I started making this a habit for my older ones when they stopped napping but I still needed the nap time for myself.
Now that I don’t have a little baby I don’t always need my daily nap, but I still like the time to myself, so I try to keep up the habit.
Benefits of Quiet Time
Quiet times have benefits that we don’t always think about, but as a busy mom of little ones I am happy to take advantage of these times for several reasons.
Rest and Recharge
My children sometimes need a chance to rest, even though they don’t actually sleep most days after about 3 years old.
I also need the time to rest or recharge. Quiet time is an amazing way to make that happen for everyone.
A Break From Each Other
With having so many young children under roof, we get tired of each other sometimes! Quiet time helps the children to enjoy each other more when they are together as they get some alone time too.
I try to have each of them in their own space somewhere in the house. That way they get a little break and look forward more to playing together again.
Independent Playtime
Another good thing about quiet time is that it teaches children to play by themselves, and for children with several siblings that is a skill that needs to be developed consciously.
How to Have Daily Quiet Times
The idea of daily quiet time can be wonderful, but how exactly do we go about accomplishing it? It does require some work.
Again, at this stage, I don’t always enforce it as I don’t need it so much, but they know how and I could even though I don’t do it every single day. Sometimes I just let the three girls play quietly together while the baby naps if that is what they prefer.
Plan a Quiet Time Routine
Children learn best with a consistent daily routine for quiet time. For us this is usually right in the middle of the day after lunch when my husband goes to work and the baby goes down for his afternoon nap.
They get to go to the bathroom, get a drink, and get their toys or craft stuff before going to their designated space.
Do the Training
A three year old that quits napping won’t automatically know how or want to spend much time just playing alone in his bed. Be prepared to have to “lose” a few days for training. It can actually be a hard time for them till they get used to it.
I remember taking the time to teach each of mine so far. It took a bit of work, but the results were sure worth it!
Start Small
I remember with my oldest having her spend just 5-10 minutes in bed before giving her permission to get up. I slowly stretched out the time by adding a little time every day, and kept reminding her if I needed to.
Sometimes it meant staying with her in the room, but eventually she learned.
Use a Visual Timer
By now my girls are old enough that I can tell them they need to have quiet time till the clock hand points to a certain number.
There are various types of visual clocks or timers you can use for your younger children (see them here on my shop page). These are great for children who don’t have a good concept of time yet. When all of mine were younger I had one that lit up when the time I had set was up.
I had the alarm on quiet so that the sound wouldn’t wake the baby. But my girls knew that when the light turned on they could get up and continue playing quietly anywhere. This was a great way for them to know when their time was up without any noise.
Have Separate Spaces for Each Child
This is also important unless you have very disciplined children who won’t be talking to each other.
My house is small and so having a separate room for each one is not possible. Instead I spread them out as best I can, using the top and bottom of the bunk bed, and having another one on the sofa in the living room.
Maybe you could do an older sibling that is more trustworthy with one of the younger siblings in the same room if you need to.
Enforce it Consistently
Achieving daily quiet time requires consistency. Sometimes we get it right for a while, but I need to remain flexible and correct when someone doesn’t stay in their space or obey the quiet time rules.
Depending on your child and your house, you might even want a video monitor to check up on them. My house is small enough that I don’t need that.
All the work is worth it though for the many days I get in a nap or some consistent quiet time to myself for my own projects.
Have Certain Quiet Time Activities
When it is time for quiet time I get each child to get something they want to play with. It is nice if it can be different things than just their usual toys. You could even have a special quiet time bin if that works for your children.
Sometimes they have a special toy, or they can choose a certain activity or craft to work on in that time.
Once they get older and enjoy reading I imagine they will start choosing to read books in their quiet time.
Other Ways to Do Quiet Time
Remember that each family is unique and you can find what works for your family for quiet time.
Some families use quiet time as their screen time. While that is not what I want to do for us, it could work pretty well if each child has their earphones on to keep the house quiet for everyone else.
You could also let your children listen to an audiobook during that time if that is your thing. I remember my brothers would listen to the audio Bible a lot in their quiet times.
If you have older children you might be able to let them go find a place outside for their quiet time. Maybe they even want to work quietly and you know that is fine at that stage. Quiet time could simply be free time for them, too.
Another great option for certain families might be to include quiet time in their bed time routine so everyone gets a chance to wind down. With our family of young children this is not an option right now.
Save it for later.
Do you have quiet time at your house?
I love to hear how other moms do it. Let me know in the comments if you do quiet time at your house and what your best tips for quiet time success are.
As the grandmother of Melinda’s littles, I want to add what a huge blessing it has been for me that she has quiet time as a part of their routine and has trained her girls so well. I don’t get to baby sit them often, but often enough that I get it why God gives babies to younger women 😁. And it is sooo much easier to baby sit for a day or more when I can get a nap midway through the day knowing that they are going to be ok and stay out of mischief while I rest. Thank you, Melinda, for teaching your girls to have their quiet time!
You are welcome! And thank you for watching them sometimes.