Quiet time. We all need it. And what more relaxing and rejuvenating setting for a nap and some quiet time than being in nature? People are often surprised to learn that most of our children nap outdoors, but what could be better?!
Since we reopened as an Essential centre in March, we’ve had most of our children sleeping outside in hammocks. Yes- outside in March! And do you know what we discovered? The children sleep better! They curl up for their naps, tucked away out of the wind and listen to nature-the original white noise! The sounds of the breeze rustling in the trees, the birds singing, and even squirrels chirping at each other-all of these beautiful sounds help lull our children to sleep.
In countries like Norway and Sweden- infants as young as 2 weeks old sleep outside in their carriages or prams in temperatures as low as -15 Celsius! (Dressed or bundled appropriately, of course!) The Scandinavian people firmly believe that the fresh air helps keep children healthier because they are not exposed to stale indoor air full of germs and impurities. The Scandinavians even have a name for it: friluffsliv. Basically, it means ‘open-air living.’ We like to think that this style of ‘open-air living’ introduces children to a lifelong love of nature and a healthier lifestyle.
One of the other things we hear from time-to-time is: “But my child doesn’t need a nap!” While your child may not need to have a sleep, we find most of our little ones need this break. Just to relax and have a little downtime to reset their rhythm for the rest of the day. Preschoolers seem to dread the thought of having a ‘nap’ because naps are for ‘babies.’ We tell them they don’t have to sleep, just to relax for a bit and have a little quiet time. And while we are telling our children this, we often wish someone would say the same to us!
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a little downtime in YOUR day to reset YOUR rhythm?😉
If you're interested, you can read more about this topic here.
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