Older kids and rest

We all know that late nights, early mornings and shore excursions may be really tiring for anyone, including older kids who are way past the age of daily naps.

Do your (older) kids ever want to nap on cruise or on the contrary, do you ever try to make them rest during the day even if they are not really asking for it? And how old are they?

My kids are 8 and 10 - no longer at nap at home EVER.

There are times on a cruise where they will nap. Usually, its more lounging on a chair on deck and they happen to fall asleep. It's not a planned nap per se. If there is nothing interesting going on at the kid's club, then they will lounge on deck with us.

But at 8 and 10, they can certainly get through a fun filled day without a nap. There have been times to where my son has been the first to shower before dinner, and then lies on the bed with the TV on and dozes off for a few.

Vacation life is tough ... it can tire out the best of us :D

My kids are 8 and 10 - no longer at nap at home EVER.

 

There are times on a cruise where they will nap. Usually, its more lounging on a chair on deck and they happen to fall asleep. It's not a planned nap per se. If there is nothing interesting going on at the kid's club, then they will lounge on deck with us.

 

But at 8 and 10, they can certainly get through a fun filled day without a nap. There have been times to where my son has been the first to shower before dinner, and then lies on the bed with the TV on and dozes off for a few.

 

Vacation life is tough ... it can tire out the best of us :D

Of course at 10 a kid does not NEED to nap, but he may still feel better if he takes one. Also, at that age they are unlikely to nap on will, so the best thing is to create the conditions for them to relax and fall asleep if they're tired. Letting the kid wait in the room while getting ready for dinner is probably the best way to make a power nap happen.

Of course at 10 a kid does not NEED to nap, but he may still feel better if he takes one. Also, at that age they are unlikely to nap on will, so the best thing is to create the conditions for them to relax and fall asleep if they're tired. Letting the kid wait in the room while getting ready for dinner is probably the best way to make a power nap happen.

I completely agree with this. On vacation after a busy day if we want to enjoy the evening, my kids lay down for a "rest" which, in a dark room after a day of running around, turns into sleep. If we're just going to have dinner and go to bed, we don't do this, but rest/sleep are mandatory for a fun evening. I also require an early bedtime if we're getting up early and have a busy day the next day. For my girls, not enough sleep = crabbiness. In fact, for me too!

Nope...Our kids are 6.5 and 10.5 years, but even as babies they weren't big nappers. On our cruise, they stayed up later than normal (depended on the night) and were still up bright and early. They were excited and somehow the energy kept going. :D Having said that, there were some nights that were closer to regular bed time and others that were later.

We started cruising when our kids were 4 and 7. They are now 19 and 22 with 11 cruises under their belt. I don't recall them ever taking a nap. DH and myself, however, have just discovered the joys of snoozing during the day on a cruise on our last couple of cruises. It helps us stay up at night longer :D:o.

I completely agree with this. On vacation after a busy day if we want to enjoy the evening' date=' my kids lay down for a "rest" which, in a dark room after a day of running around, turns into sleep. If we're just going to have dinner and go to bed, we don't do this, but rest/sleep are mandatory for a fun evening. I also require an early bedtime if we're getting up early and have a busy day the next day. For my girls, not enough sleep = crabbiness. In fact, for me too![/quote']

I agree that the nap should only happen if a late night of fun is planned, and if "nap time" is right before dinner it doesn't even need to be long (probably half an hour of actual sleep is enough).

How hold are your kids? Do they ever protest the mandatory rest?

Do they ever protest the mandatory rest?

Ever since they could speak! They're 11 now. Until our last trip, they always fought naps ("I'm NOT tired!") but almost always fell asleep, and even if not, a little down time was good for everyone. Now they appreciate the luxury of a nap between a busy day/evening, especially when we're getting up early and staying up late. For us it's the key to no-whining vacations since we keep very busy - we're not lay by the pool people. We've cruised with a group of friends a couple of times and the hardest thing is when they have to lay down and their friends don't - but later there's a big difference between them and their friends who are dragging and not enjoying the evening.

In the Caribbean or warm climate cruises- I highly recommend a nap for the whole family- not just the kids. Call it "rest" time. Close the drapes and everyone rests for a couple hours. The kids do need it.

Nap if you need to...otherwise...forget it! That's my motto!

We never took naps but made sure everyone got a good nights sleep.

Keith

In the Caribbean or warm climate cruises- I highly recommend a nap for the whole family- not just the kids. Call it "rest" time. Close the drapes and everyone rests for a couple hours. The kids do need it.

We've done this on all our cruises since our DD was little, calling it family siesta time, and she's now 12. Helps all of us enjoy the later evening activities if we bunk down for an hour or so before dinner, and then we're recharged for the night....

We've done this on all our cruises since our DD was little, calling it family siesta time, and she's now 12. Helps all of us enjoy the later evening activities if we bunk down for an hour or so before dinner, and then we're recharged for the night....

Does she like the "siesta "? 12 should be the age when they stop protesting and start to enjoy the naps (teens nap a lot).

Of course at 10 a kid does not NEED to nap, but he may still feel better if he takes one. Also, at that age they are unlikely to nap on will, so the best thing is to create the conditions for them to relax and fall asleep if they're tired. Letting the kid wait in the room while getting ready for dinner is probably the best way to make a power nap happen.

My kids are way more active at home than they are on a cruise ship. If they don't feel like nap, I don't force it. if it happens naturally, fine, but if they want to sit and read or play on their ipad while I nap, then I let them choose.

I'd rather they have a good night sleep, than be up late because they had a nap or have trouble falling asleep at the normal time because they are not tired. We generally cruise during the school year, so if we can maintain (mostly) normal bed-times, we try to do this. It makes the back-to-reality transition much easier for them. We let them stay up a couple of hours (at most) past their bedtime, but they certainly aren't pulling any later-niters.

Does she like the "siesta "? 12 should be the age when they stop protesting and start to enjoy the naps (teens nap a lot).

She never really protested even when she was little, but there are some days when she'll sleep for 30 minutes and other days when we have to wake her or we'll be late for dinner, lol.

Does she like the "siesta "? 12 should be the age when they stop protesting and start to enjoy the naps (teens nap a lot).

My kids never napped when they were teens....having said that, they had no problem going to bed early on their own if they were tired at night. I never had an issue getting them to go to bed at night when they were younger than teens either. Most of the time they were ready willing and wanting their beds at night.

My kids started cruising at 2 and 8 (now 12 and 18 so they know what works for them). But yes, when they were younger, and still to this day, everyone comes back to their cabin by about 4/430 and rests for an hour before showering for dinner. They may not fall asleep now, but the rest is key. My oldest, since his teen years, has been allowed to sleep in, except for shore excursion days. My youngest is a morning person and is happy to be up by 8 for breakfast and then camp activities; at 12 however, that might change now that he is in Circle C and they have activities that go later into the night. But by this point they have the do's and don't and in's and out's down pat and know what is expected, how to dress and where to be, so it is a very stress free vacation.

As a teen I never had to nap but I sure enjoyed it after being out in the hot sun- your teen may too : )

My older 2 and 5 and almost 7. They don't nap anymore but we do rest time on vacation before getting ready for dinner. The 5 year old, especially, needs it. He will fall asleep sometimes. The 7 year old never but she does like the rest and break from it all and will sometimes read a book.