Types of toddler naps – Toddler naps come in two varieties. The first type happens when their parent needs that down-time to actually get something done. In this case, the parent puts the child back in bed until they are so exhausted they can’t get anything done. Sometimes the parent actually falls asleep waiting for the child to nap. Occasionally, the nap battle continues so late that the parent ends up waking their own child so that child will not be energized all night long. The second variety of nap happens when the parent is so exhausted they want a nap of their own. In this case it is a battle of willpower to see who falls asleep first. If the parent falls asleep first, expect massive destruction upon waking. If the child falls asleep first, take that nap because you’re going to need it to get through the afternoon.

There are rumors of a third type of toddler nap. My own mother claims that I used to crawl under tables or behind furniture and just fall asleep whenever I was tired. Put aside this floor business that a therapist might use to explain why I’m so strange and think about this falling asleep on my own fable. This is a perfect example of parental amnesia. The same amnesia which is responsible for every child after the firstborn. Parenting kills brain cells and causes formerly intelligent adults to forget and even alter their actual memories. The next time your mother-in-law tells you that her children were potty-trained at age one, smile and recognize the parental amnesia.