"Quiet Time" Instead of Nap for Almost 4 Year Old?

My son is 5 and just recently gave up napping. I wanted to do the quiet time thing, too, but it has been a struggle as he is not very good at entertaining himself. He is an only child and I am on summer vacation and so he pretty much demands my undivided attention all of the time...this is way too exhausting for both of us. The quiet time thing was a struggle...more than it was worth and I let him watch a movie in my bed which he sees as a real treat. I do have some guilt over using the tv as a babysitter, but I justify it because we both need the break.

Hey,
I have a five year old son and he was not a good napper as well. I would not say I have mastered quiet time but It is smoothing out. I first talked with him, told him that nap time was not working for him but he does need quiet time. Then I went on to explain what quiet time was and its rules. I basically told him that we both need time to rest our brains. I would give him his favorite pillow or sleeping bag and gave him a movie that was interesting yet dry (muppet in space, transformer cratoons on demand if you have comcast check with your cable company). I would accompany his movie with a healthy snack and drink. Poof I get an hour or two quiet time. I also noticed if I did this towards the time he is winding down like 12 in the afternoon he would fall asleep. This did not happen over nite and sometime it doesnt work at all with out a fight. When my son dis-obeys the quiet time rules which is a hour to hour and a half; he has to go to be earlier to make up his time. So he might miss some shows he like to watch at bed time so this encourges the quiet time hope this was helpful.

It's really hard to get your kids to sit still at that age awake so trying to get them to rest is even harder. I allowed my kids to get a pillow and blanket, plop on the couch and watch a movie. I don't know if you are opposed to tv but that was the time I allowed them to watch. Sometimes they even fell asleep. They knew if they got off the couch then tv went off and they had to nap in their beds. You can put on an educational video or a disney movie. It worked for me. Good luck I know how long the days can be without a break.

about that age my girls gave up their nap. it was more of a hassle than a real nap. so i understand. we organized them going to their bedroom with a picture book. dim lights, they're in bed. i consistently told them they didn't have to sleep but that had to rest for 1 or 1.5. it usually worked. sometimes they would doze off or look at the book or pretend play in silence.
good luck

OOps.....answered wrong post.