Why is it important to nap in the cot.

Why is it important not to nap your child reguarly in the pram, car, sling or anywhere else but the cot? If you do you are setting yourself up with a habit that is hard to sustain and impractical to continue. Your baby is not in a comfortable place if they are in the car or pram. It could be noisey, too light, not ideal for their posture, hot, and too bumpy, plus the weather could be bad! Your baby or child needs to be in a quiet place where there is no loud noises and they are able to resettle themselves if they wake up after a sleep cycle. They will get use to the motion of a car, sling, or pram which they rely on to go back to sleep. They can be disturbed if not at home and find it hard to go back to sleep. This is time in the day you have to yourself, to do what you want and catch up with your day to day jobs. You can relax, take a nap yourself, eat, send an email, or make a phone call without having your child around to disturb you. Taking a nap occasionally outside the cot is fine and any short naps can be taken on the go. The cot could be at another house, a travel cot, you may be on holiday, or just visiting somebody for the day. It also helps to settle your child into a routine if cared for by somebody else like a nursery or childminder. Making a commitment to nap your child in the cot as much as possible will pay off later when they have learnt to settle and resettle themselves without you to assist them.