I love an on-the-go nap but what makes them successful and how are they going to change your school holiday plans? If you have school aged children and younger kids who still nap, you may be feeling like you have to choose to be the fun mum or the mum with a screaming tired baby in the middle of the playground. 

When it comes to navigating school holidays and younger children who still nap here is the thing I want you to hold on to, not every nap has to happen in the cot, and not every day has to run to plan. When you’ve got bigger kids to entertain, the most useful mindset shift is to stop chasing the perfect schedule and instead offer sleep at the times that genuinely suit your day. A slightly early nap so you can make the 10am event? A nap on the move so nobody misses out on a trip to the park? Both are absolutely fine. Your little one will settle far more happily when the day feels calm, and that calm feeling comes from you letting go of sleep being perfect. 

Bring the familiar with you

The trick to a good nap away from home is recreating the wind-down and sleep associations your baby already knows from every nap they have at home in the cot. You don’t need the whole bedtime routine, just a shortened version of your usual wind-down so their body recognises what is coming. A quick cuddle, a familiar phrase, and a milk feed will all help them feel settled and ready. Common sleep associations for naps are usually white noise, a dark room and a sleep sack. White noise is my secret hack to successful on-the-go naps if you have a child who is not used to sleeping in the pram. 

Set up your on-the-go sleep environment 

Use a proper sun cover or a breathable blackout cover designed for the job, so you get the darkness that signals sleep without trapping heat as the weather warms up. This is also where a travel white noise machine really earns its place. Popping it on as you settle your baby is a clear, consistent signal that it is now sleep time, wherever you happen to be. A portable white noise machine that can be clipped on to the side of the pram like the Humm Go Portable White Noise Machine is perfect for replicating their usual at home sleep association as well as blocking out any sudden or loud sounds that may disrupt the nap. 

Ideas for off routine days

Once you have got the setup sorted, on-the-go naps open up so much freedom. Here are a couple of easy ways to work one into your day. 

Nap on the way. Time your outing so the trip there lands over nap time. Feed, settle, pop on your white noise, and let the movement and white noise do the work while you get where you are going. 

Nap when you arrive. Get there about fifteen minutes before their usual nap, settle them into the pram with the white noise on, and then head off on a gentle walk with your big kids. You get to enjoy that time together, they get to burn some energy, and your little one drifts off to the familiar sound they know. This also works well when going to lunch or a cafe. Get them to sleep and then park up and enjoy your meal handsfree. 

School holidays are for making memories with all of your children, not for being stuck at home watching the clock. With a familiar wind-down, a well set up pram, and your usual sleep associations like white noise doing the heavy lifting, you can get out and enjoy the day without worrying about how sleep should look.

Written by Aleisha Wilkinson of Sure Sleep