3 Benefits Of Establishing Quiet Time For Your Toddler

Independent play:

Independent play encourages toddlers to learn to entertain themselves, play alone, and create independence. While toddlers learn independence, they also develop cognitive skills through problem-solving, creativity, and imagination alone.

As a parent who monitors their toddler during this time, you can hear your toddler’s imagination as they play alone, and you can see their interest by observing the toys they play with, the books they read, hearing the songs that they love to sing, and random thoughts they express through words and creativity.

I know that their independent play time is considered alone time to you, but always keep watch of your toddler because, this time, their thought process is also curious and can create ideas that a toddler wants to pursue. Your toddler also needs to know that you are there to support them if they need it.  *I also want to encourage you to enjoy these innocent years. *

Understanding & Controlling Emotions:

Sensory overload occurs when someone is overstimulated by their environment. This can include noise, experiencing many emotions at once, too much business in activities and schedules, and more.  Due to a toddler, even adults (yes, you, Mama), emotions can spiral out of control to where the toddler and maybe Mama are throwing tantrums towards each other, leaving you and Mama feeling depleted. The great news, though, is that during quiet time, your toddler has a chance to get a sensory break, feel their emotions, and learn to regulate them by self-soothing hacks, which include breathing exercises, outside time, words of affirmation, hugging it out, praying, rocking themselves in a rocking chair or rocker, and whatever self-soothing techniques that you have already established for your toddler.

{What helped me with my toddlers is that I have a time-out area for any physical action that has brought harm to someone, which is the hallway, then I have a calm down room, which is also their quiet time area where if I notice that my toddler is uncontrollable with their emotions, then I tell them to go calm down in their room, or I carry them there. They will still be upset at the moment, depending on what happened. Still, I explain to them every time that they are in the room to calm down and that they are not in trouble but that they need their space to let it all out safely without harming themselves or others and that they can come out when they are ready to talk about it. I give them a chance to talk about it and hug them before I go, but if they tell me they need space, I leave and wait for them to call me when they are ready to talk. They eventually calm down, ask to speak, and finish with a hug and kiss, but this is just an understanding of how my toddlers are with their emotions and, so far, our understanding and processing method. So far, it has worked to the point where they naturally remove themselves to go to the room after stating that they need space and to be alone from the moment they were facing. In those times, it was nice because they removed themselves first before an outburst and would ask shortly after if I could join them to just sit beside them or just hold them and every now and then talk. Please note that it took time to practice these techniques, but it became possible.}

Focus & better concentration:

Quiet time establishes a scene and environment of peace and stillness. This means putting every hyperactivity to a stop and just allowing your toddler to be still and present. Their stillness can contribute to their entire focus as all the distractions are at a halt. It can also increase their concentration on something that sparks their interest, allowing your toddler to complete a thought in the process of their focal point. Allowing the brain muscles to relax yet work healthily through thinking skills enables the brain to develop healthily.