How to keep your baby awake in the car so it doesn’t mess up naps!
You’re out doing errands or picking up your older child from school and you glance in the rearview mirror and your little one is starting to doze. Oh no! If she falls asleep now, it’ll mess up naptime, but it looks like a power nap is imminent! This mom made a satirical viral video of trying to keep her baby in the car and is great for a laugh, but when you’re in this situation, what should you actually do? Try one - or all! - of the tips below to keep your baby awake in the car!
Tips to help keep your baby awake in the car
Be strategic with car rides when possible
I realize that sometimes you have to leave the house to pick something or someone up. If that’s NOT the case, try not to take your little one in the car 45-60 minutes before a nap is supposed to start when the likelihood of a snooze is greatest.Remove any sleep props
You don’t want to offer anything that makes your baby think of sleep - like a pacifier or little lovey that your child sleeps with. (If your baby is past the newborn stage, we want to get rid of the pacifier all together anyway!)
Turn up the tunes
You can just turn the radio up and sing loudly! Or does your child perk up with a certain song? Turn it on! Or maybe your child is “slightly” obsessed with a tv show? Bookmark a youtube video and play it (it’s fine to just listen and not be able to see the screen). Or you can grab a ziplock bag and attach it to the back seat head rest like this.Have car-only entertainment
Just like I recommend having quiet-time only activities for kiddos dropping the afternoon nap, it’s helpful to have some toys or books that your child only sees when in the carseat. That way they stay fresh and exciting and hopefully keeps the interest longer! See my favorite suggestions for enteraining car toys in the next section…Make eye contact
Make sure you have a mirror to see your little one in the rear-facing carseat. Because children will be in rear-facing carseats until 2-4 years old, you’ll get good use out of it! Remember that it’s helpful to not make eye contact with your baby when you’re doing the nap or bedtime routine because it’s more stimulating, so let’s us the opposite of using eye contact to keep your baby awake! Of course you need to be safe driving, so that’s the #1 priority, but everytime you look in the rearview as you’re driving normally, try to catch your baby’s eye!Enlist help
Is there another adult in the car? Ask them to sit in the back and keep baby awake until you get home! Is there a sibling in the car? Tell them you’re playing a game to see if they can help you keep the baby awake until your get home!
Narrate the car ride
In a voice that is a little different than your normal voice, narrate everything you see as you drive. For toddlers and older, you can ask them if the see ____ as you pass it and turn it into a game.
Offer something to munch on
If you have a safe food for your older baby or toddler to eat in the car, offer that! Focusing on eating plus the boost in energy the snack will provide should help. For babies, offer a teething ring. The coldness should help perk her up!
Pull over and distract!
If all else fails and you really need her not to snooze, pull over in a safe place and spend a minute or two tickling your baby, or take her out of the carseat and look around to get her off the droswy path!
Best toys to keep your baby awake in the car
The ideal car toys are a lightweight toy with no detachable small parts. They should be easy to clean and attach to the carseat (for babies) so they don’t get dropped accidentally.
All of these toys have been recommended by clients who say they hold attention spans in the car, and they all have 4.5-5 star ratings on Amazon.
Toys that attach to car seat handle or head rest:
Sensory squeaky toys (comes in a 4-pack so you can rotate so your baby always has a new one to play with!)
Toys that don’t have to attach:
Toys that attach to stroller:
Get a collapsible, mesh bag like this one to keep all the toys organized and together on the floor in front of the carseat!
What to do if baby falls asleep in the car
Here are 3 routes you can go if all of the efforts above don’t pan out and your baby DOES end up falling asleep in the car.
Ride out the nap in the car
If you’re able to have baby finish out the nap in the car while you’re driving around doing errands, then this is the best option because it has the highest probability of the longest nap.Try to move baby from carseat when you get home
Assuming your baby has been asleep for 15-20 minutes in the carseat, bring her in the house and lay her down in the crib. If your baby has solid sleep skills and normally falls asleep from fully awake regularly, this can work sometimes. But if your baby still requires you to rock or feed to sleep, there’s a good chance she won’t stay sleeping! (If you want help getting your baby to fall asleep without needing you to do those things for her, check out my baby sleep course!)Wake her up when you get home and push the next nap later
This works best when your little one has only been asleep for 5-10 minutes (the shorter the better). You chalk those few minutes of sleep up to a micro snooze and push the nap later. It’ll depend on the age of the child how much you’ll push the nap, but watch for tired signs and then do the nap time routine as you normally do!
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This post is for informational purposes only and may not be the best fit for you, your child and/or your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your child’s physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.