10 Tips for Starting Quiet Time with Kids

Quiet time is an important part of our daily routine and something both the kids and I need.

When my kids quit napping I really struggled to figure out something that worked for us. They still needed downtime but didn’t want to nap anymore.

For a while, I would let them watch movies for a rest time but then that easily turned into a lot of screen time or they wouldn’t even stay still and watch the show. They still needed my attention and I needed to be able to get a few things done during this time.

Since watching a movie wasn’t working I knew I needed to figure something else out. We all needed a break from each other for at least a little while each day.

Now don’t get me wrong I love being a homeschool mom, but I have found that we all do better if we get a little break during the day.

10 Tips for Starting Quiet Time with Kids

What is Quiet Time?

Before I get too far into this post it would probably be beneficial to talk about what quiet time is.

Quiet Time for kids is also sometimes referred to as rest time. At our house calling it quiet time goes over a lot better than calling it rest time. Since my big kids definitely don’t want to rest all the time.

The definition of quiet time in my mind is as simple as the two words a time to be quiet.

For my family, quiet time means a set time each day (that we are home) that is screen-free where the kids spend time playing, reading, or resting alone, typically in their bedrooms.

Why I Do Quiet Time for Kids

There are a few reasons why I do quiet time with my kids, even the older kids not just toddlers do quiet time almost daily.

Gives Everyone a Break

Like I mentioned above everyone seems to get along better when they get a little break from each other. I’m more patient with the kids when I’m able to have a minute to myself to think during the day and the kids get along better with each other after getting some alone time.

Creativity

Another reason I do quiet time with my kids is that it gives them time to think and create. My kids always seem to get the most creative when they are alone in their room playing. Often they will come up with some game that they want to continue playing after quiet time is over with their siblings.

Rest

The final reason I want to share for doing quiet time is rest. Even kids that are older need time to rest. Having this time set aside gives them the opportunity to rest if they need it. If they don’t need the time to rest then they can play but they have the option to rest if needed.

I could go on and share other reasons I find doing quiet time for kids beneficial but honestly, the reasons you do quiet time may look the same as mine or they may be different.

Each family will find what works best for them and the reason why and it will all look different because each family is different.

Side Note: Even older kids and teenagers can benefit from quiet time. I know several families that have children in school so they don’t always do quiet time, but it is part of their daily summer routine.

How to Have Quiet Time

There are so many different ways you can have quiet time and the good thing is that there is no wrong way, you just need to figure out what works best for you. I know several families that have “rest time” and it looks very different than ours and that’s ok because it works for them.

The biggest thing is to start, I have found it takes some trial and error when you first start. But eventually, you will find a rhythm that will work for your family.

How to Start

Okay so just start but how?

Decide When

First, decide when you are going to have quiet time. I have a friend that each day at 12pm it’s rest time.

For me, it works better to have a routine instead of a set time, so instead of saying we have quiet time from this time to that time each day, we have it right after lunch.

So if lunch is at 12:00 we usually start by 12:30-1 if we don’t eat until 1 then it’s 1:30-2 that we start. This works well for us since each day is a little bit different at our house. Right now since I have a baby I also try to match up when we start quiet time with when the baby goes down for a nap.

Decide Where

Next, decide where the kids need to be during this time. Like I mentioned above my kids each spend time in their room. But if you have kids sharing rooms you might need to expand beyond bedrooms.

Also if you use spending time in their room as a punishment (time out) it might not work the best. We want quiet time to be a positive thing, that isn’t associated with being in trouble.

For How Long

Decide how long you want quiet time to be, I personally try to have it last between an hour and two hours depending on the day. I feel like if it’s shorter than an hour the kids have a hard time actually getting creative, so an hour and a half to two hours seems to work the best for us.

Did we start out with that long for quiet time? No.

When we first started we started out small and slowly grew. I didn’t want it to be overwhelming to my kids so we started out with a few days of 20-minutes. Then we slowly grew each day adding 10-15 minutes.

Now an hour or two of time playing by themselves in their rooms is no big deal. Yes, they still sometimes complain about hating quiet time, but once they are in their rooms they actually enjoy the time they have to create and do what they want without anyone bugging them or destroying their builds.

What Can They Do

Another important thing to decide when getting started is what they can do during this time.

Screen Time

Some families allow screen time with tablets others (like mine) don’t. Deciding if you are going to allow it before the kids ask will make it a lot easier to stick with your answer.

I’ll share a bunch of activity ideas that my kids really enjoy in the next section.

Coming Out of Their Room

Somedays my kids do really well staying in their room. Other days it seems like the first 30 minutes don’t even count because they are coming out of their room all the time.

Generally, our rule is that they can come out of their room to get a drink, go to the bathroom, or if it’s an emergency. Other than that they should stay in their room. Does it always work? No, some days are better than others, but it’s still a work in progress.

Quiet Time Activities

Let’s talk about some activities. When you first start your kids will need more guidance and direction on what they should do during quiet time. The more practice they get with this new routine the more independent they will be in deciding what activities they would like to do.

For our quiet time activities, there are just two rules, no screens and the activity actually has to be quiet. We have several activities the kids each keep in their room to play with and they can bring toys from the playroom to their room if they would like. The toys just have to be returned when quiet time ends.

Activity Ideas

There are tons of activities your child could do and chances are you already have a bunch of activities that would work. This list is just to help inspire you with ideas to try and to share what works really well with my kids.

Lego Building

Building with Lego bricks is by far one of my kid’s favorite activities to do during the day. They have fun building together, but they also really love building when they know that no one will interrupt them or destroy what they are building.

If you don’t already have Lego bricks I would recommend the Duplo Blocks for preschool and possibly kindergarten age and then regular bricks for older kids. Though my 6-year-old does still enjoy playing with the Duplo blocks once in a while.

Magnetic Tiles

Magnetic tiles are another favorite building toy during quiet time. My son is typically the one to choose to play with the magnetic tiles but my daughter will sometimes choose them.

If you’re just getting started collecting magnetic tiles be sure to get a set that has enough for them to build at least a few different things. You will probably want to get a set that has at least 60 pieces to start.

Activity Rug

I’m sure you have seen the rugs with roads for kids to drive cars on, but did you know that there are several other fun learning through play rugs available?

We were recently gifted an outer space rug for my son’s room from KC Cubs Rugs that is perfect for playtime. The rug has different planets as well as the moon, a rocket ship, a Hubble telescope, and more. If you have a little one that loves learning about space they will love this rug.

My son loves building rockets with his Lego bricks and using this rug to fly the spaceship around space. He also loves just looking and finding the different things on the rug.

Plus I have to say I love the colors of the rug, they are fun and bright but also have a rich color that I haven’t seen in many kid’s rugs.

Books

The kids each keep several books in their rooms ready for quiet time, they also love picking new books at the library to look at.

While the kids don’t spend a lot of time reading or looking at books, it seems like they each look at a book or two for at least a little while each time.

Puzzles

Puzzles are another fun quiet activity. When choosing puzzles for your kids to do during quiet time make sure they are ones that they can do on their own.

I made the mistake of giving my son a more challenging puzzle during quiet time and he was coming out of his room every 5 minutes asking for help. Needless to say, we save the harder puzzles for a time when I’m available to help and have simpler puzzles that he can do on his own in his room.

Dolls

One of my daughter’s favorite quiet time activities is playing with her dolls. She keeps most of her dolls in her room so this is a perfect activity that can keep her entertained for hours sometimes.

Coloring

Depending on the day both of my kids will ask for paper and crayons to color with. Depending on the age of your kids this might not be the best activity, so use your best judgment on that.

When my daughter was younger I let her have the drawing supplies and at the end of quiet time I discovered she had done a nice job decorating her walls, not the paper. Now she does much better coloring where she is supposed to and art is one of her favorite quiet time activities.

Cars

Cars are another favorite toy at our house. The kids love building tracks and driving their hot wheels cars. Though this isn’t an activity they choose very often, when they do it provides hours of entertainment even after quiet time is over.

Stickers

Stickers are another favorite activity that both of my kids love. My son has a Mario sticker book that is a favorite and my daughter has several different princesses, unicorns, etc that she loves.

When the kids were younger we also really liked the Melissa and Doug reusable sticker books.

Pattern Blocks

My son (who is 6) loves making things with the pattern blocks, I often find his whole bedroom floor covered in different builds at the end of quiet time.

Wooden Trains

Our wooden train set is something we have had for years and it still gets played with all the time. When the kids want the train set for quiet time I know it’s because they want to make a track that no one will mess with.

Wooden Blocks

Wooden blocks are the perfect quiet time activity for toddlers. They can build towers, stack, and simply have fun playing with the blocks. We love our block set from Lovevery with its fun colors and so many fun pieces.

Final Thoughts

Good luck starting quiet time and just know that the first few days will be hard. But if you stick with it, over time you will find it’s worth it.