It wasn't always that way. Back when Dave and I had no children, naps weren't really on my radar. I mean, I liked the idea of a nap and I would occasionally fall asleep on a Sunday afternoon, but it wasn't the sweet nectar of life as it is now and it rarely ever happened. Back then it was just a nicety. Now, it's a necessity.

Eventually, she grew out of the fussy stage and became a very fun and easy baby. She regularly took two naps a day and that second nap was necessary for both her and I because at that point in her life I had gone back to teaching and was at school until lunchtime every day. Teaching wasn't too exhausting--it's exhilarating, actually--but I still came home tired and found it refreshing to have her sleep before I had to transition from Señora G to Mommy each day. I would come home, nurse her, and then she would nap for about an hour while I regrouped and either did housework, sewing, or just relaxed. Sometimes, I even napped!

Finally, summer vacation came and for two and a half glorious months, her nap schedule was in my hands. I worked with her to get her down to one nap in the middle of the day, and the rest is history. Since then she and I have had an agreement: when I come home from work, she sleeps for two hours. While she's sleeping, I do any manner of restful things. It has worked out for the best for all involved. I get to transition from being a teacher to being Mommy and she gets the rest she desperately needs.
Now, she is nearly 4 years old and we still maintain our daily ritual of naptime. She doesn't always sleep during naptime but I have come to the conclusion that is the best option for all involved if everyone in the house gets a rest and a break for 2 hours. Often, after many protests and her insisting that she is not tired, I find her fast asleep in her room. On the days when naptime doesn't happen, I get a grumpy little girl by the early evening and I wish desperately she'd had that down time. So we “nap,” every day, no matter how much she insists that it's unnecessary. And if she doesn't sleep, she spends time in her bed cultivating her creativity with books, dollies, and making up songs.
Many of my friends have 2 or 3 year olds who no longer nap and they tell me how lucky I am that Bunny still does. “Oh, she doesn't always,” I respond, “but she will have two hours of down time/ nap time every day until she starts school.” I've simply come to the conclusion that for the health and benefit of our entire family, the sacredness of those two, glorious afternoon hours must be observed.
Now that I have a new baby in the house, those two hours are even more priceless. We've slipped into a schedule where I usually get both of them sleeping together for an hour or two and it's just what this exhausted and overwhelmed new Mommy of two needs. I realize that as Baby Bear gets older this might change as he won't be so sleepy all the time anymore and he'll probably pare his sleeping down to two and then one naps a day. For now, though, my stalwart refusal to let go of naptime is so, very helpful for the transition from one child to two. I rest and I catch up on house work while the two of them sleep. I wouldn't be able to function as a mom without it.
So, how about your house? What's your approach to naps? Do you enforce the naptime rule or do you abandon naps as your children lose interest? Why or why not?