Quiet time for toddlers who don't nap?

[GypsySoul22]

My son was the best napper, till about 2-3 years and it stopped. I freaked. I was really annoyed because he was up very early and I was a stay at home mom with no car, little diversion for him, apart from me.

I just gave him some books or other toys and gradually he got used to staying alone in another room for a bit.

By 4, not a lot of kids really need a nap or if they do, not for long.
Yes, it's rough but you can try walking and exercise to calm the child down. Dogs and kids need a lot of exercise.

[Tzaphkiel]

quiet time is a must
one of my favorites was to lie down on the floor with a pillow (for me) and i would go to sleep. I enforced it as "quiet time for mom" so they saw it as something for ME and not imposed upon them. They loved having me down there on the floor with them, even if all I was doing was sleeping. I was amazed, they would speak in quiet voices, and to this day i remember them driving trucks and cars around me and over me.

During "quiet time" i speak in low voices too and that helps

As other people have said, books are also a must. A big stack of picture books from the library, i read with them daily and they also look through them and read themselves.

my oldest of 3 liked the quiet time in his room, because it was time alone by himself without his two younger brothers bothering him, he could spend 2 hours a day in there playing and talking to himself. For some strange reason, one of his favorite activities was shredding and peeling carboard boxes apart into layers. We'd save cereal boxes and such, give them to him during his quiet time, and he'd peel them, it seemed very soothing to him. There'd be this big pile of cardboard shreds when he was done, and then he'd put them in a bag for the trash.