Nap Time Question

[safechner]

I have a 4 year old dcg for two years now. I started to watch her since she was 2 years old. That is very strange that she almost never took a nap for two years. I would say she probably take two or three times a year. Is this normal?? I spoke to her mother to see what time she normally go bed and she said she goes to bed around 9pm to 10pm and wake up around 7am. She asked me if she have taken a nap in here and I told her nope she almost never. She think it was strange, too. She said she didn't complained being tired when they picked her up from my home. I always have so busy with our activities everyday with the kids.

[mrs.meg]

Sounds strange to me. All of my kids from 5 and under still take naps. Some people say that some kids do not require as much sleep as others. I am not sure, I guess if this is normal for her after all this time, it must be fine. I think, too it depends on how she acts, is she grumpy and tired and miserable, or is she pleasant to be around?

[Persephone]

On another website almost half of all the mothers say that their child does not take a nap. I think about age 2 they stopped. I think it's crazy but I guess if they want to deal with it, so be it.

[mac60]

I think that is odd too. Even my kindy's take a nap and I have to wake him up many days. If a 2 yr old is not taking a nap, I would say they rule the roost in their home, which is not a good thing. At my house everyone naps if unless your a full day school kid.

[originalkat]

Once in awhile I have had a kid who just NEVER naps. This hasnt happened to me in my home daycare but when I worked in a center out of a class of 12 I usually had 1 who never slept (I had 4 year olds). The rest were pooped though. I always made them rest on their cots anyway.

[GretasLittleFriends]

My son basically quit napping when he was not quite 2, he's 5 now. He does not rule the roost either. He usually goes to bed between 9 and 10pm and typically sleeps in until between 8:30 and 9:30. When he was in daycare she would make him rest, but he didn't sleep. He just lied there staring at the ceiling most of the time. There are days when he seems a little more tired than others, but he's very respectful even during naptime here about keeping quiet.

[momma2girls]

I think that is odd too. Even my kindy's take a nap and I have to wake him up many days. If a 2 yr old is not taking a nap, I would say they rule the roost in their home, which is not a good thing. At my house everyone naps if unless your a full day school kid.

I do the same thing, children need their naps!!

[Lucy]

Sometimes I think Providers count on nap time as their break time, so they make a rule that EVERYONE has to take a nap. Not all kids are the same. Some just don't require as much sleep. It's somewhat rare, but it happens. There are adults that get by just fine with 4 hours of sleep every night for their whole adult lives. I think it's wrong to force naps on kids who don't need them. I'm not saying let them be pushy and get their own way when it comes to not wanting a nap.... I'm not saying that at all! I just feel that some grow out of it earlier than others. I think it's optional at around 3 yrs old. You have to know the kid to know if their body requires it or not. The majority of kids I've watched DO take naps at least till age 5, but I have had some who didn't.

What I do, is that if I have one of those kids who never falls asleep during their nap, I will have them just lay down on my couch for a little bit. Depending on the kid, maybe 30 min, maybe an hour. It provides them with a little down time, which in some cases is just as good as a nap. I had one from age 3 1/2 to 5, who I would just let her quietly do crafts or read or something. The quiet time without other kids and noise was very rejuvenating for her.

[Unregistered]

Sometimes I think Providers count on nap time as their break time, so they make a rule that EVERYONE has to take a nap. Not all kids are the same. Some just don't require as much sleep. It's somewhat rare, but it happens. There are adults that get by just fine with 4 hours of sleep every night for their whole adult lives. I think it's wrong to force naps on kids who don't need them. I'm not saying let them be pushy and get their own way when it comes to not wanting a nap.... I'm not saying that at all! I just feel that some grow out of it earlier than others. I think it's optional at around 3 yrs old. You have to know the kid to know if their body requires it or not. The majority of kids I've watched DO take naps at least till age 5, but I have had some who didn't.

What I do, is that if I have one of those kids who never falls asleep during their nap, I will have them just lay down on my couch for a little bit. Depending on the kid, maybe 30 min, maybe an hour. It provides them with a little down time, which in some cases is just as good as a nap. I had one from age 3 1/2 to 5, who I would just let her quietly do crafts or read or something. The quiet time without other kids and noise was very rejuvenating for her.

I think this is a good point, but I wanted to mention how this could apply in our daycare. We use nap time as clean up. The only time we can really do any good sweeping of floors, mopping, sanitizing, lunch clean up, dish washing, etc is during nap time. With 14-16 children each day, there's no other time for it. I do consider it somewhat of a break, though, just because it's quieter, and doesn't require so much physically or mentally as caring for the children. So far out of all the children, only one of them will actually lay quietly if she doesn't sleep. If ANY of the others stay awake on a particular day, they make so much noise, or talk to each other so much, or even to themselves, that they wake the others up, also. Plus, if we try to provide a quiet activity for a certain child who hasn't gone to sleep, any children who wake up early see them doing something besides sleeping, so they soon learn that "If I refuse to go to sleep, I get to do something special". and from then on we've got two awake, the next time three, and so on. If there's more than one awake, they talk too much and get too loud and wake the other's up. So my point is, if even one child doesn't go to sleep, the others don't get to sleep either, and we don't get to clean at all because we're too busy trying to keep the non-nappers quiet and on their cot.

[Former Teacher]

Ok with all due respect I must disagree with you guys

Growing up, I was that kind of child. I would almost NEVER nap. My mother, at that time a single mother so my oldest sister raised me, would come home from work late at night around 11:30 and see me wide awake because I did actually have a nap that day. The rule was if I didn't sleep by 12, I had to stay awake.

My mother, too, thought I was odd :: She kept on taking me to the family doctor sometimes crying because I wouldn't be taking naps, therefore at times she wouldn't get her rest. The doctor explained that I was indeed "normal". However there will come a day in my life where all I would want to do IS sleep. That day was the first day of Kindergarten.

Once I started Kinder, that's all I wanted to do was sleep. Even now 30 odd years later HAHA!

[Lucy]

I think this is a good point, but I wanted to mention how this could apply in our daycare. We use nap time as clean up. The only time we can really do any good sweeping of floors, mopping, sanitizing, lunch clean up, dish washing, etc is during nap time. With 14-16 children each day, there's no other time for it. I do consider it somewhat of a break, though, just because it's quieter, and doesn't require so much physically or mentally as caring for the children. So far out of all the children, only one of them will actually lay quietly if she doesn't sleep. If ANY of the others stay awake on a particular day, they make so much noise, or talk to each other so much, or even to themselves, that they wake the others up, also. Plus, if we try to provide a quiet activity for a certain child who hasn't gone to sleep, any children who wake up early see them doing something besides sleeping, so they soon learn that "If I refuse to go to sleep, I get to do something special". and from then on we've got two awake, the next time three, and so on. If there's more than one awake, they talk too much and get too loud and wake the other's up. So my point is, if even one child doesn't go to sleep, the others don't get to sleep either, and we don't get to clean at all because we're too busy trying to keep the non-nappers quiet and on their cot.

Well, I was clearly talking about home Daycare. I have no experience with centers.

[mac60]

Well, I was clearly talking about home Daycare. I have no experience with centers.

It really doesn't matter if a home daycare or a center, we have basically the same responsibilities as far as care and cleaning, etc, only a home daycare is on a smaller scale, and there is only "one" of us doing all the work.

It only take one to upset the whole nap routine, that is why naps are not optional here.

[mac60]

Well, I was clearly talking about home Daycare. I have no experience with centers.

It really doesn't matter if a home daycare or a center, we have basically the same responsibilities as far as care and cleaning, etc, only a home daycare is on a smaller scale, and there is only "one" of us doing all the work.

It only take one child to upset the whole nap routine, that is why naps are not optional here.

I just did a report for my psychology class about napping. Did you know that many countries have nap rooms for their employees, because they found that napping improved productivity. Sleep deprivation accounts for over $18 billion loss with businesses per year. I could safely guess too that sleep deprivation accounts for the bad behavior of many young children too.

[safechner]

Well, every kids are different, I guess. Usually, I noticed she has some bad mood most of mornings when her mother dropped her off here. After that, she was fine all day here like she really enjoyed being here with me.

Today, she finally fell sleep during nap time so it was so nice to have a break once a while.

[Lucy]

It really doesn't matter if a home daycare or a center, we have basically the same responsibilities as far as care and cleaning, etc, only a home daycare is on a smaller scale, and there is only "one" of us doing all the work.

It only take one to upset the whole nap routine, that is why naps are not optional here.

Well, the difference is I nap them in my 4 bedrooms. (Actually 3 and an office.) So the kids can sleep all at the same time and not bother each other, and also not be bothered by anyone who needs to stay in the living room on the couch laying down or reading, or at my dining room table doing quiet activities. Works out great for me. I still get my quiet time to catch up on cleaning and whatnot, but I'm flexible enough that if I have a non-napper they can stay up. That's why naps ARE optional here. When I say "optional", I don't mean the kid chooses. Holy cow - no! It is through careful thought and discussion with the parents and I as a team making the decision that this kid is one of those who just doesn't benefit from being forced to fall asleep in the middle of the day. Especially if they're not going to fall asleep. Quiet time is absolutely sufficient for some.

I remember taking one of my required education courses one time early on (I've done home Daycare for over 15 years) and they talked about how everything we do for the kids should be for their benefit, not ours. I feel like naps fall into that category. If I have to sacrifice ME time, I will. I can clean for a couple min here and there throughout the day and leave the bulk of it for the evening.