Naptime Help Needed

[justgettingstarted]

I have the same problem. I try to get the young one down as early as possible and wake him if need be so that he will go down again at 1ish. So I keep the toddler up a little later after nap.

I tried this and then mom and dad told me they don't want me to wake him. Then dad let it slip that when they started him at my daycare he wasn't taking ANY naps! At 1 year! At the interview mom told me he was taking one nap and was getting better about it. I never would have taken a 1 year old that doesn't nap at all. This is the family I'm already thinking of terming (see other post) because the parents are such PITAs. Now I find out they lied to me.

I've tried to explain that if he naps early in the morning then doesn't take an afternoon nap I get no break and I have to try to keep him quiet for 2+ hours when he's tired and cranky. Ugh! Needed to vent after this week...

[Heidi]

I tried this and then mom and dad told me they don't want me to wake him. Then dad let it slip that when they started him at my daycare he wasn't taking ANY naps! At 1 year! At the interview mom told me he was taking one nap and was getting better about it. I never would have taken a 1 year old that doesn't nap at all. This is the family I'm already thinking of terming (see other post) because the parents are such PITAs. Now I find out they lied to me.

I've tried to explain that if he naps early in the morning then doesn't take an afternoon nap I get no break and I have to try to keep him quiet for 2+ hours when he's tired and cranky. Ugh! Needed to vent after this week...

They don't want you to wake him up? uh uh...

You do what needs to be done, or they find other care...sorry for them, but unless you are harming their child in some way (which you are not) they don't run your business, you do!

Take charge, lady! happyface

I'm all about accomidating the customer, but there are limits, and that's one of them!

[Heidi]

!

I call it the "one hour wiggle". Every child I have ever cared for (mine included) wiggle around, fuss or cry after about one hour of napping. If I leave them be, they go back to sleep. I warn new parents of it b/c they are always asking how I get everyone to take such long naps - dark blinds, closed doors and a fan in the hall is all I do. Just don't teach them that I will get them up after an hour. They aren't ready to be up anyway.

Yes yes yes! Sometimes I wonder if they've fallen asleep on a limb, and it's tingling or something....

If they wake up crying, it's usually an indication that they are not really ready to wake up. If they wake up singin', they got enough sleep. Even then, they can talk to themselves, sing, or play with a stuffed animal until you come get them.

Personally, I LOVE laying in bed, just thinking. Too bad I only get to do that 2 mornings a week. These little guys are SO LUCKY, they get to do it everyday!

[Heidi]

My bedrooms are right next to each other and as soon as they wake up they are screaming and will wake everyone else up too. I'd rather have one up and a little cranky than all of them up so I just get them up and try to play quietly. How can you let them fuss and cry for 20 minutes without everyone waking up?

I have some ******t noise tracks (mountain river, ocean waves, etc.) is that the same as white noise? Any idea why the word amb ient would be blocked?

Turn on every fan in the house for a while until they get it..bathroom fan, oven vent, washer, dryer, and dishwasher...as long as your washing machine isn't like mine...it likes to take a "walk" across the laundry room occasionally.

[cheerfuldom]

set the nap schedule and let them fuss if need be. they learn to sleep thru almost anything at a certain point. the light sleepers either adjust here or just don't stay here. it is too stressful to accommodate a baby that wails at every random noise. most likely they either don't know how to nap or mom/dad shuts down the whole house when baby is napping for fear they will wake. i do have white noise/fans/music in each room, plus blackout curtains but after that, they either sleep or stay in the pnp until nap time is over. I would never even try to keep one cranky non-napper quiet for 2 hours.

[justgettingstarted]

They don't want you to wake him up? uh uh...

You do what needs to be done, or they find other care...sorry for them, but unless you are harming their child in some way (which you are not) they don't run your business, you do!

Take charge, lady! happyface

I'm all about accomidating the customer, but there are limits, and that's one of them!

Love this! Thank you

[justgettingstarted]

Turn on every fan in the house for a while until they get it..bathroom fan, oven vent, washer, dryer, and dishwasher...as long as your washing machine isn't like mine...it likes to take a "walk" across the laundry room occasionally.

Thanks, I'll try this. The dishwasher is often running but I'll add the bathroom fan which is nearer the bedrooms.

[Francine]

I keep a fan on high running in every bedroom during nap time, it works like a charm. I have dogs, if I didn't have fans running the kids would wake every time the dogs moved. Hard floors and toe nails click, click, click, click drives me nuts. If one of them barked during nap time, the whole house would be up.