How Long is Your Nap Time?

[DBug]

I'm extending my naptime to 2 hours, up from 1.5 hours, at the same time as cutting out the hour-long morning nap for 3 of my little ones (1 f/t, 2 p/t). I keep thinking parents are going to be worried that I'm letting them sleep for too long, but the ones I've talked to are actually quite happy with it. What's the normal amount of time for afternoon nap? When my own kids were that age, I let them sleep for 3-4 hours each afternoon. That worked for them, but I'm guessing that's too long for most other kids. My dck's range from 9 months to 4 years, with most of them being around 18 months.

For those that wake your dc kids up, how long is your naptime?

[laundryduchess@yahoo.com]

mine nap from 1230 (ish) to 3. they start waking up at 230 and they lay quietly on their cots, I wake change and feed them at 3.

[momma2girls]

Mine is from 1:00-3:30, some start waking up at 3:00, but do lay quietly, til I come and wake up everyone at 3:30 for snacks and afternoon activities. Everyone probably falls asleep around 1:30.

[momofsix]

Mine all lie down at about 1:00 and are usually up by 3:00, anyone still asleep at 4:00 I will wake up.

[newtoeverything]

12:00 to 2:30 here. It depends on the day and how much activities we did, but for the most part they all sleep that long - and need it!

[SunflowerMama]

My nap time is from 12:30/12:45 - 3 but my 4 older kids (all 3yrs old) all sleep until I wake them at 4p (I don't let them go past 4p).

My younger ones (under 2) usually sleep until about 2:30/3.

[melissa ann]

My naptime is from 12ish to 2:30-3:00. Sometimes my 5 yr old sleeps during that time too. Gramps believes grandson (dcb) is too old for a nap, but he's ususally the first one to go to sleep and sometimes the last to wake up. He's 4. He also gets here at 6am so by noon, he's tired.
I don't normally let them go past 3:15, though.

[originalkat]

Mine is about 2 1/2 hours

[emosks]

Our infant naps from 9:30-11:30 and 1:30-3:30.

The rest of them nap from 1-3.

[Unregistered]

naptime at the daycare i worked at (and where my children attended) was from 12:30 - 2:30 SUPPOSEDLY!

in reality, they would lay them down at 12 and let them sleep as long as they would stay asleep. that ticked me off! as a parent, there is nothing worse than not being able to get your child to go to bed at night because they slept too long at daycare! ESPECIALLY since you are PAYING daycare to care for your child - not let them sleep as long as possible so they can have peace!

since i worked at the daycare as well, i would ALWAYS wake up the children i cared for right on schedule. i know how hard it is as a parent trying to get your child to bed and i respected that. my co-workers would get annoyed with me waking the kids up, but OH WELL - i was't there for my co-workers, i was there for the kids and the parents!

some kids (once they turn 4) don't even take naps. i think it's downright CRUEL to force them to lay on a mat for 2 - 2.5 hours. you can always pull them to the side and do a quiet activity while the younger ones sleep. people pay good money for you to treat their children like they would treat them - and most parents wouldn't force their child to stare at the ceiling with no intention of sleeping for 2 hours or more.

[momofboys]

NAptime at my home is from 12:30 until about 3:00-3:15. I only have my 2 year old & another little boy who is almost 2. I have a little girl who only comes 2 days a week & she is 4. She naps still but for shorter timeframes, usually only until about 2:30. But she still does appear to need the nap, she gets up everyday at 6:00 am.

[toddletots]

To the original poster, what are your reasons for cutting out the morning naps? I work in a center, and Have ages 16 months to 24 months in my room. At 16 months many of these children still need 2 naps a day. They are forced into getting one nap which is unfair to the child, my other children and myself. I am in a room with 7 by myself, when a child needs a nap, I have to beg the infant room to take them(usually they refuse, and not because of ratio or space for the child to nap!) or put up a pack n play in my room, and the rest of us have to go to the lunch room outside my room and do table activities for an hour+. Usually I have to listen to them cry for an hour, because the lunchroom is now a temporary classroom. I get no extra help. I'm told to deal with it.

Our center nap time is 12:30 to 3:00 for the children in my room up to the preschoolers. State mandates that all children must be on their cots for no more then 30 minutes if awake. This has never happened. they can get off their cots at 1:45, when staff lunch breaks are done. We do have parents that request their children be woken up at a certain time for easier bedtimes, and the occassional one that doesn't want the child to sleep at all. If they fall asleep then they can sleep until 1:45 and are woken up. All children are woken up at 3:00. We sleep as a group in our lunch room, so cots and blankets have to be put away for snack at 3:30.

[DBug]

To the original poster, what are your reasons for cutting out the morning naps?

All 3 of the little ones that I'm working on cutting out morning naps with, don't take am naps at home on the weekends, and for 2 of them, they really don't need them here either. 1 would talk or cry for the hour, and the other is just so well-behaved, she'll sleep anytime, anywhere, but she really doesn't need it. The third (the f/t of the 3) skipped am nap the last two days, but this morning she was exhausted. So, I put her down at the usual time and she was out like a light. I'm thinking she still needs the am nap, and I'm fine with letting her sleep. I have a baby that naps in the am too, so it's not like she's the only one.

From what everyone else says, the average is 2 - 2.5 hours, so I guess I'm not that far off. I guess I just feel a little guilty getting the extra half-hour break . But the parents are happy and the kids are happy, so I guess I should be too!

[Daycare Mommy]

I don't have a set time. We aim for 2 hours, and that's generally what we get, but sometimes if they are very tired from lots of outdoor play in the morning they'll sleep up to 3 hours. I don't wake them. When the first one or two wake up, I open blinds and they make noise, so everyone else follows in getting up within 5 minutes or so.

[toddletots]

I guess I just feel a little guilty getting the extra half-hour break . But the parents are happy and the kids are happy, so I guess I should be too!

If the parents are happy, and the kids are happy, and most importantly you are happy, fantatastic. I would love to have some extra quiet time.