Annoying 13 Month Old

[Crystal]

So they're kinda like a dog bed?

What happens when a clumsy kid steps on an infant or toddler in their doggie bed on the floor?

LOL! No, not like a dog bed...why don't you try doing a bit of research, if you really want to know. It is a very common practice to use these in Reggio or Montessori programs. It is repsectful of the child to be allow them to rest as they choose, rather than tell them when they will rest. Just as you and I like to lay down when we choose to, so do infants and toddlers. And, a practitioner with any common sense would certainly not place it in a line of traffic where a clumsy child might step/fall on it. In fact, it would be placed in a space that is conducive to rest and not placed in an active play space.

[Golden Rule]

Home Daycare

To the op, I actually set up my indoor playroom for the different age groups. I used pre-constructed deck railing attached to walls to separate my playroom (400+ sq ft) into 3 sections. One section for infants, one for toddlers, and one for arts/crafts/meals/etc. All with safety gates to allow me to move freely between the groups, and lose no personal interaction. (I do not keep children over 4, and only keep 6 at any time) I did this about 13 years ago to resolve the exact problem you are describing. (along with sibling issues)

The entire room is open air, but the children are unable to injure one another or get into things not safe for their age range even if I am in the restroom. We do come together for stories/activities etc. Infants (under 12 months, not climbing) are moved into an adjacent, quieter, room to sleep in their porta-cribs.(they tend to sleep at different times, here) The 13 month old would be placed on a mat in his respective area, if he gets up simply lay him back down like you would anyone else. He would also be spending more and more time daily in the toddler section since not all developmental stages are solely age based, as we well know...!!!

During the times when there are no infants here, we use that padded area as a reading/puppet/soft toy/quiet time center. I also swap things around a bit to keep things exciting. I have climbers, slides, cars, etc that "rotate out" every couple months.

I am sure some will not like this setup, but IMO they will continue to be separated like this throughout their lives. My outdoor playgrounds are set up in a similar way. It has been the best improvement I could have imagined. My house is peaceful and we rarely have "fights", anymore. I also pass inspection every year with flying colors so am confident this SHOULD? not be against any rules. Good luck, whatever you do!!! This is the hardest/best job in the world....

[misol]

To the op, I actually set up my indoor playroom for the different age groups. I used pre-constructed deck railing attached to walls to separate my playroom (400+ sq ft) into 3 sections. One section for infants, one for toddlers, and one for arts/crafts/meals/etc. All with safety gates to allow me to move freely between the groups, and lose no personal interaction. (I do not keep children over 4, and only keep 6 at any time) I did this about 13 years ago to resolve the exact problem you are describing. (along with sibling issues)

The entire room is open air, but the children are unable to injure one another or get into things not safe for their age range even if I am in the restroom. We do come together for stories/activities etc. Infants (under 12 months, not climbing) are moved into an adjacent, quieter, room to sleep in their porta-cribs.(they tend to sleep at different times, here) The 13 month old would be placed on a mat in his respective area, if he gets up simply lay him back down like you would anyone else. He would also be spending more and more time daily in the toddler section since not all developmental stages are solely age based, as we well know...!!!

During the times when there are no infants here, we use that padded area as a reading/puppet/soft toy/quiet time center. I also swap things around a bit to keep things exciting. I have climbers, slides, cars, etc that "rotate out" every couple months.

I am sure some will not like this setup, but IMO they will continue to be separated like this throughout their lives. My outdoor playgrounds are set up in a similar way. It has been the best improvement I could have imagined. My house is peaceful and we rarely have "fights", anymore. I also pass inspection every year with flying colors so am confident this SHOULD? not be against any rules. Good luck, whatever you do!!! This is the hardest/best job in the world....

goldenrule your setup sounds fabulous. I had been envisioning something like this for my daycare area and had not considered deck railing. Do you have any pics that you could post of your setup?

[Golden Rule]

goldenrule your setup sounds fabulous. I had been envisioning something like this for my daycare area and had not considered deck railing. Do you have any pics that you could post of your setup?

I was uploading pictures when it occurred to me that there were children in the photos and I do not know the general etiquette of this. Can I upload them to an album on my profile so that contacts/other providers can see them...would that be ok, here? This is my first childcare forum...

Please forgive my ignorance on this topic....

[Chickenhauler]

LOL! No, not like a dog bed...why don't you try doing a bit of research, if you really want to know. It is a very common practice to use these in Reggio or Montessori programs. It is repsectful of the child to be allow them to rest as they choose, rather than tell them when they will rest. Just as you and I like to lay down when we choose to, so do infants and toddlers. And, a practitioner with any common sense would certainly not place it in a line of traffic where a clumsy child might step/fall on it. In fact, it would be placed in a space that is conducive to rest and not placed in an active play space.

You did describe this 'nest' as being a basket on the floor, which is exactly what my dog sleeps in.

How do you monitor a child that is 'in a place of rest' (another quiet, dark room) when they have the ability to get up and wander around unattended?


And please leave the snide condescending comments out if you can. How about you write your posts like we were sitting face to face? I highly doubt that you speak to people in person using ad hominem attacks like you do here.

[Crystal]

So am I supposed to respond nicely to you when you are being a wise guy, as in your post to me asking "So they're kinda like a dog bed?". I just responded in kind.

Generally if you use the nest type of bed, you wouldn't necessarily have the child in another room, but perhaps in a "cozy corner" of the main room. Also, it would more likely be seen in an infant/toddler only program, not one with infant-school-age children.

I do not use the nests, as I have a wide range of ages and none small enough for the beds, but I do have cozy corners, with soft rugs, books and sheer curtains that can be drawn to create space conducive to relaxing and resting as the children choose to. Same idea, and the children are visible to me at all times, but have the ability to rest.

[Chickenhauler]

So am I supposed to respond nicely to you when you are being a wise guy, as in your post to me asking "So they're kinda like a dog bed?". I just responded in kind.

Generally if you use the nest type of bed, you wouldn't necessarily have the child in another room, but perhaps in a "cozy corner" of the main room. Also, it would more likely be seen in an infant/toddler only program, not one with infant-school-age children.

I do not use the nests, as I have a wide range of ages and none small enough for the beds, but I do have cozy corners, with soft rugs, books and sheer curtains that can be drawn to create space conducive to relaxing and resting as the children choose to. Same idea, and the children are visible to me at all times, but have the ability to rest.

Stop and ask yourself, after reading the descriptions given here, does that not sound an awful lot like a doggie bed?

I didn't see where anyone had stated (until now) that this would be used in a toddler only grouping.


As for my comments, they weren't directed at you, and IDK how they wound up in that post, that was meant for someone else in this thread.

One guess as to whom.

[Unregistered]

Could someone post a picture of one of these nests? I tried to do a search and all I could find were motessori beds, which are mattresses on the floor in a child proofed room. I am trying to educate myself before judging, but could not find anything to give me a visual.

In our state we are required to use a crib or pnp until 24 months of age. It is not our choice. The other problem is that many children "choose" not to rest and become overstimulated, cranky and unable to rest even at night. Every child I've had that mom or dad let them eliminate naps because the child didn't want them now has a 7 yr going to school with behavior problems because they are overtired and believe they can choose what and when they will do things. Being tired, they are more likely to be frustrated with the new schedule requirements. Some early learning programs cater to this, but most do not, and the issue still rears it's head when they become adults. In school, in the work place, in life - schedules happen. We need to accept that someone else will be in control of our activities at some point and rest time is one small way to introduce this to children. I see nothing barbaric in choosing our child's rest time. This is a hard lesson to learn when you have never been expected to follow a group schedule. Sure it feels good to let your child make choices, but I think that allowing too many completely encourages a self-endulgent attititude that will hurt a child socially and in the workplace later in when the real-world where they aren't protected from people that expect compliance without question.

I don't think the nests are necessarily going to cause future tantrum throwers, but pack n plays certainly aren't scarring them either.

[QualiTcare]

Stop and ask yourself, after reading the descriptions given here, does that not sound an awful lot like a doggie bed?

I didn't see where anyone had stated (until now) that this would be used in a toddler only grouping.


As for my comments, they weren't directed at you, and IDK how they wound up in that post, that was meant for someone else in this thread.

One guess as to whom.

we can call a nest a doggie bed...

if we can call cribs a dog crate.

sounds fair to me.

[GretasLittleFriends]

we can call a nest a doggie bed...

if we can call cribs a dog crate.

sounds fair to me.

Sure, why not?! Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Is this what a nest looks like?

I tried to research it, but this is the only thing I could come up with. (Ok, well other pics didn't have the infant roll things in them, same thing otherwise.)


This is the mental image with the description of the "nest" that has been given. I can easily understand how one can think from previous descriptions that it sounds like what a dog bed looks like.



Personally, considering the children in my care, I'd much rather have my child crawl and sleep in the brown one as opposed to the green one. I feel the sleeper would be safer and better protected.

[DBug]

That brown bed looks SO comfy!

So I gather that the philosophy behind nests is that babies can rest whenever they choose. I think it's probably alot like my mealtime philosophy -- kids will eat when they're hungry, and no one should force them to when they're not hungry.

I do have a couple of questions though. What about babies that refuse to go to sleep when they're tired, and just get more and more cranky? Or do they eventually get past that, and start recognizing the need to go to their nest? Also, does it affect their night-time sleep at all? And what ages are the nests for? I would assume just crawlers (ie. 6 mos to 12 mos.), but that seems like a pretty short time span.

It's a very intriguing concept, one that I'd never heard of before. I'm too Type A to go without a routine, but it's an interesting method to consider ...

[QualiTcare]

That brown bed looks SO comfy!

So I gather that the philosophy behind nests is that babies can rest whenever they choose. I think it's probably alot like my mealtime philosophy -- kids will eat when they're hungry, and no one should force them to when they're not hungry.

I do have a couple of questions though. What about babies that refuse to go to sleep when they're tired, and just get more and more cranky? Or do they eventually get past that, and start recognizing the need to go to their nest? Also, does it affect their night-time sleep at all? And what ages are the nests for? I would assume just crawlers (ie. 6 mos to 12 mos.), but that seems like a pretty short time span.

It's a very intriguing concept, one that I'd never heard of before. I'm too Type A to go without a routine, but it's an interesting method to consider ...

google lalapanzi beds.

lots of infants sleep in "moses baskets" and it's basically the same thing, except for bigger. a lot of people DO say they look like dog beds. you probably could actually use one of those huge/wicker beds for big dogs and put moses basket bedding in it - it would be cheaper.

as far as kids refusing to go to sleep - that's another story. that happens on rest mats, toddler beds, and some kids can climb out of cribs. that has to do with how you handle it more than the furniture they sleep in.

[slpender]

the two best daycare centers i've seen in my life (in my opinion) use nests - which is where i got the concept, and there is nothing illegal about them.

I googled the nest I am in Florida and I would not be able to use those my regs clearly state in family child care homes children need to sleep in a crib or pack n play until they are 1 year old and centers must use a crib not pack n plays

[daycare]

This post is 3 years old

[slpender]

I have a 13 month old that doesn't stay anywhere! IF I put him in the exersaucer while I go to the bathroom or prepare lunch, he climbs out. He tries to climb out of his booster seat at the table. I even have a tray for the seat. Now, today, he tried to get out of the pack n'play. He had his arms on top of the packn'play and his legs were halfway up. I know this topic just came up about when moving toddlers out of the packn'plays to the floor(or whatever) for their naps. But I can't do that at 13 months. He'll just mosey all over the floor. Help!

Could you put this child in a play yard where there are toys and a bit of room to move around that way he is safe but still has a little freedom at the same time