Napping A 2.5 Year Old...She Should Still Nap At Day Care, RIGHT?!

[Lilbutterflie]

They were fine with that, but as it turned out, she was konking out within 2 minutes, not 20. She even fell asleep before my own daughter, 6 months older than her, who still naps 2 hours every day and is asleep by 8-9pm. I told them this and they were shocked, because she doesn''t nap at home on the weekends and sure, she is a nightmare right around midday, they said, but it only takes 30 minutes of driving to get her to sleep rather than 2 hours!

Here is where I believe the TRUE problem is. At the age of 2.5 yrs old, she still does not know how to self sooth and calm her body down at night! Her parents have trained her to fall asleep in the car, and from what they've told you, they do it EVERY night to get her to fall asleep. The problem is NOT whether she has napped or not, the problem is that she won't fall asleep at night unless she's in a car, in motion!!

The reason she falls asleep sooner on no-nap days is because she is UTTERLY exhausted and she hasn't developed the skills to calm her body down and fall asleep by herself at night. Once they buckle down and teach her how to fall asleep by herself and self soothe, their sleep issues at home will go away- nap or not.

[daycare]

i think that we have all been in your shoes when we first started doing daycare...just wanting to please the parents..... Like everyone is saying you have to do what works for you at your house.

I used to have a mom that came every morning to tell me that her kid would not go to sleep until midnight???? They asked me to stop napping and to please the parents I did. The child was so far behind all of the other kids, becuase he was so tired all of the time. I eventually got tired of trying to please the family and turned to education to teach them that their 2.5 year old needed a nap. maslow's hierarchy of needs ring a bell....

its the first one on the pyramid....... you start from the bottom up, meaning the foundation..... Print this out for them and show it to them... Sometimes this works with families that if they see it from an educated stand point they will listen...Not saying that you are uneducated by any means, I am saying that if you show them proof.....I attched some links below hope you can open them...

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Maslows_Hierarchy_of_Needs.png&imgrefurl=http://www.business2community.com/blogging/youll-never-silence-the-voice-of-the-voiceless-the-impact-of-media-regulations-in-australia-on-blogging-sites-0257200&h=338&w=450&sz=51&tbnid=K5toRCKOO_dbpM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=120&zoom=1&usg=__FijoGZPRTWAP4HqMPgSK8-KFV9s=&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ack7UIjXHMvwiQLf2YD4Cw&sqi=2&ved=0CEIQ9QEwBA&dur=101

http://www.business2community.com/blogging/youll-never-silence-the-voice-of-the-voiceless-the-impact-of-media-regulations-in-australia-on-blogging-sites-0257200

[Crazy8]

I have had these parents and as much as I hate to do it I tell them either child naps or you find a daycare where they don't require it. They will usually deal with it for a bit and then pull at about 3 years old to send them to "a real preschool". I do not think the centers do anything to keep the child awake either but I don't get into that with them. They will figure that out when they get there.

[countrymom]

so what do they do on the weekends. find out their routine on the weekend. I agree with the other posters, nap this child. If she is coming to you at 7am what time is she getting up at. I also have a feeling that she has no face time with her parents so she is excited to be with them when they pick her up. I couldn't keep her that long.

[daycare]

so what do they do on the weekends. find out their routine on the weekend. I agree with the other posters, nap this child. If she is coming to you at 7am what time is she getting up at. I also have a feeling that she has no face time with her parents so she is excited to be with them when they pick her up. I couldn't keep her that long.

this is exactly what the other family was like too...ZERO face time..it was sad, but it was what it was. We can't change the parent, even though I know we wish we could.

the kid was with me all day long 11 hours and the parents didnt want to have to deal with anything at all. They just wanted to come home from work and put the kid to bed. Some people don't realize how much work being a parent is. Notice I said SOME...

nap nap nap....

[momma2girls]

My daycare, and if a parent tells me no nap, they would not stay long here.
This reminds me of one of my moms told me just 2 weeks ago- Honestly it's ok if you do not lay her down at all, all day long, it is perfectly fine with us!!! Are you kidding me??? This little girls is 9 months old!!!! She doesn't like to be laid down!! THe parents hold her while she is sleeping or co-sleep with her.

[saved4always]

The center where I work now has nap for 2 1/2 hours for toddlers (18 mos. to 3 years). It is right on our schedule in the parents manual that has to be signed when they enroll. Everyone usually falls asleep in that first half hour. If they wake early and there are still some sleepers, I let them look at books on thier cots but they still need to stay quiet because they all nap in the same room.

I really need them to nap (or at least rest quietly)...that is the only time I have when I can plan our activities for future days. I am hourly so I am trying not to do too much planning outside of work hours....doesn't always work out for me, but I am trying to get to that point where it gets done while I am at work.

[Crystal]

I say, very matter of factly TELL the parents that their child will lay down and nap when the other children nap or they will need to make other child care arrangements.

Personally, I allow no napping, BUT ONLY if the child CLEARLY does not NEED one and ONLY at MY discretion. The parents have no input into my daily schedule with the children. If they want that, then they will need to find another caregiver.

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

Kids actually sleep better at night when they are not overly tired. My policy is all kids nap! I put them down early, by 12, and wake them by 3. I have several kids that I have 12 hours a day. If they are here before 7 I try to get them to sleep a little longer in the mornings too

[daycare]

Kids actually sleep better at night when they are not overly tired. My policy is all kids nap! I put them down early, by 12, and wake them by 3. I have several kids that I have 12 hours a day. If they are here before 7 I try to get them to sleep a little longer in the mornings too

soooooo true....sleep begets sleep...

[lovemykidstoo]

I agree with everyone here. I have had parents say the same thing, but I always reply that ALL the children lay down at the same time and that I don't "make" them sleep, but they do need to rest. If they fall asleep, then they need it. I don't think it's that unusual to have a child for 10 -11 hrs a day. Most of my kids come at 7:30 and are here until 5:30. You figure that they drop them off and have to commute and be at work from 8-5. What I never understand when I've had this happen is if you pick up your child at 5:30 or in your case 6:00, by the time they get home it's 6:00/6:30, they have dinner, bath, etc, do they not want any time with the child? They want to be home and do all of that and have them in bed by 8:00? If they are driving their DD around at midnight to get her to sleep, they need to reevaluate their parenting. That is ridiculous. They have no control over her.

[MyAngels]

the parents have told me that it's "okay to nap her, just make sure to do it before lunch time". If she sleeps before lunch, she has permission to sleep however long she wants, be it 30 minutes or 3 hours.

Well that's simple then - feed her lunch at 3:00 p.m. .

Oh, and I agree with everyone else - she naps or they find new care.

[jojosmommy]

soooooo true....sleep begets sleep...

I agree with this and the part about them not teaching their child to go to sleep without doing it in the car. They started that routine so they are stuck with it.

I even have it in my policies that I will not wake a child at certain intervals to "help with evening routines". That got put on paper after a mom said she allowed her almost 3 yr old to stay up until 11 and then nursed her to sleep. "She wouldn't go to bed any earlier." I let her sleep as long as she wanted (usually a traditional 2 2.5 hour nap time) and I skirted the issue with mom.

If they don't allow their kids to nap here, they are in the wrong place.

[countrymom]

I say, very matter of factly TELL the parents that their child will lay down and nap when the other children nap or they will need to make other child care arrangements.

Personally, I allow no napping, BUT ONLY if the child CLEARLY does not NEED one and ONLY at MY discretion. The parents have no input into my daily schedule with the children. If they want that, then they will need to find another caregiver.

thats how I run it here too, Its up to my discretion whether or not a child needs a nap. I'm not going to keep a child up because the parents want them to go to bed early, what about me, when would I get a break, eat my lunch (in peace)

[Angelsj]

First of all the child obviously NEEDS a nap. You need to have a talk with the parents about this. I hate the when parents say their child won't do something and I see it more and more. They need to set a bedtime routline with her and MAKE her lay down. When/if she gets out of bed they should (without any words) pick her up and put her back in bed (rinse and repeat) and it should only go for a week at the most ( in my experience more like 1 night) and she will stay in bed and sleep. It just irks me "little Johny wouldn't come to daycare unless I gave him a cookie" ummm...you're bigger than him, pick him up and put him in his carseat. I can't believe these parents don't want her to take a nap, if she falls asleep during play she must be a hellion come 6 pm when you don't let her sleep. When did we go from a society where children listen to adults to adults who listen to children?

I hear this so much. She won't lay down, she won't sleep, she won't eat...etc. Who is in charge here, you or your 3 year old??