My Daughter Makes Every Afternoon Difficult, Whether Daycare Kids Are Here Or Not...

[MaritimeMummy]

Lunchtime. 12:30. Every day. She eats great. By 1, everyone is done, I'm going straight into nap mode for anyone that does. I get everyone on their nap mats, I send my daughter to her room to play with another little girl her age, neither nap. I rock with my son in the living room/playspace until he's asleep. Then my daughter and DCG come out of her room because she and my son share a room for now. All of this happens rather quickly, and by 1:30 I am ready to do a quiet craft with the two non-napping girls.

Well, let me tell you, from 1:30 until snack time at 3, I am bombarded with, "is it snack time? Can I have something to eat? I'm HUNGRY. PLEASE give me something." often met with tears when I tell her it's too soon and that she just ate. She'll get the other little girl in on it, too. Today, as soon as I got my son laying down, DCG came running to me and said, "Now we have a snack?" What the...? NO! You guys KNOW that we don't eat snack until the littler kids get up from their naps! PLUS you just ate?! COME ON, girls!

They can't be needing to eat out of hunger, and yet, they don't seem bored. What's going on? If I let them eat whenever they said they were hungry I'd have no food in the house.

Plus, two big things here: my daughter never, NEVER eats what she asks for. An apple? Takes two bites, for example. Every bit of food she "saves for later" and never touches it again. DCG isn't really hungry, she just does whatever my DD does. They're driving me crazy, and my daughter pesters me about snacks so much that I am at the point where I just give her a dirty look and say, "I just said NO." and she bursts into tears. But that is never the end of it. What am I supposed to do?

[MaritimeMummy]

FWIW, DD is 3.5 with the mentality of a 5 year old. :-S

[itlw8]

new rule if you beg for a snck you go take a nap. now after 15 minutes I would let them up to try again but then if you beg for a snack you take a nap.

[Live and Learn]

All you can eat celery bar. If they are really hungry they can eat celery. No ranch, no dip. Just celery.

[Hunni Bee]

All you can eat celery bar. If they are really hungry they can eat celery. No ranch, no dip. Just celery.

I like!!

[WoodOx]

your DD may not need a nap but I would have both girls lay down for 30min for a rest, then do the craft with them.
If your DD doesn NOT eat very much, give her smaller portions so food don't go to waste.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

new rule if you beg for a snck you go take a nap. now after 15 minutes I would let them up to try again but then if you beg for a snack you take a nap.

I like it.

[daycarediva]

I would serve them their leftover lunch, I do it with my ds (the beggar who is always just STARVING).

[Willow]

Not with daycare kids but certainly with my own child if that were the scenario playing out over and over again I'd futz with her routine a bit to reset her thinking. If lunch is done at 1 and she goes into the bedroom to play only to come out by 1:30 saying she's hungry how about instead having her stay seated at the table through that time?

Lots of kids need more time to fill up. I know several of mine in the past would inhale their food, say they were full in hopes of hopping down to go play, and then be hungry again 20 minutes later after everything had settled. If you have her sit at the table until 1:30 she won't have a reason to ask you for snack at 1:30. Let her color and graze?


Is she "twiggy" by chance? Her metabolism just could be that high too. I to this day can go out to a restaurant buffet and pig out, only to come home and immediately want to head to the fridge.

[cheerfuldom]

I think she is just bored. my non nappers here do the same thing. I also tell them that if they cause trouble during nap time (asking for things, crying tantrums, acting ridiculous) I will put them down for naps like the babies.

it sort of sounds that you do give them food during this time on occasion, am i right? now they are looking for the "special treatment" on top of getting to stay awake. even if they are hungry, i would still have them wait. no one is going to starve in 90 minutes without food.

if she is as smart as a 5 year old, make a system where if they break the "awake during nap time" rules, they go to nap like the other kids. make sure she knows that staying awake for crafts or movie or whatever is a privilege to be earned every day.....or lost every day

[Live and Learn]

I think she is just bored. my non nappers here do the same thing. I also tell them that if they cause trouble during nap time (asking for things, crying tantrums, acting ridiculous) I will put them down for naps like the babies.

it sort of sounds that you do give them food during this time on occasion, am i right? now they are looking for the "special treatment" on top of getting to stay awake. even if they are hungry, i would still have them wait. no one is going to starve in 90 minutes without food.

if she is as smart as a 5 year old, make a system where if they break the "awake during nap time" rules, they go to nap like the other kids. make sure she knows that staying awake for crafts or movie or whatever is a privilege to be earned every day.....or lost every day

Exactly this.