They Won’t Go To Sleep In One Room and I Can’t Take It Anymore!

[DaisyMamma]

Im not sure if anyone remembers but I posted about some serious respect problems from family not long ago.

We are working on making changes to allow more family privacy and one of those changes means that ALL the daycare kids sleep in one room now, as they are now only allowed in two rooms in my house at all - well 3 if you include the bathroom.

At first I learned that I had to put the trouble maker down first so he wouldn't keep everyone up. Then the 2nd trouble maker and finally the last two or three. It worked great for a while. But now either trouble maker #1 or #2 refuses to go to sleep knowing the other kids are still up in the playroom.

It's becoming a huge problem. At 2:15 all but #1 is finally asleep. It's now 2:35 and he is still awake.

I cannot spend 2 hours putting these kids down! I would literally rather QUIT! So they will be down for maybe an hour before SA arrive and I have to clean and have my own lunch. It's not happening.

To make matters worse my preschooler gets home at 1:20 and she cannot be left alone to her devices. She acts like a 2 year old - dumps salt all over the couch, paints the walls, with katsup, etc

[MNMum]

How old are your dcks? Do they sleep in pack n plays or on cots?

I haven't been doing this as long as others. But here is what I have found in the past two years anyway. I haven't wanted to put in the time/energy to get my under 18 mos to sleep in same room. They are in pnp in separate rooms. When I tried to convert my almost 2 year olds to a cot it didn't work very well. They either took forever to go to sleep or started walking around if they woke halfway through naptime. So they are now back in their pnp (I had to buy 2 more, but it was worth it to me). I am very stern when it comes to naptime manners. "Bodies still, mouths quiet". If they don't listen after 2 warnings they are moved to sleep "alone, not with their friends". If it becomes habit that I'm needing to move them, they do not get a warning, they are moved immediately.

[momofsix]

Maybe it's just getting used to the change?
All mine sleep in the same room-and those that don't sleep set on their mat and be quiet in the same room. They know they need to be quiet.
We recently had to move nap to another room in the house and I was so worried how it would go-changing the routine on them totally. I am in the room with them until the sleepers are all asleep-I don't leave them alone to give them a chance to try and mess around! I'd try laying them all down at one time and maybe even just eat your lunch in the room while they fall asleep.

[Heidi]

How old are your dcks? Do they sleep in pack n plays or on cots?

I haven't been doing this as long as others. But here is what I have found in the past two years anyway. I haven't wanted to put in the time/energy to get my under 18 mos to sleep in same room. They are in pnp in separate rooms. When I tried to convert my almost 2 year olds to a cot it didn't work very well. They either took forever to go to sleep or started walking around if they woke halfway through naptime. So they are now back in their pnp (I had to buy 2 more, but it was worth it to me). I am very stern when it comes to naptime manners. "Bodies still, mouths quiet". If they don't listen after 2 warnings they are moved to sleep "alone, not with their friends". If it becomes habit that I'm needing to move them, they do not get a warning, they are moved immediately.

Same here...

DCK's are not allowed to PLAY in our other rooms, but I do have pnp's set up for naps. It's the only way it could possibly work in this house. My kids are all school age, though.

If your DD doesn't follow the quiet time rules, I would make her take a nap, or at least lay on a cot with some books.

The preschooler is your own, right? Dumping salt and ketchup??? Yeah...I'm kind of old school. MY child would have gotten a sore rump for that! I spanked rarely, but that would have been a spanking offense!

I've had 4 year olds here that don't nap. They lay down with a basket of books and toys, and it's the only time I allow hand-held video games (or those reader things). Get off the mat, it all goes bye bye. I have also been known to build a "sleeping fort" or two for those kids. My teenager says little kids are like birds..if you cover them up, they're quiet. ::

Try one of these on an old crib mattress on the floor. It's a great "fort" that you can fold up during the rest of the day...

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bed+tent

Just make sure you get the right size. You probably don't want a twin sized mattress in the corner of your dining room.

[DaisyMamma]

My preschooler doesn't nap. She can't be left alone for long.
There isn't somewhere else to move troublemakers.
They are all in PNP and the two trouble makers will just climb right out if I leave for even 1 sec to check on my preschooler.

I'll try starting from scratch tomorrow, putting them all down at the same time. I can tell them to be quiet and lay down until I'm blue in the face and they simply do not care.
I'll put preschooler in front of tv as soon as she arrives if needed I guess.

[MNMum]

I've had 4 year olds here that don't nap. They lay down with a basket of books and toys, and it's the only time I allow hand-held video games (or those reader things). Get off the mat, it all goes bye bye. I have also been known to build a "sleeping fort" or two for those kids. My teenager says little kids are like birds..if you cover them up, they're quiet. ::

I love this! My own schoolagers "teach" me about the kids in my care all the time!

[apick]

Babies and kids in same room

Ok question for you guys. I'm a new provider and since I can only use the downstairs area of my home for childcare everyone has to sleep in the same room. I'm curious if anyone has any tips on how I could get babies to sleep in the room where other children are still playing. This would happen when babies need a morning nap, but in the afternoon they would all be sleeping/having quiet time. My son is 7 months and is used to going to sleep in a quiet environment alone in his room, so this has especially been challenging for him. I take him up to his room to nap in the afternoon when the other kids are sleeping, but I can't do this in the morning. I'm hoping to get another infant at some point too so I imagine this will be an issue for both babies. Any suggestions?

[Michael]

Ok question for you guys. I'm a new provider and since I can only use the downstairs area of my home for childcare everyone has to sleep in the same room. I'm curious if anyone has any tips on how I could get babies to sleep in the room where other children are still playing. This would happen when babies need a morning nap, but in the afternoon they would all be sleeping/having quiet time. My son is 7 months and is used to going to sleep in a quiet environment alone in his room, so this has especially been challenging for him. I take him up to his room to nap in the afternoon when the other kids are sleeping, but I can't do this in the morning. I'm hoping to get another infant at some point too so I imagine this will be an issue for both babies. Any suggestions?

Just noticed you. Welcome to the forum.

[Play Care]

Ok question for you guys. I'm a new provider and since I can only use the downstairs area of my home for childcare everyone has to sleep in the same room. I'm curious if anyone has any tips on how I could get babies to sleep in the room where other children are still playing. This would happen when babies need a morning nap, but in the afternoon they would all be sleeping/having quiet time. My son is 7 months and is used to going to sleep in a quiet environment alone in his room, so this has especially been challenging for him. I take him up to his room to nap in the afternoon when the other kids are sleeping, but I can't do this in the morning. I'm hoping to get another infant at some point too so I imagine this will be an issue for both babies. Any suggestions?

Is there a room away from the group where you can nap baby? I use my dining room which is separate from the play area. It's not perfect but it helps.

As for your own child, I'm not sure if this works for you, but in my state I have to be on the same floor as the dc kids at all times. So when my younger DD was an infant, I would have all the kids line up, come upstairs with me, sit outside DD's room with some books while I put her down in her own crib. I would mostly shut her door (I had the monitor on), and then take the dc kids back downstairs to play. In my state your own kids are counted in your numbers but are not "day care" kids so I could legally do that.

[Cat Herder]

Ok question for you guys. I'm a new provider and since I can only use the downstairs area of my home for childcare everyone has to sleep in the same room. I'm curious if anyone has any tips on how I could get babies to sleep in the room where other children are still playing. This would happen when babies need a morning nap, but in the afternoon they would all be sleeping/having quiet time. My son is 7 months and is used to going to sleep in a quiet environment alone in his room, so this has especially been challenging for him. I take him up to his room to nap in the afternoon when the other kids are sleeping, but I can't do this in the morning. I'm hoping to get another infant at some point too so I imagine this will be an issue for both babies. Any suggestions?

My group is always in the same room. I use white noise and room dividers to manage napping schedules. By never having a sterile/silent environment, the kids don't require one for napping.

[DaisyMamma]

Well I tried the sitting with them and putting them all down at once. It worked O.K. I guess. I just don't like wasting a half hour of my time sitting there either, as I'm used to just putting them in bed and going on to do what I need to do.
But I do need to say that it's certainly better than 2 hours of my time!!::and being a total basket case by the end of it.

[LaLa1923]

My group is always in the same room. I use white noise and room dividers to manage napping schedules. By never having a sterile/silent environment, the kids don't require one for napping.

What kind of room dividers?

[Cat Herder]

What kind of room dividers?

I built mine out of deck railing sections (half wall), but they also have them commercially available that can be accessorized to an extreme (up to 8 feet tall)... ::::

I have also heard of folks using book shelves, back to back, down the center of the room as a divider (secured to one another to prevent tipping)

[Blackcat31]

My group is always in the same room. I use white noise and room dividers to manage napping schedules. By never having a sterile/silent environment, the kids don't require one for napping.

This is so very true!

I have an open floor plan in my child care house and my DCK's all nap in two rooms. Not for privacy reasons but because my two PNP's wouldn't fit into the living room area.

But the two littles still in PNP's sleep next to each other with crazy lunch time clean up and other noises going on at the same time.

ALL my others sleep with noise and normal daily hub-bub going on too.

The trick is to NEVER have a super quiet environment like Catherder said.

I just transitioned a newbie and within 2 days the were napping like everyone else without issue.

[just_peachy]

I was wondering, do you have a "night-time" routine in place? My DCKs transition a lot better when I set them up in the right way. I give them some control over what book they pick and stuffed animal they choose, then I sit on the floor and they all pile on the couch to hear/see me read. If anyone tries to get down or talk, I remind them that it's quiet time and that I'm reading their night-night book.

I have found on the days that I try to just toss them in bed, they're the WORST. Labeling the pre-nap activity a "night-night" activity helps us too.