New DCB Sleeps-in

[Brooksie]

I have a new little guy (13mo) that just started here this week. So far he's been absolutely wonderful and I haven't had any problems. His mom works at a salon and doesn't drop him off until 9:30-9:45 and he usually wakes up around 8-8:30. Well, since he started here she said he's been so worn out he's been going to bed earlier and sleeping in later. Today she dropped him off closer to 10 and said he didn't wake up until a little after 9. So of course he needed breakfast as soon as he got here which wasn't a huge problem, but our lunch time is at 10:45 because we have 11:15 nappers. Of course this little boy wasn't ready for lunch at that time and we wasn't ready for nap either. With him still riled up and making a lot of noise while everyone else was trying to wind down in their beds everyone is JUST now falling asleep.

I'm a big believer in letting a sleeping baby sleep. And obviously he needs it but when the mixed up schedule effects everyone else it just gets a little frustrating and I know the other kids are exhausted. How would you guys approach the situation? Or would you at all? I mean, its not a huge inconvenience and mostly its just shocking that a 1 year old sleeps that late. But maybe that's just because we have a group full of early risers (between 5am-6:30). I'm sure it is just going to take some adjustment but any thoughts would be helpful.

[jessrlee]

If the rest of the group is on that schedule I usually try to enroll a child with similar hours. You could talk to mom and explain the scheduling situation but I doubt she will give up her sleeping in to make your naptime easier. I would replace him with a family that had the same schedule as the rest of the group.

[daycarediva]

I have a dcm who owns a local salon, she doesn't have to go in until 10. She is the main reason I enacted the 9am cut off. She contracted for 9 so she could work on paperwork and get office things done before clients/staff arrived. Dcb kept coming later and later and when after I repeatedly asked/sent texts inquiring where they were, etc dcm said "It's so hard to resist sleeping in if I am able, and since I work until 6, I like keeping dcb up with me to spend more time with him." She was dropping him off unfed between 9-12 (my cut off for breakfast is 8) and by 12/lunch he was a starving hot mess. One day he woke up at 11:15. He never napped of course, was hungry and cranky all day. I finally just told dcm that dcb wasn't working with my schedule and that he needed to fit into the group to be in group care. I started the 9am cut off for drop offs, and she had one of the stylists close up for her so she could get out an hour earlier. That was months ago, and dcb and dcm are both still here and doing great.

[littlemissmuffet]

This is the reason I don't allow drop offs after 9am. I also do not feed children breakfast if they arrive after 8am. If a kid comes between 8:01 and 8:59 they've hopefully been fed at home because they won't be having lunch until noon. A parent dropping off after 9am will be met by a locked door.

[Brooksie]

During the interview it was stated that he usually gets up between 8-8:30 and that he always naps before noon and he normally naps between 2-3 hours. On his first day he had gotten up at 8:30 and napped fine but she then changed his usual nap duration from anywhere between 45 min and 2 hours when I asked again. Today, after keeping all the kids up an extra 30-40 minutes, he only slept an hour and woke everyone up a half hour early. Now everyone is miserable. I try to be flexible with my families and its something I stated to her at the interview. I did not think that it would be this much of an issue. How should I bring it up to her? I mean, should I recommend or ask her to wake him up earlier? I mean this is his first week. Should I wait until next week to see if he gets used to the activity level and schedule a bit more?

[littlemissmuffet]

I'd bring it up before it becomes a long-term issue. I'd mention it at pick up. And I'd also mention that if the disruptive behavior at nap time continues that mom will have to pick DCB up. It's one thing to be flexible, quite another to let one family mess up the entire daily schedule for you and every single other child in your care.

[jessrlee]

Hey Jane,
I had a really rough time at nap today. Tom slept in so obviously he didn't want to nap at the same time as everyone else. He is so young I can't just explain to him that he needs to be quiet while his friends sleep, so the other children ended up getting very short naps. This makes my afternoon very hard as I have cranky overtired kiddos. I cannot accept Tom into care after 9am starting monday. It's very important that we get him on the same schedule as everyone else. The good rest he gets helps with his growth, development, and social skills. Thank you so much for working with me on this! I will see you guys on Monday morning! Oh, Jane, one other thing. We eat breakfast from 8-8:30 so if Tom comes after that plaesa make sure he has had breakfast

This is exactly what I would and have said