Is This Normal? - Nap 3 Hours in the Dark

[jen]

I close the curtains and the blinds when my kids nap...It is daytime so it isn't completely dark, but are you looking for her to leave a light on? How dark can it be in the middle of the day? Are there windows?

As for the nap time, Personally, I have kids lie down between 12:30 and 3.

Is this a center or an in-home provider? Have you discussed it with the director/provider? As always, if you don't agree with the policies of the provider LEAVE and find one which better fits your beliefs.

If you have questions about "legality" of the policies call the daycare licensure.

[AmandasFCC]

My home daycare kids lie down from 12:45ish-2:45. They usually start waking up by 2:30, but none of them WANT to get off the cots. If they are CAPABLE of being quiet and not disturbing the others, they can have a quiet activity ON THEIR COT. If not, they continue to lie down.

Like others have said, this generally isn't an issue though. The kids play very actively here and are exhausted by the time nap rolls around. I only have one 4 year old who doesn't nap.

[momma2girls]

I have them nap or at least take a rest period with the others til they are in Kindergarten. They do not have to sleep, but they now they have to lay down with the rest and be quiet, so they sleep. Usually everyone sleeps here. THe older children on days off or in the summer have quiet time as well. They will read for 1/2 hr. quietly on their own, then after that they can lay quietly and watch movies, til quiet time is over. This is to ensure the younger ones, babies, can have their naps as well. This works very well.

[Carole's Daycare]

Here we have nap from about 12:30 to 2:30-lights are off but its not "dark" and I have music playing. They usually fall asleep by 12:45/1:00. They wake up whenever, but are expected to stay quiet and respect the other children's need to rest until they wake up. If they dont all wake up on their own I wake them up one/two at a time so all are done in the bathroom by 2:45 since my school agers show up by 2:55. Some kids are here 10-12 hs, and they NEED that rest. 2 hs is absolutely necessary. If kids are fighting nap and not falling asleep til close to 1:00, its not unreasonable, especially if the other children are asleep.

[Unregistered]

Find different daycare

I had this problem when I used a daycare in NJ. They are allowed to have 2 hours for naptime. My daughter was 3 and I knew did not nap until about 2.00pm each day (their naps went from 12 - 2pm!) My daughter hated it and would tell me that she had to lie there and wasn't allowed to get up. I asked the teacher who insisted she fell asleep. My daughter told me that she got shouted at if she had her eyes open so would pretend to be a sleep LOL Unfortunately, when it comes to kids against adults - guess whose story wins out? I asked why they weren't allowed to look at books, if did not nap and got some long winded excuse. Bottom line - this is when the staff take their breaks and get stuff done, so they will fight every which way to keep this time. I found out the better childcares were more reasonable and did allow those that did not nap to look at books, color, etc. and just be quiet. I pulled my child out of the one that mandated naps. You know your daughter best - go with your gut. All kids don't sleep at the same time, for same length of time, any daycare staff that says they do are lying.

[SunflowerMama]

All of my kids nap from 12:30/1 until 3:30/4. They are usually all asleep by 1:15 at the latest and my first usually gets up around 3p and I wake my last 2 at 4p every day.

They range from 12 months to 4 1/2 and they all sleep at least 2.5 hours each. My 4 year olds sleep the longest...I wake them at 4p.

They are in a room with windows but I darken them (definitely still light enough to see) and I have sleepy nap music.

[PAMommy1228]

I do from 12:30 until 315 ish. Sometimes they go down earlier because some of them I cannot keep awake. Some of them, especially the ones that I have problems, it takes almost a 1/2 hour-45 minutes to get them asleep. I don't force them, but I have to sit there. For the older kids, at the request of the parents they would like them to have a movie on, so they go into another room adjacent to the darker nap room and watch a movie quietly. I only do this for the kids that the parents request and they need to be able to follow the direction of laying on their mat and no playing because it's rest time. Otherwise they all lay in a darker room that is warmer, darker and more suitable for sleeping. When they wake up they can rest on their mat. This is what happened in my daughter's daycare center when she was a baby and I never thought anything of it.

[laundryduchess@yahoo.com]

we nap from 1230 to 230. No dark room, I turn on easy listening station on att uverse. cover them and say night night. I dont darken or warm the room though.

[tenderhearts]

We have nap/quiet time from 1:00-3:15, some kids sleep longer some shorter. If they wake up before 3:15 they can come out and finish the movie quietly until quiet time is over. If a child doesn't fall asleep (depending on age) by 45 min. of laying there I let them go and watch the movie.

[QualiTcare]

if it's from 12 to 3 and they also start it early, that's entirely too long. a daycare i used to work for and my children went to had a scheduled nap time of 12:30-2:30, but they'd always start putting them down at 12 - and it was more like 3 when they started getting them up. it wasn't in a dark room though. i think that makes a huuuge difference.

i did a tour at a daycare and it happened to be during naptime. the room the kids were napping in was so dark, i couldn't even see the kids or the teachers when i looked in. that's HORRIBLE. if a kid isn't napping, or if they wake up early - they should be able to look at a book or color on their mat - and they OBVIOUSLY aren't doing that in a pitch black room.

[Unregistered]

ms sue

Our children have nap from 12:30 to 3:30 ----Now, in reality, they don't fall asleep until around 1pm and wake up from 2:30 to 3:00.
We do teach our child to lay on their mats for a specific amout of time, small children must have naps - and most of ours are really tired by the time naptime comes around. But, if they are not asleep they are alllowed play 'quietly' or read a book or a toy magazine. The one thing they really learn is self control. If a small child can lay on a map and be quiet and follow the rules -- that is fantastic! Because it means, she is respecting adult authority, and learning to develop her coping skills.

you shouldnt be around kids, this is an old post so i hope by now youve found another career, coping skills? really?.....great way to justify daycare workers sitting on their butts for three hours texting and checking facebook. Hey you know what else would help with for authority and coping skills? put em in a 2x2 box for a while....they learn resilience, and you get to chill and count your extortion money...once thats over toss in another dvd and thats the day folks!

[spud912]

you shouldnt be around kids, this is an old post so i hope by now youve found another career, coping skills? really?.....great way to justify daycare workers sitting on their butts for three hours texting and checking facebook. Hey you know what else would help with for authority and coping skills? put em in a 2x2 box for a while....they learn resilience, and you get to chill and count your extortion money...once thats over toss in another dvd and thats the day folks!

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Thanks for the afternoon funny!! I have to get back to counting my extortion money now.

[Cradle2crayons]

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Thanks for the afternoon funny!! I have to get back to counting my extortion money now.

Geesh I must be horrible at extortion... Because I don't have enough left to even count!! What am I doing wrong?

[AmyKidsCo]

you shouldnt be around kids, this is an old post so i hope by now youve found another career, coping skills? really?.....great way to justify daycare workers sitting on their butts for three hours texting and checking facebook. Hey you know what else would help with for authority and coping skills? put em in a 2x2 box for a while....they learn resilience, and you get to chill and count your extortion money...once thats over toss in another dvd and thats the day folks!

My kids love their 2x2 boxes. They're lined up in the back room, stacked 3 high. Every week we rotate who gets to be on top, in the middle, and on the bottom.

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Just for the record - I'm KIDDING!!!!

[daycare]

this made me laugh too...gosh this is an old post.