Help Me Tell Them Nap Is Not Optional

[itlw8]

The next time he says "he doesn't want to come because he doesn't want to have to nap"

just say "Well, today you don't have to nap. You do need to rest quietly though so the other kids can nap."

I use the word rest instead of nap or sleep.

Simply because you can't MAKE a kid actually nap but you can make them rest.....kwim?

I make sure I let ALL my parents know that rest time is NOT optional but sleeping is.

I play audiobooks during rest time so the ones who don't actually sleep have to lie still and listen quietly.

Win-win for everyone.

pretty much the same here I tell the parents he does not have to nap but he does have to rest for 1 hour quietly then I let him up according to state regulations He can have a soft toy and a book. Even adults need a siesta. There was an article on facebook yesterday saying children who nap actually retain more of what they learn than nonnappers

[rhondawarren]

Normally I tell them you don't have to actually sleep but you will need to lay down quietly while the others nap. Normally ... they fall right to sleep too

[nothingwithoutjoy]

Thank you. Just to clarify, the kids know perfectly well what I expect. It's the parents who seem to think they can talk their way out of it. I have a conference scheduled with this family next week. I'll be sure to make it very, very clear.

[luckyduck4]

Agree....three year olds need naps!

There is so much documentation that children do not get enough sleep. Have you thought about citing a medical journal with how much sleep children need? I am a three's teacher in a center. The only one that refuses to nap is the directors dckid. He roams the classroom most days. She told me that he hasn't napped for 1.5 years. Nice.

[JoseyJo]

We have an almost 5 yo whose mom is just about ready to outright ask if we will keep him up at nap (she has been hinting around at it for a week). I just refer back to state guidelines. Every child must be given a daily rest time- my licensor says that every child must rest for 30 minutes and if they have not fallen asleep they can be given a quiet activity to do.

He sleeps well in the afternoon, she just thinks if he doesn't nap he will sleep better at night for her. I seriously doubt it would help her anyway as the problem is not that he is not tired it is that she entertains, pleads with, bribes, etc to get him to go to sleep. If he goes right to sleep he would miss out on all the junk food bribes, candy bribes, TV bribes, story bribes, etc!

[luckyduck4]

Kids just need routine. If they routinely take a nap a dc, then they will routinely go to bed at the same time. When my own children were younger, I would have the same routine every night. Some parents just do not get it, the kids are in charge. The only time it was difficult for me to get my own kids down at their usual bedtime is if they napped too late getting off their schedule.

[JoseyJo]

Kids just need routine. If they routinely take a nap a dc, then they will routinely go to bed at the same time. When my own children were younger, I would have the same routine every night. Some parents just do not get it, the kids are in charge. The only time it was difficult for me to get my own kids down at their usual bedtime is if they napped too late getting off their schedule.

Yep! That is what is happening in my dcf