Transitioning from PNP to Mat

[Josiegirl]

Is there an easier way to do this? I've tried to nap one of my toddlers on a mat and she'll get up countless times. Every time I lead her back she'll cry, fuss, disturb everyone else. She's a light sleeper anyways. She'll be 2 the end of January and I really need to change her. But I can tell she's not going to be an easy one.

[LaLa1923]

Is there an easier way to do this? I've tried to nap one of my toddlers on a mat and she'll get up countless times. Every time I lead her back she'll cry, fuss, disturb everyone else. She's a light sleeper anyways. She'll be 2 the end of January and I really need to change her. But I can tell she's not going to be an easy one.

You will likely have to keep taking her back. Rinse and repeat....she should get it eventually.

[Maria2013]

Is there an easier way to do this? I've tried to nap one of my toddlers on a mat and she'll get up countless times. Every time I lead her back she'll cry, fuss, disturb everyone else. She's a light sleeper anyways. She'll be 2 the end of January and I really need to change her. But I can tell she's not going to be an easy one.

I usually start giving kids a chance to "try" the cot around 18 mos, I tell them if they get up they are back in the pnp, and they usually do get up at first and I explain that cots are for kids that stay put so they must go back in the pnp and we can try again the next day

some kids take a few weeks other get it very quickly

[daycare]

I dont have any pnp. my youngest right now is about 18 months. when she started with me she was 16 months and was not used to being on a cot.

I had to sit there until she fell asleep. the first few days were rough, but after a few days she got it....the second week it was off and on. I would say that it took about a good 2.5 weeks to get her to fall asleep on her own and stay on the cot.

[blandino]

This past week, I have just transitioned my 17 month old to a PnP. I was dreading it, because he has really poor impulse control and is quite the little monster (adorable as he is). But he was jumping in the PnP, trying to lift up the mat, etc. So it was definitely time...

I just brought him back to the mat, rinsed and repeated. It still takes about 5-6 times at the beginning of each nap. He cries & whines a little, but my kids have music on - and most are still in the process of falling asleep - so it doesn't bother them too much.

I have his mat a little bit behind the changing table, so that I can see him - but he has a limited view of the other kids.

The only real struggle we've had is he woke up early one day this week, and keeping him quiet was a struggle, just because he is so young. But I really like to have them out of a PnP around 17-18 months. I did have one DCG who was 21 months, but her nap schedule was so out of whack, that she was still taking a morning nap and needing a PnP in the other room to take it since all the other kids were awake and playing.

[Annalee]

Licensing here allows providers to transition children from pnp to two-inch nap mats at 12 months. As has already been mentioned, consistency with bringing the child to the mat pays off in the end. I have given the child a book and sat near them and they usually fall asleep on their own. Getting rid of the pnp is a welcome sight as they take up much room.

[Leigh]

I find that the cots give children a better sense of boundaries at a younger age...they may roll around on a mat and eventually get up, but on a cot, they're more likely to stay put. When I have a child creating issues at naptime, I remove them and their cot to my living room or hallway, hang a blanket so that they can't see what's going on around them, and leave them there at naptime for a week or two until they start to stay put, then I transition them back to the nap room.

[Rachel]

I move mine by 1 at the latest. They all get it really quick. It takes a few days of sitting with them, and then they know not to get off the mattress until I say. This year my group started out between 6 & 15 months and they all sleep on mattresses just fine.