What Do You Do When...

[jenboo]

...a 2 year old wakes up early from nap, starts talking, you tell them shh it's still nap time and they they start crying.

I moved dcb to a different room, told him when he is quiet I will come get him up (it was 30 min before nap was over). Now DCB has been crying uncontrollably for 30 min.

Did I do the right thing? All of a sudden everyone wakes up early from nap and won't stay quiet anymore.... Im trying to teach them that if they are loud and talking they can't get up. Im starting to get very frustrated because the kids aren't even sleeping 2 hours anymore

[CedarCreek]

I used to lay them back down where they are and tell them "No, its not time to get up yet".

If they did it again, I'd move them.

After that, I'd have to make a decision to have them with me in another area or to call for pick up. If it was a one time thing, I'd just have them by me while the other kids finish nap. If it was reoccurring, I would call for pick-up.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

I try and rearrange so they cannot wake anyone else up. I had one that would try to wake up and "party" because that's what they did at home with mom at 3AM! Still waking up at age 2 at 3AM and mom thought it was normal to play with them at this time. They stopped after they realized it wasn't any fun to wake up early here. They are now much less cranky at the end of the day! happyface

[midaycare]

I have kids who don't nap 2 hours. I just take them with me into another room while the others sleep. I don't feel I can demand a small child stays quiet for 2 hours - especially if they are very young.

[TickleMonster]

You did the right thing IMO. We do the same. We have multiple rooms that we use for nap areas for the older ones and so if we find ones that have trouble napping or tend to talk a lot then they are placed in a room by themselves for nap time. We have one dcg 3 years old who talks herself to sleep. It annoys the others and keeps them from sleeping so we put her by herself. Others who nap for the whole 2 hours are placed in a room all together. Just find what works for you.

[Crystal]

It is possible that this child doesn't NEED a full 2 hour nap. I recommend individualizing naptime. When he awakens, get him right up and give him quiet activities while waiting for the others to wake up. If he cannot handle quiet activities, let him know if he cannot remain quiet, he will have to lay back down.

[Go play!]

I have one that wakes up early. I put books and quiet toys in her pack and play and there is a sound machine close to her to keep the noise from drifting through the room. She's 14 months so she plays quietly for about 20 min and then I get her up and take her in the other room. I want her to practice playing quietly in her bed because I have a feeling she will drop nap early.

[Indoorvoice]

As pp's said, as soon as one wakes up, I give them activities to do on their cot. They have learned to stay quiet on their cot until everyone is awake. I don't expect everyone to sleep for 2 hours every day. I just expect them to stay quiet and rest so that those who do want to sleep the full 2 hours can.
ETA: if one of them started crying, I would move them to another area.

[jenboo]

It is possible that this child doesn't NEED a full 2 hour nap. I recommend individualizing naptime. When he awakens, get him right up and give him quiet activities while waiting for the others to wake up. If he cannot handle quiet activities, let him know if he cannot remain quiet, he will have to lay back down.

Here's the thing. If they are all in separate rooms, then they sleep for like 3 hours!! When they are in a room together, its like instead of rolling over and going back to sleep like they normally would, they feel like they have to wake everyone up. Then they are all grumpy after nap.

I have one that wakes up early. I put books and quiet toys in her pack and play and there is a sound machine close to her to keep the noise from drifting through the room. She's 14 months so she plays quietly for about 20 min and then I get her up and take her in the other room. I want her to practice playing quietly in her bed because I have a feeling she will drop nap early.

This is what im trying to do...teach them to learn to stay quiet for a little bit. DCB is almost 2.5 years old. As soon as he wakes up, he starts talking and anytime I shh him, he screams. I keep taking him to another room but like i said, he still wakes other kids up some days are better than others.
Oh, forgot to add that this is new. he used to lay quietly when he woke up.

[Sugar Magnolia]

It is possible that this child doesn't NEED a full 2 hour nap. I recommend individualizing naptime. When he awakens, get him right up and give him quiet activities while waiting for the others to wake up. If he cannot handle quiet activities, let him know if he cannot remain quiet, he will have to lay back down.

This. This exactly.

[jenboo]

This. This exactly.

If he is in a room alone, he will sleep for like 3 hours.
When he is in a room with everyone else, as soon as he wakes up early he starts waking everyone else up.

Ill try giving him some books today when he wakes up and see if he will stay quiet.

I also built little dividers so that they kids cant see each other when they are all on their beds. This has helped some.

[My3cents]

If he is in a room alone, he will sleep for like 3 hours.
When he is in a room with everyone else, as soon as he wakes up early he starts waking everyone else up.

Ill try giving him some books today when he wakes up and see if he will stay quiet.

I also built little dividers so that they kids cant see each other when they are all on their beds. This has helped some.

I have good little sleepers most of the time, but it took training. I am in one room. I set up the ambiance, and have routine. They all look forward to this time because up until nap time we are active and play hard....and again I have routine of what happens next that we stick with for the most part. We may go off a bit here and there and that is the pleasure of doing home daycare but for the most part routine gives the kids a security of what is to come next. It works for us. We stay on our mats till everyone is up unless we have to make a quiet potty- books work well for the little chatter, but also laying them back down and telling them shhhhh its quiet time, few more minutes works well too. If the kids are truly tired they will sleep- If not its time to get up. Mine all sleep at least a couple of hours.

[jenboo]

I have good little sleepers most of the time, but it took training. I am in one room. I set up the ambiance, and have routine. They all look forward to this time because up until nap time we are active and play hard....and again I have routine of what happens next that we stick with for the most part. We may go off a bit here and there and that is the pleasure of doing home daycare but for the most part routine gives the kids a security of what is to come next. It works for us. We stay on our mats till everyone is up unless we have to make a quiet potty- books work well for the little chatter, but also laying them back down and telling them shhhhh its quiet time, few more minutes works well too. If the kids are truly tired they will sleep- If not its time to get up. Mine all sleep at least a couple of hours.

I have a great routine! We eat lunch, then they sit in the library and read books while I clean up. Then we do stretches. Then they sit in the hallway while i change diapers. Then they get on their beds, I tuck them in and turn on the audio books then music.

I just dont know how to get the one DCB to stop screaming when he wakes up.

[Crystal]

If he is in a room alone, he will sleep for like 3 hours.
When he is in a room with everyone else, as soon as he wakes up early he starts waking everyone else up.

Ill try giving him some books today when he wakes up and see if he will stay quiet.

I also built little dividers so that they kids cant see each other when they are all on their beds. This has helped some.

Then why is he not still sleeping in a separate room? seems a simple solution to me, provided that you have space for that.

However, I would argue that no child NEEDS a 3 hour nap and as a parent, I would probably not be happy about it, as it DOES affect evening routines at home.

[jenboo]

Then why is he not still sleeping in a separate room? seems a simple solution to me, provided that you have space for that.

However, I would argue that no child NEEDS a 3 hour nap and as a parent, I would probably not be happy about it, as it DOES affect evening routines at home.

I don't have the ability to nap him in a separate room anymore

I let the kids sleep as long as they need to. I believe that if they are sleeping, they need it. The only time i ever get complaints from parents is if they don't nap very long because then it is a nightmare around dinner/bedtime.

I have one DCB who is 2.4 and sometimes will nap from 1-5pm and then go to be around 9 pm and sleep for another 7.5-8 hours.