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Hello all, I've always had really good nappers and I'm struggling with ideas for how to help our 'new' boy settle down at nap times.
Dcb (28 mos) has been with me since April. He comes to dc weds, thurs, fri and is looked after by grandma Monday and Tuesday. At interview, we were told he's an excellent napper and dcm was actually concerned about how well our existing children nap because she didn't want nap time disrupted.
At first, naps went great. He read books during quiet time and then laid down to sleep like everyone else. After a few weeks he started becoming very disruptive. He's usually a very quiet boy (although not good at accepting instructions and boundaries) but as soon as quiet time starts, he shrieks, sings loudly, and chants the alphabet over and over. This has been going on for months now and I've run out of ideas. It's upsetting for the other children and today I had three of them crying, begging me to get him to be quiet as they just want to sleep!
So far, we've tried:
Multiple gentle reminders.
Multiple firm reminders.
Role playing nap time during play.
Discussions with dcb at other times.
Discussions with dcm and dcd.
Separating him until the others go to sleep. Not a permanent solution due to space limitations.
Ignoring him (he jumps up and down shouting 'look at me')
Parents were open to discussion and have asked grandma to stop any game playing, singing etc that she used to do at nap time at home, but it's not getting any better. He does eventually fall asleep but by that time the others are all wound up and can't settle.
I'm meeting with parents today to discuss again. They've asked for my advice but I'm all out of ideas. Help
Dcb (28 mos) has been with me since April. He comes to dc weds, thurs, fri and is looked after by grandma Monday and Tuesday. At interview, we were told he's an excellent napper and dcm was actually concerned about how well our existing children nap because she didn't want nap time disrupted.
At first, naps went great. He read books during quiet time and then laid down to sleep like everyone else. After a few weeks he started becoming very disruptive. He's usually a very quiet boy (although not good at accepting instructions and boundaries) but as soon as quiet time starts, he shrieks, sings loudly, and chants the alphabet over and over. This has been going on for months now and I've run out of ideas. It's upsetting for the other children and today I had three of them crying, begging me to get him to be quiet as they just want to sleep!
So far, we've tried:
Multiple gentle reminders.
Multiple firm reminders.
Role playing nap time during play.
Discussions with dcb at other times.
Discussions with dcm and dcd.
Separating him until the others go to sleep. Not a permanent solution due to space limitations.
Ignoring him (he jumps up and down shouting 'look at me')
Parents were open to discussion and have asked grandma to stop any game playing, singing etc that she used to do at nap time at home, but it's not getting any better. He does eventually fall asleep but by that time the others are all wound up and can't settle.
I'm meeting with parents today to discuss again. They've asked for my advice but I'm all out of ideas. Help
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