Help The Child That Always Sleeps - What To Do...

[lvt77]

I have a DCB that is here full time 830-630 every day. He seems to overall very healthy child age 2 3 next month

I teach a preschool program and we start at 930 every morning.
I always notice that he zones in and out. Sometime he will tell me I am too tired I just want to sleep and its only 945am

Sometimes he will go a full week ok, (this has been going on since hes been here 5 months)then he will fall asleep at the art table, snack table, even once out side at play time on the cement. ( i thought he was just playing) Anyway, He will sleep from 9am to 4PM if I let him.
I talked to the parents about it...they said he goes to bed late at 10pm becuase it suits their schedule???

One of my concerns too is that I cant leave him alone in the house when we are out back playing and we cant go to the park some days becuase he is alseep. He just cant keep up with out very active group.

What to do??

[sahm2three]

Has mom ever said anything about it? Have you talked to her about it? I have a friend whose little girl wanted to sleep ALL THE TIME too, and was otherwise healthy and she ended up having to have her adenoids out. Something about not getting enough O2 or something and it made her tired and wanting to sleep all the time. I can't remember specifics. Might be worth having a conversation with mom.

However, after the day I have had today with non-sleepers, I think I would trade you! How about 1 colicky boy for your sleeper?

[QualiTcare]

my son is a sleeper and i was too as a kid (still would be if i could). i remember my mom picking me up from my grandma's and she'd say, "she slept for 14 hours!"

i've been thinking about taking my son out of preschool for a few reasons - one of them being i have to DRAG him there each morning. as soon as he gets home, he passes out - which means he stays up later at night, but keeping him awake isn't an option after he wakes up so early in the morning.

do the parents use preschool for daycare, or is he there bc they want him to be in preschool? i'm curious to see what people have to say, too.

[lvt77]

He is here full time...i teach from 930-11:00, then againm afer naps from 330 to 5:00.
just so you know the all of my DCK throw fits having to come, cry sometimes when getting dropped off and then at pick up they all cry cuz they want to stay... it's just the way it is. does he sleep at school??

[QualiTcare]

he doesn't sleep there only bc it's only half a day. he falls asleep on the way home or as soon as he gets in which is a little after noon.

what i was asking is do the parents NEED care, or do they send the child there for the preschool/learning?

[lvt77]

sorry they send him here because they need dcare.
How long do you let him nap for? I wake all kids at 330 regardless of waht time they fell asleep....this way parents do have an issue getting them to bed a night

[QualiTcare]

sorry they send him here because they need dcare.
How long do you let him nap for? I wake all kids at 330 regardless of waht time they fell asleep....this way parents do have an issue getting them to bed a night

i'll let him sleep up to 2 hours. so, if it's 12:30 when he falls asleep - i'll get him up at 2:30. the thing is, if he could sleep later in the morning (he gets up at 6:30am) i don't think he'd nap AT ALL. he's 4 years old. my daughter never needed a nap when she was 4 AND she woke up even earlier - like 5:30.
he's just a kid that needs a lot of sleep as was i.

i really don't know if he'll be able to handle kindergarten in august. it would be a shame to keep him back another year from starting, but it's a possibility.

[lvt77]

my oldest now 14 fell asleep in the womb while I was giving birth....He for sure is a sleeper still. I have never had issues with him even as a baby when going to bed. Maybe you should consider letting your son stay at precschool full time before school starts so that he can get used to the schedule....my state cali only has kids attend kindergarten half day

[MN Mom]

My now 9yo daughter has always been a sleeper too. She was the BEST baby ever. She slept 6-8 hours at night from birth. During the day, she would sleep according to how many oz of milk she had before being put down. 3 oz (3 hour nap), 4 oz (4 hour nap) etc. To this day, she falls asleep on the bus to school, falls asleep on the way home, gets home and has a snack and wants to fall asleep again. I force her to stay awake for homework and dinner, and she often will be sleeping in my bed around 6:30pm. She does get up at 5:30 to be on the bus at 6:30 am though!

My son is the exact opposite! He requires minimal sleep throughout the day...and wants to be up till the wee hours of the morning (he will be 5 in Feb). I can get him up at 6:30 am and he will stay awake until 2am if I let him. However, when he's tired...he is out for the count. He will fall asleep anywhere! One min he's awake, the next min he's fast asleep!

Kids are so funny that way =)

[lvt77]

one of the things that I forgot to mention is that often, he will fall asleep at 9 wake up at 1 right when I am putting the other kids down for their naps...Usually I will feed him and then he will lay down again quietly to read books. But it seems like more times than not, lately he has kept all of the other kids awake during their nap and no one naps. This also means that I get no break....I have tried to keep him awake so he can stay in the routine, but its hard when they just fall asleep no matter where they are...

What to do??

[kidkair]

Maybe let him sleep for an hour rather than until he wakes up. I'd probably lay him down as soon as he got there and get him up at 9:30 to join in with the group. How active is your teaching? Could you incorporate some more moving activites to keep him upbeat and interested?

[QualiTcare]

yeah, maybe just have a spot for him to lay down as soon as he gets there if he gets there at 8:30 and you don't start until 9:30. if he gets a good hour of sleep then maybe he'll be able to stay awake through lunch and be ready to sleep again with the other kids.

like kidkair said, how active is your teaching? there should be quite a bit of singing/moving with that age group. he still wants to go to sleep?

[lvt77]

just about every lesson I have involves movement. We are very active. We even have morning dance/work out. When this is going on he is often crying I want to go to sleep.

[joelietz]

I think a good idea would be to let him have little mini naps throughout the day. That way he's not sleeping the whole way through and holding back the other kids. I would definitely have a conversation with the parents again and stress your concern! But then again, maybe your daycare furniture is a tad bit too comfortable