To Nap Or Not To Nap This Is The Question?

[daycare]

So I have a 4.5 year old DCB who will be leaving in the fall to FULL day kinder..
My current policy is that all kids nap.

In preperation for school, I am wondering if I should start reducing the amount of naps until he is no longer napping? I want to make sure that the child is ready for school and able to stay awake in calss. If I decide to do this, I will wait until about three weeks before school starts.

Other info:
this child arrives at 615am most mornings and is here until 6pm most days. He is very very high strung and currently naps for almost 3.5 hours each day he is here. I belive that the child is ADHD, but im not a doctor, so I know I cant really have a say...IMO he is...

[Unregistered]

At my sons school, they still had nap/quiet time after lunch...they'd bring in a towel to lay on. I don't know if your school system will do the same, but it's very possible he'll still have down time!

[countrymom]

let him nap, its not your problem what happens when he leaves for kindy. I have one like this too, but some days he naps or he just lays and has quiet time.

[Live and Learn]

NAP!

[daysofelijah]

Let him nap. The kindergarteners here still have a nap/rest time the first half of the year at school.

[momma2girls]

NAP!! Our Kindergartners here still have a naptime.

[Crystal]

I stop napping them the summer before they enter kindy. IMO MOST children are ready to be done with naps by 4.5 - 5 years anyway. I like to make sure they are used to staying awake for longer periods of time prior to kindy so that they are able to stay fully focused during the school day. Kindy's don't nap at school here.

[daycare]

I stop napping them the summer before they enter kindy. IMO MOST children are ready to be done with naps by 4.5 - 5 years anyway. I like to make sure they are used to staying awake for longer periods of time prior to kindy so that they are able to stay fully focused during the school day. Kindy's don't nap at school here.

you are also in CA right? I know that they dont nap here......

I am on the fence about it...... I agree with the others, but I teach a preschool program here and in my contract it states that I will prepare them for kindy to the best of my ability. I feel that if I let him nap, knowing that he wont get to, then I am not helping him.

My other though is that I might lose my mind if this kid were to NOT nap. like I said I know in my heart of hearts taht this child is ADHD and if I do allow for him to stay up I am going to have my work really cut out. But it will only be for about 3 weeks.....

[sharlan]

If he falls asleep, he needs a nap. Come school time, he will adjust on his own.

[Meyou]

If he falls asleep, he needs a nap. Come school time, he will adjust on his own.

^^This^^

[newtodaycare22]

As a former kindergarten teacher...

I think it would be great to "ween him off" a nap. I know that having a kid who does not nap can be annoying (I have one rising kindergartner as well), but you really would be setting him up to have problems. In my district there is no down time for kindergartners. Last year, as a kindergarten teacher, I had a few kids who came from a napping daycare and they were a mess every afternoon for the first month of school. It was no fun for the kids and certainly no fun for the teacher. They only napped an hour or two (I looked into this, because it was such an issue), so I cannot imagine a kid who is used to 3.5 hours of nap.

I think you have a pretty good plan. Gradually give him less of a nap. I am doing this over the summer with my 5 year old daycare kid. For the month of June, instead of sleeping for 2 hours, she is reading/doing quiet activities for the first 30 minutes, sleeping the rest. For the month of July, she's doing quiet stuff for an hour, sleeping for the other hour. In August, I'm doing to just (hopefully) cut out the nap all together. Even if she needs to sleep a half hour, at least the "sleeping stage" has been adjusted to later in the day because in the fall, school will be over with by that time (3pm).

I hope that helps give you some insight.

[daycare]

As a former kindergarten teacher...

I think it would be great to "ween him off" a nap. I know that having a kid who does not nap can be annoying (I have one rising kindergartner as well), but you really would be setting him up to have problems. In my district there is no down time for kindergartners. Last year, as a kindergarten teacher, I had a few kids who came from a napping daycare and they were a mess every afternoon for the first month of school. It was no fun for the kids and certainly no fun for the teacher. They only napped an hour or two (I looked into this, because it was such an issue), so I cannot imagine a kid who is used to 3.5 hours of nap.

I think you have a pretty good plan. Gradually give him less of a nap. I am doing this over the summer with my 5 year old daycare kid. For the month of June, instead of sleeping for 2 hours, she is reading/doing quiet activities for the first 30 minutes, sleeping the rest. For the month of July, she's doing quiet stuff for an hour, sleeping for the other hour. In August, I'm doing to just (hopefully) cut out the nap all together. Even if she needs to sleep a half hour, at least the "sleeping stage" has been adjusted to later in the day because in the fall, school will be over with by that time (3pm).

I hope that helps give you some insight.

thanks so much for taking the time to respond with this answer. This was my thought that if i don't do something about it, I won't be helping him. yes it will ****, but it will only be for three weeks. The child will be gone with his father for most of July, so I won't have a chance to work with them then.

I will go ahead and stick with my plan of weening him off..
thanks again

[newtodaycare22]

You are very welcome!

[jojosmommy]

I say nap. Did mom/dad bring up the issue of napping or not? They probably arent even thinking about it. Tell them to start putting him to bed 30-1 hour earlier in the couple weeks before school starts. His body will adjust. No sense torturing him and you all summer just to try and prep him for what will come in the fall regardless. Many kids are tired at and after school right when school starts even if they havent napped for years.

[dEHmom]

i know in kindergarten here, it's full days every second day.

they have "quiet" or nap time where each kid has to lay on a towel at a certain point.

I would also just like to point out, that once he starts kindergarten, his own body clock will adjust. He'll sleep better at night and get himself out of the nap. I know lots of kinders and grade 1's go home from school and nap until supper as well.