Hi mamas!!
I'm a FT working mom with my 4 y.o. son in an all-day daycare facility. He's been there since he was an infant, so the routine is not new, I think it's just that he's changing as he gets older. More and more he has been complaining about how "lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng" naptime at school is and how much he dreads it. It's, of course, long to him because he's not sleeping. He used to sleep at naptime, but as he gets older, it seems he's not always needing a nap. At home on the weekends, we usually give him a nap, but he sometimes skips it if we're out and about and he's fine. If I were a stay-at-home mom, we'd probably skip the nap by now most days, but I don't have that option. Naptime is naptime for everyone at the daycare facility. The kids don't have to nap, but they do have to lie quietly on their cots in the dark for an hour and a half. That's a really long time if you're not sleeping.
Any tips I can give my little wiggle worm? :-) I don't want him to dread "school" because he hates naptime. He loves everything else about school.
Thanks for the help, ladies. After receiving your responses, I called the Director yesterday and she had a nice heart to heart chat with my son at pick up time. He will now be allowed to pack a backpack with special books from home just for naptime that he can take out after everyone else goes to sleep. He is happy to lie on his cot and wait until everyone else falls asleep and then choose if he wants to sleep too or if he wants to take out his special books. My son is thrilled now about school again. He couldn't wait to go today and he can't stop talking about school and naptime. It seems this was weighing on his mind even more than I had perceived. Glad to have a happy-go-lucky kid this morning asking if he can go to school "a LOT of days". Have a great day, mamas!
An hour and a half is a very long time to expect someone who is not sleeping to lay there quietly in the dark -- even an adult. And 4 is long past the time when some kids give up naps. There should be more flexibility at the daycare. I mean, these are kids, not robots. He does need "down time" where he plays quietly. You need to talk to some other parents, then talk with the daycare to find out why they can't be flexible.
Yikes! Can you talk to the director about giving your son a book or something to look at once the other children are all asleep? At my son's center, they will let him get up and color or do puzzles quietly at the table -- but only after all the others are asleep so he doesn't disrupt. If he has to stay on his cot, at least he could have something to do on it! Good luck!
Hmm...can he read a book? Or do something quielty? Like sit at the table and color? My boys both still LOVE to nap, just turned 5 and 7 next month. My daughter who will be 9 in June though likes to sit and read or color.
My kids go to an in-home daycare when they are not in school, so they all have to nap or be quiet...but it's dark with sleepy music on. Sometimes my 8 year old will nap too.
I'd ask if they are making him tired enough for a nap. If not, can he color or read or do something quietly. Everyone needs a break, but if he's not sleeping, I agree that's a long time to sit and do nothing.
Wow...even in my toddler group, if they weren't asleep after half an hour, they could get up and do something quietly... look at books on their cot, do puzzles or draw at the big table.
I think expecting children to 'lie quietly' for an hour and a half is too much to expect, really. It sounds like they are using that time to cover breaks for staff, maybe?
Talk to the teacher first; if you don't get anywhere, then talk to the director. Explain that your son has dropped his naps and that he really needs something else to do....
Or it may be time to find another, more reasonably accommodating place for your little guy. Sorry... I just can't imagine expecting a child to lie quietly and still for that long. Poor kid. Could they at least put some 'stories on cd' on?
I had to change my daughters school, because they had the same policy - They had to lie there for 2 hours! It just wasn't happening. In Texas the law is they have to have 30 mins "rest time" so if after 30 mins she is not sleeping, she is allowed to get up and go to another area and color or look at books. the funny thing is, now that the horrible stress of having to lie there for 2 hours silently is gone - SHE NAPS!! every day, for 2 hours. I hate it because now she won't go to bed!
Anyway, look into other schools and their policies.
Maybe they can let him do something else while the others are napping. I pretty much begged my daughter's daycare to stop giving her naps because she would sleep for 2hrs there and then didn't want to go to bed until 10:30 or 11:00 (sometimes later). So, they usually let her sit at the table and look at books, color or do puzzles (as long as she's being quiet). My daughter is only 3 1/2 but she stopped taking naps at home about a year ago.
I'm suprised they make the 4 years olds still take a nap. My kids were 2 when they stopped napping. I would ask if he could either look at a book or color. Good luck!
