My Son Won't Sleep at Daycare

I never had this problem with my daughter who is also 3, daycare centers can be very noisy, i know because i worked at one, and ever since i did i will NEVER bring my daughter to one, i worked at a nice one in scituate, rhode island so appearance doesn't mean anything , look for a home daycare it's quiet they get close to one person, no one gets fired and well they get more attention like he does when he is home with you, but there are other kids his age there.

My three year old daughter did something very similar at her new daycare. She loves the new kids and what she is learning but nap was not happening. She would come home and cry about naptime.

She slept wonderfully at the old daycare and at home, but this new daycare naptime became a challenge for about a month. She would do several different things during the naptime, including lay quietly, screaming to wake the other kids up, and wondering around till she found the daycare provider. The daycare provider would keep us posted on her behavior during nap time and we would reward her at home with small things she was interested in (such as Halloween window decorations). When she was slept, she was rewarded.

We also brought her favorite two blankets and her dino to sleep with. It helped a little. We now do not need to bring any of her home comforts. She is now sleeping 1 1/2 hours regularly. I do not know what was the trick that worked, the passing of time or the small rewards, but we no longer have the issue.

Good luck!

I work for a daycare and because of MA regulations the kids under the age of 5 are required to nap/rest. Give him a few more weeks, there are always kids that either take a while to get used to it or they never nap. Unofrtunately since it is manditory he willprobably have to stay on his mat. Hopefully he gets used to napping

HI, I worked with toddlers for 12 yr.s We had a few kids that came in during nap time. We would let them sit on the mats for a hour then they could have books and quite toys after that. we even let them go into the pre-school room. It is a tuff time for them to come in during nap, they want to play with all the toys that they don't see everyday. He may be to excited to lay down. Maybe you can go earlier so he can play for a 1/2 hour or so before he needs to nap. I hope this helps and good luck
I am a 36 yr. SAHM of a very strong willed 2 yr. old girl

Hi K.

I have worked in Daycare for many years. It is very common
that children have a hard time sleeping at daycare. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Peek in at nap time and see if the environment is dark enough,quiet enough.... and/or talk to the teacher about how
you can work together on this problem.
A good daycare should be responsive!

2. I beleive that the state only requires 45 minutes on a mat
for those who can not sleep. I know that is preschool time
and probably toddler limit to! This you can check on line
by going to D.E.E.C Massachusetts regulations. Deec is the
department of education for early childhood. it regulates rules for daycares.

good luck
P.

Hi K.,
I tend to agree with Helen; if your son is attending a half day program, he's probably bored if he's spends 50% of his time resting. If it's possible to switch the time that he goes, that would seem ideal. My oldest is 14 and she never took naps during nap time in pre-school. As long as she was quiet and didn't disturb the other children, her teachers didn't mind that she didn't nap. It sounds like he's adjusting wonderfully and I'd suggest giving it more time if you're not able to switch the time of day that he goes to the program.

K. I'm not sure on you’re local state Regs. But I know in NH the rule is each child under 5 should have Nap/ Rest time for 45 Minutes. And if they go to sleep great if not after 45 Minutes you should offer that child books or some kind of quite time Activity..

I'm a Teacher at a small center little over 60 Kids We Do 45 Minutes if the child does not go to sleep and seems to be restless at that point we bring them to our jungle room. This is a Staffed room with Toys books coloring puzzles and so on for ages 1.5 and Up Cause as we all know Infants do as they please and sleep when they want so Nap time does not apply to them.. My Son is in the 2 to 3 room and he has always had Nap time trouble After 6 weeks he naps about 45 Minutes then I will hear him in the jungle room talking..

I wish you look with you're little Guy I do think all Daycares should offer some kind of space for the children that will not nap after 45 Minutes..

Hi- My daughter stopped napping some days or most days at about 2 and a half. I think many 3 year olds are starting to make the transition out of napping. So perhaps he is on the cusp of that transition.. in any case- my daughter also disliked situations where she had to "rest" when she was wide awake. We weren't in daycare but this came up at camp at the time. It is also harder to rest in new places. I would ask them if they will provide him books to look at or another quiet activity if he has tried to sleep but hasn't after a period of time (20 minutes?).. Good luck, M.

K., For a half day of preschool it seems an awful waste of time for him to be "resting" for 2 hours of it. Our half day preschool is only 3 hours long and they are doing stuff the entire time. It is from 9-noon. Maybe you are in an afternoon program? Could you switch that to a morning program. My boys have never slept well anywhere besides their own beds...he might just not be content for that long and just want to play instead. I would look at switching the times and if that doesn't work the centers.

Good luck!!

H. Z. (SAHM 5, almost 4 and 15 month old boys)