Baby-sitting Questions/ Nap Time Issues

My son will be 4 in August and this is his schedule:
8-9:00 wake/eat breakfast/cartoons
9:00-12:00 play (outside if we can)
12:00 lunch
12:30-2:00 play
2:00-4:00 nap/quiet time
4:00-5:00 play (sometimes tv)
5:00 dinner
6:00-7:30 play (outside if we can)
7:30-8:00 bath/pjs
8:00 bed

I'm with Dame c. on not betting on the 4 year old napping. Lucky your 3 yr old does! :) But you can have quiet time for 30-45 mins. Everybody lays down in the room.
Food: 8am breakfast, 12 noon lunch, 5pm dinner w/snacks and drinks all day.
Make food simple: cereal, mac n cheese, tuna sandwiches, soup and crackers, lunch meat, cheese and crackers, chicken nuggets
snacks: cheese and crackers, quesadillas, hot dogs, jello, yogurt, apple juice boxes, fruit bits, have real fruit on hand.
Make it easy on yourself w/small premade servings or premade store bought snacks.

I wouldn't bet on the 4 year old napping. Consider yourself lucky that your 3 year old still naps!!!

What time does your daughter nap? I would just make that quiet time for both kids. If they nap, fine. But whatever they do, they have to be calm and still.

Why not keep your schedule the same as it is now with your daughter? Then you arent trying to work around various schedules and kids. Just seems like it would be easier.

A typical child care daily schedule:

Arrive time until 8:00am. Breakfast.
8am - 8:30 circle time and other daily activities
8:30-9am table time for journaling, art projects, crafts, painting, cutting and gluing, working on preschool activities.
9am - 9:30 play time in the activity centers.
9:30am morning snack time
9:45 - 10:30 outdoor play time or centers in bad weather.
10:30 - 11am bathroom time and clean up time, for hand and face washing
11am lunch
11:30 transitioning to nap time and then nap time
2:30 wake up time
3pm afternoon snack time
3:15 - 4pm more of the same morning routines repeated. Like circle time and art work or preschool stuff. needs to be busy stuff instead of quiet stuff though. They are fully rested and need activity.
4pm-5pm outdoor play time or centers in bad weather
5pm-5:15 bathroom time and clean up time, for hand and face washing
5:30pm-6pm dinner
6pm more play time, depends on what your ideals are about playing toys or going outside. But they have had enough table time and learning time by this point. They need the play time. Movies can be a good thing now too. What ever activities you want to do.
8pm clean up toys, all put away, rooms all cleaned up
8:30 evening snack and tooth brushing. PJ's and hair brushing routine for girls. I braid our girls so it won't be too tangled. Story time, singing, quiet activities.
9pm lights down low.

I agree - keep your daughter's schedule and add in the 4 year old. My now 4-1/2 yr old fought me all last summer and gave up her afternoon nap at 3-1/2. In the afternoon's when her baby brother sleeps, she's either at a playdate, has friends over in the basement, or gets a movie to "chill out" on the couch. If she's tired, she'll say so and go play with her dolls in her room quietly. Much depends on the kids' personalities or you will be fighting the schedule all summer long!

Yes, keep it the same as your daughter.
That is what I have done, when I did childcare.

Afternoons, is usually when this age, naps.
After lunch.
How long they sleep, depends on the child.
My son who is 4, naps for 2 hours.
MY son, is 4.5 actually and he naps everyday. Still. He NEEDS it. Otherwise he turns into an over-tired fussy Troll. And he still goes to bed at night just fine.

Plan activities, in the morning.
Then have lunch.
Then wind-down.
Kids this age need to wind-down and key down, before nap.
Verbally cue them, what is coming up.
My son, will not/cannot nap, until he poops. Usually after a meal. For example.
Have a nap routine.
Make things dark, quiet, calm. Set the stage.
Then, your daughter can nap where she usually does. So she does not get out of sorts with HER routine.
The boy, can nap, in another room. You can make a place on the floor or on a sofa for him.
If it helps... tell them it is 'nap time' for MOMMY too.
That is what I do with my kids.
Then you make everything quiet.
No horse-play before nap. Otherwise, they will not key down and be too hyper to nap.
That is why, I do major activities in the morning... things using big motor skills and physical activities.
You can also do alphabets with them, workbooks etc., reading to them.
Crafts, etc.

Do you have to bathe him too?
If so, then make sure your friend knows that.

Your friend is not picking up his child until 9:00pm. If his son does not nap... then his 'bedtime' once he gets home and wound down there... will be VERY late, for a 4 year old.
Thus, having him nap, in the afternoons, will be beneficial.
Also, kids even in Kindergarten, have nap times.

My son who just turned 5 still naps some times, but our rule is that he has to have quiet time every afternoon for at least an hour. If he's still up and being obedient, he may play quietly in the playroom until the others wake up. He may be too old for a nap, but quiet time is another thing. During that time they are allowed to read, quietly play games or work on puzzles, etc. We made quiet-time boxes that only come out at nap time and makes it work out most days for us. Good luck!

hello, i just wanted to say that i have a daughter who will b 4 in the next couple of months and a son who is 1. I also babysit my friends 4 children who are the ages 6, 3, 2 and 8 moths old.... Its alot of work. They get to my house at about 1:30ish. depending on if they had lunch or not, i will feed them or give them all a snack, and they will play or watch tv untill about 3. At 3:00, we clean up, I put them all in their nap spots (same nap spots everytime) turn out the tv, and make the room as dark as possible and they ALL (6 Kids) take a nap. Even the 6 year old... Now, I let them sleep as long as they want, as long as they dont sleep past dinner time. Hope this helped.

Every child differs. Some 4 year olds don't even take naps. But generally it would be some time after lunch. As you learn the child you'll be able to tell if her needs one directly after lunch, if he wakes very early due to getting off to the sitter. Or if he needs one later in the afternoon. You'll want to have a cut off time when he should not sleep past so he will be tired enough to go to bed when it's time. The first week or two will be the testing period. Try right after lunch to start, maybe by 1pm. Make sure he potties first. Don't let him sleep more than 2 hours, or even 1/5 hours. This will be something else you'll have to test through because if he gets too much sleep at nap he may not be ready for bed when you want him to go down. An afternoon snack can be when he wakes up. Make it light or heavy depending on when he wakes up and when he eats dinner.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

My two oldest children are 17 months apart and when they were 3 and 4, scheduling was a must. I think it is wise for you to set mealtime schedules and having some planned activities. Kids this age also need some unstructured playtime, though, to learn to make choices on their own. In addition, I suggest having a "quiet time" and if they nap, great, but if not, they (and you!) definitely need the down time. Quiet time activities in my home included books, puzzles, drawing or the like while in a space all by themselves. I hope you find this helpful and bless you for helping out your single father friend!