Hi moms!
My soon to be 4 year old son attends daycare fulltime. They have a a two hour naptime from 1-3pm. The kids don't have to sleep but must stay quiet. Of course my son falls asleep. The probelm is he is up until 10-11 at night on the days he has a nap. The weekends he does not get a nap and is in bed by 8pm. Would it be out of line to ask his teachers if they might be able to wake him up a little early? I so tired by the end of the week. I can't get my stuff done in the eveing cause he is bouncing off the walls. I would like to be in bed 9:30pm myself. Any suggestions would be great! Thank you!
Thanks for all the input! I will say that he is up in the morning by 5:45-6am. We have to leave the house by 7am. That is why he is tired at naptime and falls asleep it is never ending cycle. Going to bed between 10-11pm and then up at 5:45 in not enough sleep!! I even take him swimming after dinner to try and wear him out before bed. He just has not ever required alot sleep and still to this day will not sleep through the night.
Wow, that is a long nap time. I think I would be finding another day care for him to go to or get a private sitter. That is to long of a nap period. They just don't want to deal with the kids so they put them down for naps.
I worked in daycare for years before I had my own children and this was a common problem. A large reason the children have to lay quietly is because very often if they get up they disturb the kids who still need that nap. You would be better off asking if he can move into another room for nap time as it is disrupting his night routine. A good center will have no problem letting him play in the 3 year old room or color in the 5 year old room during nap and then returning him to the 4 year olds when they wake up. Be firm that he needs to stop napping though and they should work with you. Good Luck!
I don't think it would be too out of line, but also consider his wake time. Is he up in the mornings after 7:00? If so, I'd start waking him up a little earlier. Seems like a 7am wake time, 2 hour nap and 9pm bedtime would work for that age. (I have a 4 yr old too.) On the days he doesn't nap, you could have him in bed even earlier than 9pm. Good luck.
Child care licensing rules state that children under school age must have X amount of hours of nap/rest time every day. If they are caught not following these rules they can lose their license. You are going to have to find a way to deal with your child's behavior on your own.
It depends on the day care. If it is a one room type (like an at home), his getting up early could disrupt the other children who need to nap, but if it is a large facility he could possibly spend nap time in anther section with kids who do not need to nap. I would talk with the teacher. Also, be sure he is not sleeping in to late. My boys no longer nap (aged 4 and 6), but I notice if they are up by 7 they go down at 830, it they sleep past 8 I can not get them to sleep until 930 or so.
It can't hurt to ask. I feel your pain too. our 3.5 year old is definitely harder to get down on the nights she's napped (3 days a week at daycare). They do need to be quiet and I'm not sure if they can keep him up, but waking him early - if he is quiet - may work.
Hi, My boys both go to daycare and this is a problem for us as well. They stay up late, due to napping at school, and get up really early, so that mom and dad can go to work and the boys go to daycare. Do you currently have a routine at night? We eat dinner, then go outside and play, then come inside and take a bath. The boys both know that after a bath they get a snack and able to watch something previously recorded on PBS (Barney or Word World). After the show they both know the TV goes off and we go upstairs to read books. When we put them in bed even if they are not 100% tired they know they have to just rest in bed. Someone recommended the routine and it took about 2 weeks to fully work and have the boys understand the drill. Hope this helps.
It definetly sounds like your daycare needs to work with you. It sounds like he needs a nap but not a 2 hour one. Its really not fair to you. Most 4 year old don't need a nap on most days as long as they are getting around 10 hours a night which he isn't...I understand what you are saying about the vicious cycle. I think some of the moms are being very unreliastic and a little arrogant to suggest that its somehow your fault that your little one wont go to bed when YOU want him to. The daycare costs a lot of money and need to work with you so that life at home is a little less stressful.
I would ask.. my daughter started daycare at 3 and she needed a 3 hour nap.. so she went in and slept with the 2 year olds...
now she is 4 1/2 and she is ready to give up naps.. just like your son.. nap = late bedtime..
I am playing with her naptimes.. today she got a 1 hour nap and she was still up till 10 pm.. tomorrow she gets a 45 minute nap.. she stll needs a bit of a nap as she gets cranky.. but too much afternoon sleep and she cant sleep at night..
Children that fall asleep in the afternoon need the nap. It's been proven many times over that an afternoon nap is healthy and some cultures do this for all ages.
I agree with the others that your child should not be allowed to sleep very late and that a 8-9 pm bedtime will work when you enforce it. I never had this issue with my kids because they knew that defying me was not an option. Last night I kept a daycare child for her mom so she could go out. This mom has a hard time getting her in bed at a decent time at home. So when I put everyone else down last night I told her that her nonsense she has been putting her mother through would not happen in my house. I laid her down and a few minutes later she was sound asleep.
You should ask your provider to shorten his nap. He probably does still need one if he's falling asleep on his own, but an hour would be plenty to refresh him.
Good luck!
