i have a 3 1/2 almost 4(feb2nd) year old son and he goes to preschool/daycare. all the other kids in his classroom take naps usually. the teacher asked to talk to me in the hallway this morning when i dropped my son off. she told me that he has been not listening very well to her during naptime. he wont take naps and he stands on top of his cot and yells loudly asking all the other kids if they have to pee. she has tried to let him have something to do quietly and that hasnt worked cuz the other kids want to do what he is doing. i am going to have a talk with him and i dont know if he will listen because i have repeatedly talked to him about taking naps at school. he fights them. i know he still needs a nap because when i go pick him up from there at 5pm and we are on our way home, he is asleep in the car within a few minutes. can anyone give me some advice on how to approach this situation? its not fair to the other kids when they need their naps.
Either remove him from it, or threaten to unless he behaves better. And follow through.
Is there maybe a side room he could sit and color or something by himself quietly while the others are out cold?
I do hope the teacher is being extremely firm with him about it. As in "You need to stop, right now!" "It's very rude to be loud when people are sleeping, so stop!"
I run an in-home daycare and have worked at different daycare centers. I can sense the teachers frustration and your own. Here are a few ideas I have tried in the past...
*Tell him that once all the kids are a sleep he can do a quiet activity at a table such as color/stickers/puzzles and ect.
*Ask if you can bring in a headphone set with a special cd or tape to listen to on his cot. This will help relax him and possible help him fall asleep. I know usually they listen to soft music but having his own will be more of a distraction for him.
Good luck!
Both my boys stopped taking naps at age 2, and they are now 15 and 9. My teenager still falls asleep during car rides as well as my 9 yr. I still do, but it doesn't mean we still need a nap. Car rides are relaxing and it just happens. I think the daycare needs to have another room for those that do not take naps anymore that has a set time during the day for quiet time while the others nap. Like having a teacher in that room reading a story to them while they lay, or sit there and listen. Just a suggestion. Hope all works out.
If he is being purposely disruptive and the teacher can not handle it ask them about perhaps during his classes nap time If he can go to one of the older rooms where he will not bother anyone...
As a daycare provider myself and I know many teachers out there are the same way... My room, MY RULES!!! Yes, you can talk to him at home about it, but SHE is the only one that can lay down the law and make it stick.
If he disrupts the class I would take a priveledge away IN CLASS... But it depends on the teacher...
Hello H., Your son is a natural born leader. This is a skill that you can help him develop properly as he matures. Having said that, nap issues are common at this age. He may be overly tired. Hyper-activity sets in when a child is overly tired. Send a snack to school each day that he can only have if he lays quietly with a small toy to play with during nap time. Something he really enjoys. If he is noisy, or gets up, no snack, period, no negotiation. Bed time should be looked at also. A bed time ritual is a must. All drinks, potty breaks, etc. are done before getting in bed. After that, nothing else. Don't allow your son to have excuses. If he gets up, pick him up, put him back to bed. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Don't talk to him while doing this, or you will be rewarding him for getting up. Once he knows that he will receive nothing more from you, including attention, he will stay in bed, and fall asleep quickly. This routine will help with nap time, by being consistent. Good luck.
Hi H. - I think you might need to find another day care - not all kids are the same and I would say more than half drop naps by the time they are three and a half - all my kids did by the time they were two and a half. The day care needs to be more flexible. I actually think it's ridiculous to put an almost four year old on a cot and expect him to sleep - some just won't. These kids should be in a different room, given a stack of books and just have some quiet(er) time. Anyway, that's my take on it. Of course he's tired at the end of the day - all kids are - but he doesn't need a formal nap during the day - good luck - Alison
hey H.
what i have done with al mine is tell them they do not need to go to sleep but they must lay there with out making a sound or with my head strong youngest one we play the close the eye open the eyes game after 10 min they can't keep them open
My children, now college age, gave up their naps at 2 1/2. And yes they did fall asleep earlier in the evening for bedtime initially, but truly they did not need a nap. This could be true for your child as well.
Actually, my son gave up his nap at that age. He also fell asleep in the car as I feel it is natural due to the motion.
When my son was in daycare - some children were not required to nap, just rest or offered something else to do. I feel when you speak to your son, you should get down to his level and try not to be overly authoritative. This is where many parents have things backfire. Not to mention - it is the age and the stage.
If this is his behavior, then I would assume he is ready for something else at nap time. Also - if he is inquiring about 'peeing'; he is interested in potty training, if he is not yet trained entirely. Or he is just repeating what he heard the teacher say.
It is the caretakers' job to help guide your child as well while they are in their care. You can talk to your son, but at this age, he is really not going to recall your conversation in its entirety. The 'teacher' also has to own up and take responsibility as well. If the other kids want to do what he is doing, then in all honesty - I really do not see the issue if they are the same age... or she should put him in a different room until the rest are asleep and then offer him a choice of projects. This is what they did with my son at daycare. (they had a few different rooms with different schedules so it worked.) It sounds as if she is not really trying and she is putting it all on you. You are not there, she is.
If he still takes a nap for you on the weekend, then so be it... but do get ready as he may just give them up very soon. When my son gave up the naps, we just put him to bed a little early and he fell asleep really fast. It was great!
