My son just turned a year old and he's been at daycare for about 4 months. Their schedule has never worked great for him but now it's a bit worse. They do nap time at 12-3. My son naps about 2 hours out of that time. He goes to bed at 7 and wakes at 6. By 4 pm he is so tired and whines the whole evening and I can't stand it. He just seems so miserable during the later half of the day. I know under 18 months babies usually have 2 naps a day but he just won't nap (or at least they say he won't) while everyone else is awake and playing. I don't think they really try to get him to nap though except 12-3. They want him to be perfectly in their schedule. I also think he gets hungry in the middle of that time but snack isn't until 3:30 and like I said they want him perfectly in their schedule. I work there, just a few hours, and it's to the point that I was critized for feeding him early while he was balling his eyes out. Part of me wants to stick it out and hope eventually he bodes more well with their schedule but part of me wants to put him somewhere else. Advice please?
I always thought most 1 year olds napped shortly after breakfast and then midway through the day. Is this the general rule of thumb?
Thank you fellow moms! I have decided to keep my son at this daycare. Things are getting better and I've realized how awesome it is to have my son at a good quality daycare and to not move him to a different one. His problems of crying all evening are subsiding now that I've ignored the behavior. And now that he's not crying all evening he's bearably tired as it gets late in the evening.
Also to the person who claims I shouldn't be working there because I fed my son... there was another worker there watching the other kids while I fed my son. And there is only two rooms. infant/toddler and preschool.
Give it some more time, perhaps? He may need a bit longer to readjust to a new schedule. All daycares run on a schedule, so I don't think taking him elsewhere will make much of a difference. He may just need more time to get used to their schedule.
T.,
While you may work there - it's not conducive to your son's needs.
EVERY child is different. My daughter? she would wake up promptly at 0630, eat breakfast by 0730 and nap at 10AM to 11AM.
My oldest son? Up at 0700 - STILL a morning person at 17 years of age - breakfast - nap at 11 to 1145 and then again at 1300 to 1530 and then in bed at 9PM.
My youngest? oh hell. there was NO schedule for him for his first year! :)
Look around at other places that are a tad bit more flexible and will work with your son's schedule.
At the commercial daycare our son went to - they had a schedule but kids under 2 yrs old napped pretty much when ever they wanted to.
After 2 yrs old they were more into synchronized napping (whole room at a time went down for quite time/nap) - but under 2 kids just sleep when ever they want to.
I'd have a hard time with a place that wanted ME to follow THEIR schedule to the degree this place is asking you to do.
It might be best to another place.
Additional:
Here are the state rules for Tenn:
http://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1240/1240-04/124...
Pertaining to naps:
"(3)
Physical Care - Naps.
(a)
Preschool children shall have a reclining rest period according to their individual needs.
School-aged children shall be allowed to nap if needed but not forced to do so.
(b)
Each toddler who is able to walk and each preschooler shall have individual napping
space, something soft and at least two inches thick to sleep on, and clean bedding.
(Examples: couch with cover, thick sleeping bag or foam pad, family bed with cover, or
cot with cover.)
(c)
Each child under 15 months of age and any child unable to walk shall have his/her own
crib or playpen and bedding for napping.
(d)
Because of the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), sleeping infants (under
13 months) shall be checked every 30 minutes by touching them. If a child appears not
to be breathing, emergency medical assistance shall be sought immediately.
(e)
Each child shall have his or her own clean sheet and coverlet.
(f)
After a child has rested for a reasonable period, she/he shall be allowed to get up"
It's fairly clear to me the place you are going to is not following state rules.
Some parents would fight to make sure they start following the rules but others feel better in getting their kids into places that already know what they are doing.
Your states licensing laws and regulations.
http://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1240/1240-04/124...
No other child care business will do what you're asking. They want to keep their license.
A child care business is regulated by laws and regulations on the state level. They follow the state's laws or close their doors.
The laws in your state determine your child's child care schedule. The WHOLE class, starting with the toddlers at age 12 months/1 year old, eats together, snacks together, goes outside together, etc...the child care facility is required by law to have your child follow the schedule. If their licensing worker came in to inspect the facility and found your child sleeping on a cot and it's not the scheduled nap time the licensing worker "could" close the facility. Letting kids in the classroom go to bed while the rest of the class is doing something else, that's a serious infraction and could get them closed.
In home child care they also have to follow the rules. It's not just the larger facilities that have to follow the state laws.
In the baby room your child was able to eat and sleep as needed, until they get about 10-11 months old. At that time the baby room teachers start keeping the baby awake a little bit and start putting them down around the toddler room nap time, as they get closer to their first birthday they might even put them on cots so they'll be used to that when they transfer up on their birthday. Hopefully by the time they get in the toddler room and they're playing and active until lunch time they won't fall asleep in the morning. Then they take a longer noon nap. When they get up they're supposed to toilet, wash hands and stuff, then get together for afternoon snacks, which is typically between 3 and 3:30pm. Then they have time doing stuff and/or have playtime the rest of the afternoon.
It would be typical if your toddler falls asleep on the way home for a short power nap. You'll notice as they reach age 2 that they won't do that very often.
As to not letting kids eat when it's not classtime to eat, there are strict rules regarding choking and cleanliness. Your state regulations state that the kids MUST be seated at the table and being watched while eating. This is a hard core rule. Kids can die of they are eating and not being watched closely.
If you're giving snacks to one kid and watching them like you're supposed to then the rest of your class is being ignored, basically they are unsupervised. Another HUGE infraction.
This is why kids in child care eat at the same time and they play at the same time. So that they are properly supervised.
If you were my employee and I caught you giving kids food without the proper supervision required I would have given you a written warning and if I caught you doing it again I'd fire you on the spot. What you did was very dangerous and not acceptable.
Sorry this isn't what you want to hear but these children's safety is in your hands and you don't seem to have the proper training to be an effective teacher. Ask the director about training hours. You need to have at least some basic information so that you can understand the severity of your actions.
If this is truly a big deal to you and you don't understand how the classes are supposed to work then I suggest you find a nanny to work in your own home that will follow your own schedule, or quit working and stay home.
Because child care, both in facilities and in private homes that are licensed, are regulated by laws and regulations adapted by your state. If they don't follow them they risk losing their license and being closed down.
hm. expecting a commercial daycare to have their schedule perfectly accommodate your son is a bit much.
but so is their draconian rule about sleeping and snacks. year old babies don't know from schedules, do they?
there's not really a rule of thumb with yearlings, and yes, in a big facility there does have to be some order. but denying a hungry baby a snack doesn't sound like a wise move, not if they like babies. and if they don't like babies it's not really a great fit, is it?
is there nowhere quiet for him to take a nap in the morning? i'm not surprised he won't sleep if they just lay him down where other kids are playing, but there should be a quiet place for sleepy littles to lay down when they need to.
what options do you have in your area? he might do better in a home-based daycare.
khairete
S.
Updated
hm. expecting a commercial daycare to have their schedule perfectly accommodate your son is a bit much.
but so is their draconian rule about sleeping and snacks. year old babies don't know from schedules, do they?
there's not really a rule of thumb with yearlings, and yes, in a big facility there does have to be some order. but denying a hungry baby a snack doesn't sound like a wise move, not if they like babies. and if they don't like babies it's not really a great fit, is it?
is there nowhere quiet for him to take a nap in the morning? i'm not surprised he won't sleep if they just lay him down where other kids are playing, but there should be a quiet place for sleepy littles to lay down when they need to.
what options do you have in your area? he might do better in a home-based daycare.
khairete
S.
At home it is sometimes easier to let a toddler set the schedule but at a daycare there are several children per adult and the children really do need to learn to function within the schedule set, they simply cannot individualize it for each individual child. Can you imagine the chaos if they tried to feed and nap each child on a different schedule with that many kids? If you want that kind of individualized care where your child gets to set the schedule you may need to pay for private care or figure out a way to stay home yourself. Of course it never hurts to look around your area and see if they have a daycare that you think would better fit your needs.
Could you push his bedtime back to 730 or 745 pm so he'd power nap on way home from daycare? That's what we did.
Those power naps saved us from cranky tots in evenings when they dropped a nap.
It sounds nuts to keep him up even later where he's already super tired and cranky - but sometimes you have to jiggle/adjust bedtimes as they go through changes with naps.
As for how much daycares/child care providers are willing to work with you - it depends on the set up and provider. Our daycare places (home and facilities) all did one nap a day. Even a home provider - if she has more than one child, will try to get them all down together - just makes more sense for her if she's trying to get housework done, etc.
I have worked the daycare scene. And never have I left a child crying till a certain time for food. Never should this be the case in a baby room. (6 weeks till 18 months is considered a baby.) When a child is about 13 months we started the toddler room routine and gradually implemented it till the child was on that schedule so there was no time shock. At a year old they should be feeding when hungry, and allowing naps when the baby needs it not what the clock says. Do they expect the 6 month olds to adhere to this schedule too? I would find out what the regulations are for your state. My state has rules daycare centers must follow and if they are not following rules they are held accountable by dept. Of child and family services
Every kid is different when it comes to sleep/naps. My oldest took only one nap at age 1, and it was between the hours of 12-3. On most days she only napped 2 hours, longer every once in awhile. My youngest slept most hours of the day until she was 3 months old. After that, she hardly napped at all. I never had them in daycare, so fortunately, I didn't have to fit them into a larger group's schedule. Sounds like you should start looking around for someplace that's a better fit for your son. I think working in the same place your son is in daycare would be confusing and stressful.
Just a suggestion but why not stay home with your child instead of working a few hours there. Then he can eat and sleep whenever it works best for you.
I suggest you speak with the director to see if you can have him moved back to the infant room. Typically kids are moved from the infant room to the toddler room at 12 months old, because they are ready. But it sounds like he's not ready. He still needs the more flexible schedule of the infant room for another few months. Of course, that comes at a higher cost to you - the teacher:child ratio in the infant room is lower (usually 1:4 or less, while toddler room is more like 1:6), and with lower teacher:child ratio comes a higher monthly cost to you. So, if the director is willing, is it worth it to you?
