Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:3 yr old should nap. It is not OK for a 3 yr old not to nap. If kids "drop" nap at that age it is mostly because of parental incompetence. 5 yr old does not have to nap. Quiet time for 30 min, then books for 1 hr.

Lol not at all. My kids all dropped naps at 3 and were in bed asleep by 7pm. It was great. My friends’ kids who napped until ages 4 or 5 couldn’t sleep until 10pm at night because of the nap.

If you're a SAH parent, maybe it's OK, but kids need more parent time than to come home and get put to bed at 3. Much better to have those extra hours in the evening with parents, than to spend 2 more hours awake at daycare.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to find somewhere that does not do 2 hours. 2 hours is unreasonable for 3+ age because while some kids will sleep that long, the ones that don’t (or whose parents want them to be woken earlier) need an alternative other than sitting for an hour, which is not a developmentally appropriate expectation.

Plenty of centers do 30 or 60 mins. Find one of those.

Our pediatrician gladly writes letters for parents who need one stating that their child should be woken up after 30 mins. Kids this age get worse quality sleep if they are up til 9, 10 etc.

Your pediatrician isn’t the one trying to keep the non nappers quiet while the other children are napping.
Find a place that has a non napper room and quit trying to skirt the center policy.

Correct. They are a professional who provides advice in the interest of a child’s health. and they are acting in that capacity. If the center has a bad policy, it’s not the pediatrician’s problem. Nor should it be the children’s. And yes, one person can find a different center but that doesn’t really fix things for anyone else, does it?

Anonymous wrote:You need to find somewhere that does not do 2 hours. 2 hours is unreasonable for 3+ age because while some kids will sleep that long, the ones that don’t (or whose parents want them to be woken earlier) need an alternative other than sitting for an hour, which is not a developmentally appropriate expectation.

Plenty of centers do 30 or 60 mins. Find one of those.

Our pediatrician gladly writes letters for parents who need one stating that their child should be woken up after 30 mins. Kids this age get worse quality sleep if they are up til 9, 10 etc.

Your pediatrician isn’t the one trying to keep the non nappers quiet while the other children are napping.
Find a place that has a non napper room and quit trying to skirt the center policy.

You need to find somewhere that does not do 2 hours. 2 hours is unreasonable for 3+ age because while some kids will sleep that long, the ones that don’t (or whose parents want them to be woken earlier) need an alternative other than sitting for an hour, which is not a developmentally appropriate expectation.

Plenty of centers do 30 or 60 mins. Find one of those.

Our pediatrician gladly writes letters for parents who need one stating that their child should be woken up after 30 mins. Kids this age get worse quality sleep if they are up til 9, 10 etc.

The big deal is that they want kids to go to sleep at 7 pm so that they would only have to spend 1 hr with their own child.

Children's brain development is happening during sleep. Something to keep in mind for pp whose child stopped napping at 18 months. At 18 months, you can still rock them to sleep if they are unable to fall asleep on their own. PP, no one is talking about forcing a child to sleep but lots of kids who had "dropped nap" at home, fall asleep easily, under a warm blanket to soft music, at their daycare or school. There is a lot more stimulation at school, so kids are much more tired. Yes please, nap at 3, gradually drop nap by 5, what is the big deal?

It’s a licensing requirement. DCPS PK requires nap time as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We the teachers can see the difference in the behavior of 3 yr old who does not nap. Lots of whining, very tired, does not cooperate, in the center of many situations requiring the teacher's immediate attention. Affects the group and the other kids' greatly, taking my time away from them. Sets example for other kids who may refuse to nap, and then you have more tired kids in the afternoon/next day. Parents, please be patient and teach your children good sleeping habits. A 3 yr old dropping to sleep exhausted at 7 pm is nothing to be proud about. A shorter nap, surely, but still a nap. Even 40 min nap is better than no nap.

At 3, my kids could go all day at home on the weekends and extended breaks without napping and not be whiny or overtired. Sounds like you can’t manage a room full of young kids and were resentful about having to do extra work once they were no longer sleeping for 2 hours in the middle of your shift.

+1 exactly. Would love to know where PP teaches so we can avoid.

+Another. My daughter dropped her nap at 18 months. She was fine. Her daycare was stupid about it, but looks like they aren't the only ones.

Anonymous wrote:We the teachers can see the difference in the behavior of 3 yr old who does not nap. Lots of whining, very tired, does not cooperate, in the center of many situations requiring the teacher's immediate attention. Affects the group and the other kids' greatly, taking my time away from them. Sets example for other kids who may refuse to nap, and then you have more tired kids in the afternoon/next day. Parents, please be patient and teach your children good sleeping habits. A 3 yr old dropping to sleep exhausted at 7 pm is nothing to be proud about. A shorter nap, surely, but still a nap. Even 40 min nap is better than no nap.

Congrats. Now tell me how you force a kid to nap. Go on. I'll wait.

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others op, you won't find a place that doesn't have nap time because it is part of licensing requirements but you do want a place that is flexible. Most will have the children lay for a certain amount of time and then if they are still awake they can read books etc on their mat. most kids do surprisingly adjust to this though it is hard as they get close to kindergarten they are often very done with it.

We still did quiet time at home which helped. our routine stayed the same. Lunch then quiet time. They don't have to stay in bed at home during quiet time but it still helped reinforce there is a restful time after lunch.

Also to the parents blaming the teacher for cranky kids. Surely you can understand that kids are typically more exhausted by a day at daycare with lots of other kids than weekends at home? There are many kids who need a nap during daycare days and don't nap on the weekends.

Surely you can understand parents do actually spend time with their children at the end of the day and can tell if they need to nap on daycare days?

Agree with others op, you won't find a place that doesn't have nap time because it is part of licensing requirements but you do want a place that is flexible. Most will have the children lay for a certain amount of time and then if they are still awake they can read books etc on their mat. most kids do surprisingly adjust to this though it is hard as they get close to kindergarten they are often very done with it.

We still did quiet time at home which helped. our routine stayed the same. Lunch then quiet time. They don't have to stay in bed at home during quiet time but it still helped reinforce there is a restful time after lunch.

Also to the parents blaming the teacher for cranky kids. Surely you can understand that kids are typically more exhausted by a day at daycare with lots of other kids than weekends at home? There are many kids who need a nap during daycare days and don't nap on the weekends.

Anonymous wrote:Do they just have to lay in cot? For how long? Or do they have an other place they can quietly play? Or….something else?

Were you able to negotiate anything if they just wanted them to lay there for 2 hours?

My 3yo should not nap (pushed back bedtime until 9 or later which does not work with my other kids). Just found out the school id planned for him to start soon requires them to just lay there for 2 hours which seems way too long if you don’t need to sleep.

Laid on cot for two hours quietly. Music was usually playing, and they could have a small toy or book with them.

Three different daycares for three kids and that’s what all did. This problem is so common, but it doesn’t last long.

Anonymous wrote:Do they just have to lay in cot? For how long? Or do they have an other place they can quietly play? Or….something else?

Were you able to negotiate anything if they just wanted them to lay there for 2 hours?

My 3yo should not nap (pushed back bedtime until 9 or later which does not work with my other kids). Just found out the school id planned for him to start soon requires them to just lay there for 2 hours which seems way too long if you don’t need to sleep.

Send your child somewhere else. Shop around until you find a place that works for your child’s or your family’s needs.
Negotiating just leads to them telling you what you want to hear and them doing what’s best for them and the majority of the children in their care.
I’ve had parents try to negotiate nap time, outside time, meal times, and open and close time. They just had to find care elsewhere.

Anonymous wrote:We let kiddos play quietly on their cots if the parents do not wish for them nap or if they themselves don't nap.

Same at our daycare. They can look at book, color, play with stuffies. There are things at daycare they can use or bring from home..usually they have to lie down for a brief initial period which also helps the napping kids settle in.

At 3 our daycare tried to keep nap consistency. At age 4-5 a lot of kids drop the nap and there is more flexibility but still quiet time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We the teachers can see the difference in the behavior of 3 yr old who does not nap. Lots of whining, very tired, does not cooperate, in the center of many situations requiring the teacher's immediate attention. Affects the group and the other kids' greatly, taking my time away from them. Sets example for other kids who may refuse to nap, and then you have more tired kids in the afternoon/next day. Parents, please be patient and teach your children good sleeping habits. A 3 yr old dropping to sleep exhausted at 7 pm is nothing to be proud about. A shorter nap, surely, but still a nap. Even 40 min nap is better than no nap.

At 3, my kids could go all day at home on the weekends and extended breaks without napping and not be whiny or overtired. Sounds like you can’t manage a room full of young kids and were resentful about having to do extra work once they were no longer sleeping for 2 hours in the middle of your shift.

+1 exactly. Would love to know where PP teaches so we can avoid.