Hire a mother’s helper to give your nanny a break! At my nanny’s suggestion I had my friend’s preteen daughter come over for 2 hrs 2-3 afternoons a week to play with my older one while the younger one napped and my nanny had a “break” (in reality she’d use the time to fold laundry and tidy up). I’ll admit that I balked at first (especially since we were already paying her $30/hr, which was high 5 years ago) but now as a SAHM with two more kids (with naps that don’t align) I totally get it and still rely on a mother’s helper to have a few hours of sanity-saving kid-free time a week.

Anonymous wrote:The way our two kids current nap schedules worked out, our nanny doesn’t get a break during her 8.5 hour day. I know how hard it is because DH and I have it on weekends.

Does just acknowledging how hard it it currently help? Kids are 2.5 and 5 months.

She needs a break. Give an exyra hour pay every day she has no break. You get a break at your job.

poor kid goes to daycare from 6:30? Why not 7:30? Poor child, probably falling asleep on is or her feet around 11 am.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why not take a good advice and re-establish napping routine with 2,5 yr old.

Some of us don’t want “a good advice”. I love my nearly 3 yr old not napping anymore. He’s happy, healthy, learning, and falls asleep at night happily and easily.

A lot of parents are like that. They want their kids awake while in daycare/nanny care so that the kids fall asleep early at night and the parents get more “me” time. But the majority of kids should be napping until ages 4-5

OR if the kid naps they dont fall asleep until 9/930 and we have to be out the door at 730 so they have to be up at 630.

A teacher friend of mine has to wake her kid at 545 to get to daycare by 630 because both spouses are HS teachers. 8 hours plus a maybe 2 hour nap is only 10 hours so her kid is perpetually overtired, but if there is no nap her kid sleeps 630 to 545=11.25 hours. BIG difference.

Now if they had her kid nap from 11-1 that might be better but nap is 1-3 and the sleep need just isnt there for another 6-7 hours (at least). Daycare is making the nap where it fits their schedule and not the other way around, which is the downside of group care. No parents with full-time jobs and two kids under 3 really thinks they get "me" time. Most of us are worried that our kids arent getting enough sleep.

Maybe if HS moved their hours to start at 9 this wouldnt be an issue for them but its an issue for everyone else.

Doesn't the 5 mo old take 2 naps a day? And the 2 yr old's nap doesn't overlap either one of those naps?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can't the baby hang out rotate tnrough the pack n play/fenced playard-type area/baby swing/jumperoo for the hour or two while 2.5yr old naps.
The baby isn't mobile yet so that makes it easier (for now) for the nanny to have some chunks of down-time to herself.

There is no reason to subjective that child to that much solo time.

Yes there is. Learning to be alone is a good thing for children and babies. This constant need to be in eyesight nowadays is probably why there's so much anxiety in younger generations.

A baby shouldn't have 2 hours though

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can't the baby hang out rotate tnrough the pack n play/fenced playard-type area/baby swing/jumperoo for the hour or two while 2.5yr old naps.
The baby isn't mobile yet so that makes it easier (for now) for the nanny to have some chunks of down-time to herself.

There is no reason to subjective that child to that much solo time.

Yes there is. Learning to be alone is a good thing for children and babies. This constant need to be in eyesight nowadays is probably why there's so much anxiety in younger generations.

Anonymous wrote:7:30 pm as a bed time does seem a bit early, maybe that;s why he is not napping well, not after having such long night sleep. I do agree with one of PPs who said some parents prefer that kids do not nap during the day and then go on to collapse at 7:30 since they would be exhausted BUT I do not blame working parents who are exhausted themselves. However, I think the kids who take naps are happier and more pleasant to be around in the evenings.

Yeah, I thought that too until DD and there was zero change in her personality when she didn’t nap and when she did. Always a sweet, cuddly kid just a short sleeper.

7:30 pm as a bed time does seem a bit early, maybe that;s why he is not napping well, not after having such long night sleep. I do agree with one of PPs who said some parents prefer that kids do not nap during the day and then go on to collapse at 7:30 since they would be exhausted BUT I do not blame working parents who are exhausted themselves. However, I think the kids who take naps are happier and more pleasant to be around in the evenings.

My first kid stopped napping at 10 months. Nothing I did changed that. I was very surprised when my second kid napped well until she was about three. Kids are different and you can't "train" them to sleep longer if their bio clock disagrees.

Both kids are now well into adulthood and their sleep requirements remain approximately the same as they have always been.

Also, referring to a playpen as a "cage" or a "container" is just laughable. Tell me, how did being in one hurt you? It keeps the child safe while the caregiver is otherwise occupied, even if that means they are just sitting down for awhile during their break.

Anonymous wrote:Can't the baby hang out rotate tnrough the pack n play/fenced playard-type area/baby swing/jumperoo for the hour or two while 2.5yr old naps.
The baby isn't mobile yet so that makes it easier (for now) for the nanny to have some chunks of down-time to herself.

There is no reason to subjective that child to that much solo time.

Can't the baby hang out rotate tnrough the pack n play/fenced playard-type area/baby swing/jumperoo for the hour or two while 2.5yr old naps.
The baby isn't mobile yet so that makes it easier (for now) for the nanny to have some chunks of down-time to herself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why not take a good advice and re-establish napping routine with 2,5 yr old.

Some of us don’t want “a good advice”. I love my nearly 3 yr old not napping anymore. He’s happy, healthy, learning, and falls asleep at night happily and easily.

A lot of parents are like that. They want their kids awake while in daycare/nanny care so that the kids fall asleep early at night and the parents get more “me” time. But the majority of kids should be napping until ages 4-5

Not true in our case. DS always goes to bed at 7:30 whether he naps or not. He goes in his crib for a full hour every day to rest and rarely falls asleep anymore - like maybe once every two or three weeks. He’s 2 years and 8 months and this has been going on for months. My nephew is the same.

Please stop being such a know-it-all. It’s so unattractive, PP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why not take a good advice and re-establish napping routine with 2,5 yr old.

Some of us don’t want “a good advice”. I love my nearly 3 yr old not napping anymore. He’s happy, healthy, learning, and falls asleep at night happily and easily.

A lot of parents are like that. They want their kids awake while in daycare/nanny care so that the kids fall asleep early at night and the parents get more “me” time. But the majority of kids should be napping until ages 4-5

Anonymous wrote:it's really difficult to go without a break every day. The nanny will not last long. If it's temporary thing then it would be OK but in the long run, she would need break, how else she can have all the energy.

Some nannies need a break. Some do not.

I don't work with infants, and my charges don't typically nap. If one does, I have 2+ older charges who do not.

I make sure my charges have a lower energy time to play or read independently. However, I stagger it so that they each also gets 1-1 time with me.