Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have yet to meet a two year old who doesn't need a nap. Every day.

Every 2 yr old I have nannied for sleeps for 3 hr everyday from 12-3 and they usually go to bed around 9-10 pm

My charge stopped napping at about 2.5 years. They put him down at 7. I cannot imagine wanting a 2 y/o up at 10pm! The reason we stopped naps is bc of the influence it had on bedtime.

Maybe the 12 year old was wrong or (gasp) lying.
If your MB and DB haven't complained i wouldn't worry. If the 2 yr old needs a nap make her take a nap.... simple

Anonymous wrote:I have yet to meet a two year old who doesn't need a nap. Every day.

Every 2 yr old I have nannied for sleeps for 3 hr everyday from 12-3 and they usually go to bed around 9-10 pm

Sounds like you are dealing with the normal transition of a child dropping their nap. Days that the kids naps.are probably nightmare evenings for the parents. My child took long naps at his daycare (legally required until kindergarten foe daycares. My 4yr old would be up until 11pm on a Tuesday night when the rest of the house was ready to turn in at 930.

Talk to the parents. I don't understand people who can't have healthy direct communication.

It sounds like she has asked you to wake her up after an hour, so that means to me that shes ok with her taking a nap with you but she wants it kept short. I would do this.

My kids both went through periods around 2.5 where they wouldn't nap, and the need for activity in the morning to promote the nap definitely increased around that age.

However, they always did an hour of quiet time instead.

I have yet to meet a two year old who doesn't need a nap. Every day.

She is TWO! Even if she is not napping, she still needs some designated independent quiet time each day. I would remind MB/DB that toddler still need around 12 hours of sleep a day and that resting is very important for her development (in a non-confrontational, non-threatening way of course). Clarify the strategy you have been employing up to this point and ask how they would like you to proceed.

It's just absurd to me that parents would NOT want their 2 year old child to nap!

I will never understand parents and nannies who cannot or don't talk to each other. It just seems crazy to me.

Yes - talk to your employers. Explain your approach and ask them if they want you to do anything differently.

I also want to add the day with the 12 year old was a no nap day because it was snowing and freezing so she literally mentioned this out of nowhere towards the end of the day right before MB was due home.
Her nap schedule prior to MB saying to limit it to an hour was only about an additional 30 mins on average so its not like I lock her in her room for 4 hours. Most the time she will actually tell me she's tired on days we are very active and I have never forced a nap. If she doesn't want one, we switch to something else to entertain her.

I would definitely have a sit-down with the parents about exactly what they want in regard to naps. Then I would tell them that talking to their 12 year old about what you should or should not be doing is hurting your authority with the older child.

I nanny for a 2 1/2 year old and am having an awkward situation play out over the past month. The parents never updated anything about nap schedule and I have kept up with the routine for her entire life. Nap after lunch.

As she has gotten older some days she doesn't nap. As our routine has progressed, I've learned on nice days where we are able to go on walks and go to park and play outside all morning, she is exhausted after lunch and will fall asleep immediately. On days where we can't make it outside and do more crafts or indoor play, she is fine with no nap after lunch and will happily continue playing until parents return home.

I let the days activities decide on the need for nap and it has worked out fine. Sometimes the MB will ask if she napped and never has said anything about not wanting her to nap anymore or to stop doing it. The DB came home early a few weeks on one of the days we had spent the morning at the park and she was napping, he seems pissed that she was sleeping but again didn't say not to lay her down anymore. He made a comment about how they can never get her to lay down anymore during the day. The next day at work the mom told me if she is napping to wake her up after an hour or her nighttime routine is ruined. I said sure.

Cut to last week on the snow day where all of their children were home with home that I don't usually watch because they are school aged. I felt accosted by their 12 year old daughter who questioned me as to why I still lay the baby down for naps and that's not what they do. I felt the need to explain myself to this 12 year old about lots of playing outside and long walks tiring her out some days.

The conversation ended with the 12 year old saying "oh that makes sense, mommy and daddy never take her on walks or to the park. They usually let her watch TV all day."

I am super uncomfortable because they obviously were talking about this to or around the 12 year old but again have never said anything to me about no more napping. And I really do let the day decide her naps because she will sometimes almost fall asleep in her lunch plate if we have had a busy active morning. On days where its too cold or bad weather, I don't even attempt to lay her down, just make more indoor activities to fill the day.

Sorry for the long post, this is obviously an issue for them. But I'm not sure if I should say something or leave it be. I've had an issue before with MB telling me to let her cry it out when she was very little and then DB yelling at me for doing it. They don't seem to be on the same page but it makes for uncomfortable situations where I feel like I'm doing something wrong. I also didn't like having to explain myself to a 12 year old child who was questioning my practices. TIA.