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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>How Do You Put Your 1 Yr Olds Down For Their Morning Nap?
heather 03:17 PM 10-31-2012
Hi everybody
I'm just getting started with my home day care. I will have 2 one year old girls and 2 two year old boys (one of which is my own son).
I'm wondering what is the best way to get the girls to sleep while supervising the boys? Thanks!
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Abigail 04:28 PM 10-31-2012
Have you asked if they take or need a morning nap still? My one year old just takes a long afternoon nap. Goes down at 12:30 or 12:45 takes up to 15 minutes to fall asleep in a pnp being the only one in the room for no distractions just lullaby music on low then sleeps until 3:15 usually.
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littlemissmuffet 04:44 PM 10-31-2012
Most of my kiddos 18 months and under have morning nap from 9 to 10am. My daycare is on the main floor of our home, and I only ever keep 2 kiddos under 18 months at a time. We have three rooms upstairs, 2 of which have playpens set up in them permanently. My "babies" nap upstairs in those rooms, where it's quieter and I can close the doors (and I also use a sound machine up there). I have monitors in both rooms so I can hear. All my kids have always slept just fine during morning nap while the older ones play on the main floor.
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heather 05:31 AM 11-01-2012
Then you just do a short nap routine, put the babies in their cribs and leave the room?
What if they are used to being comforted to sleep? How do you get them used to the new routine without too much crying?
And yes, they both currently take a morning nap and I do have 2 bedrooms I could use and also I could put up a crib in the living room for the girl who has 4 older siblings... her mom says she is used to a lot of noise and people and can fall asleep on the floor sometimes...so she might feel better with lots of people around. Does anyone use their play room as a nap room?
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seebachers 05:32 AM 11-01-2012
none of my one year olds take a morning nap
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EchoMom 05:48 AM 11-01-2012
I had 3 under one and 3 age 2. When the babies needed a morning nap I just changed them, put them in their PNPs, closed the curtains, turned on fan for some noise and airflow, lights out, close door and walk away. They just fell right asleep. Easy babies. My own DS however is a nightmare sleeper so he's a totally different story. He goes downstairs to our bedroom with low king size bed where I lay down with him for a few minutes and nurse him to sleep. When I was nursing and putting down my own DS I would put the 2s in their PNPs with books for a morning "break" until I came back up after 10-15min and got them out.
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Heidi 07:53 AM 11-01-2012
Hallo!

In group care, most of do not comfort/rock children to sleep. It's just not realistic, honestly, to lock yourself in a room with one child while the others run amock.

The quicker you get those 2 little ladies to sleep on their own, the better life will be for all of you. It will take a bit of crying, but better now than in a few month-when they can climb out.

By the way...welcome Germany!

Ich bin auch Deutsch, bin in Essen geboren. Ich bin aber schon zeit ich 3 jahre alt wahr hier in die staaten.
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jojosmommy 10:51 AM 11-01-2012
Originally Posted by littlemissmuffet:
Most of my kiddos 18 months and under have morning nap from 9 to 10am. My daycare is on the main floor of our home, and I only ever keep 2 kiddos under 18 months at a time. We have three rooms upstairs, 2 of which have playpens set up in them permanently. My "babies" nap upstairs in those rooms, where it's quieter and I can close the doors (and I also use a sound machine up there). I have monitors in both rooms so I can hear. All my kids have always slept just fine during morning nap while the older ones play on the main floor.
This is same for me also. I dont do a huge nap routine. By one they get snuggled upstairs for two minutes in sight of the older kids. Then they get placed in bed and they go to sleep on their own. Never an issue. The olders know for that 5 minutes or so they need to be especially mindful of their bodies and they do because they know once the littles are alseep we get out a toy with small pieces they can play
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littlemissmuffet 10:59 AM 11-01-2012
Originally Posted by heather:
Then you just do a short nap routine, put the babies in their cribs and leave the room?
What if they are used to being comforted to sleep? How do you get them used to the new routine without too much crying?
And yes, they both currently take a morning nap and I do have 2 bedrooms I could use and also I could put up a crib in the living room for the girl who has 4 older siblings... her mom says she is used to a lot of noise and people and can fall asleep on the floor sometimes...so she might feel better with lots of people around. Does anyone use their play room as a nap room?
My kiddos who nap in the morning only nap from 9-10am and then again in the afternoon when ALL the kids nap from 1-3pm.
Almost all of my babies who start are used to being rocked to sleep - as a daycare provider I can't and won't do this. I simply just use the CIO method and usually within their first two weeks they get the drill and go to sleep on their own.
I use my playroom for napping the older children. I set up their nap mats beside one another, close the curtains and they all fall asleep right away. I have great nappers - but I think it's because I don't allow for nap issues - my kids know that nap time is nap time and I'm serious.
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heather 02:23 PM 11-01-2012
Thanks everyone, its good to know that the babies will go to sleep on their own eventually.
I think I am going to talk to the parents and find out what situation they are comfortable with. It does sound convenient leaving the babies alone in a separate room but I don't think I could leave someone else's baby alone to cry without their consent.
I was also thinking of doing a group quiet time in a dim room at 9 - 9:15 with little ones in their PNPs and bigger ones in the same room.. so I could pat, soothe or rock the little ones and supervise the big ones as they play with blocks or puzzles...if kids are really tired they fall asleep in spite of themselves... whoever doesn't fall asleep gets to drop their morning nap.
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heather 02:25 PM 11-01-2012
Heidi ich wohne in Düsseldorf, das ist nicht weit von Essen!
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dave4him 02:26 PM 11-01-2012
The only way to make it work is to get them all in bed at once for a nice long nap right after lunch.
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Heidi 02:27 PM 11-01-2012
Originally Posted by heather:
Heidi ich wohne in Düsseldorf, das ist nicht weit von Essen!

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littlemissmuffet 06:38 AM 11-02-2012
Originally Posted by heather:
Thanks everyone, its good to know that the babies will go to sleep on their own eventually.
I think I am going to talk to the parents and find out what situation they are comfortable with. It does sound convenient leaving the babies alone in a separate room but I don't think I could leave someone else's baby alone to cry without their consent.
I was also thinking of doing a group quiet time in a dim room at 9 - 9:15 with little ones in their PNPs and bigger ones in the same room.. so I could pat, soothe or rock the little ones and supervise the big ones as they play with blocks or puzzles...if kids are really tired they fall asleep in spite of themselves... whoever doesn't fall asleep gets to drop their morning nap.
If given a choice, most parents are likely going to choose that you rock their children to sleep... which truly does not mesh with the child being in group care.
The reality is, parents don't get a lot of choices when they opt to put their children in group care as the provider can only do so much with multiple children in care. Parents and providers needs to realize what is realistic when it comes to caring for several children at one time... and unfortunately, rocking babies to sleep isn't realistic.
I don't recommend getting into the habit of asking parents how to run your business... you need to find out what works best for you and your group and then that becomes your routine. Parents shouldn't have a say.
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rhymia1 06:55 AM 11-02-2012
Originally Posted by littlemissmuffet:
If given a choice, most parents are likely going to choose that you rock their children to sleep... which truly does not mesh with the child being in group care.
The reality is, parents don't get a lot of choices when they opt to put their children in group care as the provider can only do so much with multiple children in care. Parents and providers needs to realize what is realistic when it comes to caring for several children at one time... and unfortunately, rocking babies to sleep isn't realistic.
I don't recommend getting into the habit of asking parents how to run your business... you need to find out what works best for you and your group and then that becomes your routine. Parents shouldn't have a say.

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iheartkids 07:59 AM 11-02-2012
I agree with rhymial. If you ask parents permission then they will ask constantly how they did for nap time and you don't want to have to tell them everyday that they cried themselves to sleep. It will be rough at first if they cry but they will eventually get used to just laying down and going to sleep. I think a baby is different but a one year old will understand the concept eventually. Make the room dark, use something for white noise really helps (so they can't hear the awake kids) and a lullaby CD.
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heather 02:32 PM 11-02-2012
Originally Posted by :
I don't recommend getting into the habit of asking parents how to run your business... you need to find out what works best for you and your group and then that becomes your routine. Parents shouldn't have a say.
Hmmm.. I realize I am a newbie here and I am asking for advice. I am all ears to hear how you more experienced ladies and men get the kids to go down for their naps. But, I can't agree with your last statement. I believe that as a childminder I am providing a service to the parents and they can and do have a say. We should work together to find solutions that everyone is happy with, where possible.
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Heidi 06:55 PM 11-02-2012
Originally Posted by heather:
Hmmm.. I realize I am a newbie here and I am asking for advice. I am all ears to hear how you more experienced ladies and men get the kids to go down for their naps. But, I can't agree with your last statement. I believe that as a childminder I am providing a service to the parents and they can and do have a say. We should work together to find solutions that everyone is happy with, where possible.
But Heather...you've already found out that you cant rock 2 babies to sleep while leaving several others alone in another room.

Of course we would all like to accomidate our daycare parents, but they do not know our business the way we do, and they are not paying for one-on-one care, they are paying for group care. I used to feel guilty about this, even apologetic, when I said to parents "I can't do that here". But honestly, I didn't rock any of my own 4 children to sleep, either. I wouldn't have considered it, because it's teaching them to associate sleep with rocking, and sooner or later, you have to stop.


Those of us that have been doing this for many years learned long ago that while we are providing a customer service, we do have to set some ground rules that are non-negotiable.

So, nobody here will tell you that you can't do it, it really is your business to run as you see best. We just know from experience it's not a good practice. Also, what if you spend 10 minutes in a darkened room rocking a baby, and a 2 year old manages to get the refrigerator open in the meantime? Or climb on the stove? Or the 100 other dangerous things that only a toddler can figure out?

I have a little boy here now who at 20 months weighs 35-40 American pounds. At home, he is rocked to sleep with a bottle. He can quite easily climb out of his crib now, so the whole house is turned upside down every night because he doesnt WANT to sleep. THis needed to be handled before he was old enough to stand up, much less climb out! After being told all this, I told the family I could only take him mornings, because there was no way I could "fix" this here. Like I said in my original answer, if you don't get control over that now, it will only get worse!

Good luck to you!

Oh...I've been to Dusseldorf many times.
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Tags:1 year old, nap - remedy
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