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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>How Long To Let Her Sleep?
SilverSabre25 06:16 AM 07-23-2012
DCG 3 (almost 3.5) often goes back to sleep when she gets here in the AM. She's been known to sleep for 2 or 3 hours, if left to her own devices. Then she still takes a full PM nap (2.5-3 hours on days she naps in the AM and 3-4 hours when she doesn't). She doesn't go to bed until 9:30 or 10, and gets here between 7:20 and 7:50. Is it all right to just let her sleep herself out? Or should I only let her sleep for an hour or so in the mornings?
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Blackcat31 06:21 AM 07-23-2012
Depends on whether you want her to sleep at nap time or not. ...oops, sorry just re-read and saw that she DOES still sleep in the afternoon.... wow! I dunno, if she isn't crabby if you keep her awake, I would still not let her sleep in the morning.....at least not too long (max. an hour maybe ??)

Personally, I would make her stay up as I don't really think 7:20-50 is all that early so I would have her stay awake, take a nap in the afternoon (probably only 2-2.5 hours max) and then hopefully it will help her get to bed earlier in the evening so she isn't so tired at your house.

That is alot sleep during the day for a kid that age....she must have really poor sleeping routines, habits, schedules at home. Poor little one.
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Crazy8 06:52 AM 07-23-2012
sounds like she may be only getting about 8 hrs. sleep at night (10pm to 6am) so to need an extra 4 hours is really not that unusual and she may just be one who requires a little extra too. Have parents mentioned if she sleeps thru the night? That could be an issue too.

I have one who arrives at 7am, some days he's up at 5am other mornings they wake him at 6:45 just in time to come here. Most mornings he will sleep till the other kids come (after 8am). If I put him up in pack n' play he'd probably sleep 2-3 hours more but I just let him sleep in the playroom because I do want him to take a good nap later and I also don't want to be glued to the house all morning because he is sleeping!
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SilverSabre25 06:53 AM 07-23-2012
Ah, see, you hit the nail on the head. She doesn't go to bed until 9:30 or ten because that's when her parents put her to bed!! I asked last week and mom told me and I was shocked, so I asked if that's okay, if that late bedtime works for them and mom looked confused, "Oh yeah, we keep them up so we get more time with them or can go do stuff."

So yeah, she does have sucky sleep at home.
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SilverSabre25 07:04 AM 07-23-2012
This is the same child who eats slower than a snail, was forced into potty-training, is being taught that's it's never okay to cry, is threatened with time outs for crying, and tends to burst into hysterical tears several times a day.
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Blackcat31 07:18 AM 07-23-2012
Originally Posted by SilverSabre25:
Ah, see, you hit the nail on the head. She doesn't go to bed until 9:30 or ten because that's when her parents put her to bed!! I asked last week and mom told me and I was shocked, so I asked if that's okay, if that late bedtime works for them and mom looked confused, "Oh yeah, we keep them up so we get more time with them or can go do stuff."

So yeah, she does have sucky sleep at home.
OMG, they have more than one child that they are doing this too? How sad. I suppose school will be a nightmare as they don't really make time for a kid to sleep that many hours in the day during school days. Does the mom or dad understand or even acknowledge the impact this has on their child during the day?

I suppose talking to them is pointless if they haven't figured it out already.....

What would happen if you limited her sleep during the day so that she is absolutely almost walking dead tired when she gets picked up? Do you think that would change her sleep habits/routines at home? I have no idea....was just grasping at straws at this point.

Originally Posted by SilverSabre25:
This is the same child who eats slower than a snail, was forced into potty-training, is being taught that's it's never okay to cry, is threatened with time outs for crying, and tends to burst into hysterical tears several times a day.
Oh wow....poor kid. I am so sad for her! I am happy to hear the parents want to spend time with their child(ren) although keeping them up late doesn't seem to justify the late bedtime but what in the world are these parents thinking? Seems like they are all wonky on alot of their parenting techniques and really aren't putting the kids' needs ahead of their own.
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countrymom 07:36 AM 07-23-2012
I would cut out the morning sleep. I think she is having too much sleep which can cause her to be sluggish. I good afternoon nap is all she needs.
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cheerfuldom 08:32 AM 07-23-2012
I would do whatever makes her happy assuming she is still taking the full PM nap with everyone else. mom and dad arent going to work around the daycare schedule so you will have to work it out on your own.
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Lilbutterflie 02:38 PM 07-24-2012
I have TWO daycare kids right now (both age 4) whose parents admit that they don't go to bed until about 10-11pm! And for both of them (they are different families); the parents have told me that it's because the children sleep with them. And it's not because they are advocates of co-sleeping. It's because, with both families, the master is downstairs and the child's rooms are upstairs; and the parents are too lazy to climb the stairs in the middle of night if their child needs them or to put them back to bed if they wake up. So, they wait until they go to bed to put their child to bed.

I would do whatever makes her happy. If the parents are not willing to work with you in putting her to bed earlier, then do whatever works best for her in your program. If sleeping in the am is what makes her better for you during the day, then so be it.
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daycarediva 02:56 PM 07-24-2012
I have a dcb who goes to bed 'whenever'. He's 3. He has to be up and out the door at 5:30. No, a bonfire until 11pm the night before is NOT a good idea. grrr. Then she gets upset with me if he sleeps for longer than an hour. He NEEDS 12+ hours of sleep! not 8. It frustrates me to no end that she wants me to wake him up after an hour.
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Nickel 06:30 PM 07-24-2012
I think her sleeping in the morning is probably because she really needs the sleep. My daughter goes to bed at 8:30pm and would sleep until 10am if I let her and still take a 2-3 hr nap in the afternoon. It's normal at this age for children to sleep 12-14 hours per day. And because her sleep is so interrupted she's not getting very good quality sleep which makes her tired. Poor kid. Of course there are going to be nights when children don't get to sleep on time or were up during the nap, but to purposely let them stay up that late when they have to be up so early isn't right. I've known parents that worked weird shifts so their children had later bedtimes but they also got up later. It worked for her family, but kids need the sleep....
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Tags:late bed times, napping, poor bedtime routine, sleeping alot
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