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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Nap Time Issues
gracejones 07:01 PM 12-14-2020
I am in dire need of some help I teach 2 and 3 year olds and nap time is the absolute worst. I have 2 children in paticular that throw temper tantrums the whole 2 hours and refuse to stay on their beds and when i put them on it they either hit me, spit at me, or scream in my face. I've tried ignoring them but it wakes everyone else up and continuing to put them back on thier beds prevents me from gettting thr cleaning and curriculum done i need to get done. I have tried soothing them to sleep but that hasn't worked either. These two children also have these temper tantrums throughout the day and are influencing the other children to do thr same thing. Anyone have any advice on what i can do to help solve the problem both at nap and during the day
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Michael 08:42 PM 12-14-2020
Welcome to the forum. Here are some previous threads are naptime issues. https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.p...naptime+issues
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Cat Herder 05:22 AM 12-15-2020
Do you work in a center?

Is this their first time in child care?

Have you notified the parents in a conference and asked for their input?

Has discipline and the nap routine been consistent?

"either hit me, spit at me, or scream in my face" - This I would terminate the contract for if no change in 1 week.
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Blackcat31 07:36 AM 12-15-2020
If you work in a center, I think another adult is necessary to be able to address and "fix" this issue.

If you work in a self owned child care, I would terminate care. I don't keep kids that hit adults.

At 2 and 3 they are old enough to understand that simple concept.
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flying_babyb 05:42 PM 12-15-2020
I had this two year old. So first, her bed went by the wall. If she didn't stay on it, It was then a sleeping bag on the floor. rolled her close to the wall, didnt give her a whole lotta wiggle room. It was either you lay nice or im rubbing your head. You wiggle and act out when your heads rubbed, its nose time! A coworker whos been a teacher 34 years taught me that if you downward stroke the childs nose, it causes there eyes to close and makes them drowsy! Works well!
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AmyKidsCo 01:23 PM 12-18-2020
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
If you work in a center, I think another adult is necessary to be able to address and "fix" this issue.

If you work in a self owned child care, I would terminate care. I don't keep kids that hit adults.

At 2 and 3 they are old enough to understand that simple concept.
Agreed. The only time I've terminated care was for a child who wouldn't nap and wouldn't lay still/quiet so the others could sleep. I even refunded the last week's fees because I was so done.

If you're in a group center maybe you can have the children go to the administrator's office during nap time. I have friends in group centers who do this.
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springv 08:26 AM 12-19-2020
We are not allowed to have children away from the group asa punishment for not napping. We have to give them a quiet activity to do so that the other children are not disturbed. If a child acts out during nap, then we give them a warning and don't allow them to play for a few minutes after nap and we write a note onto their behavior chart
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Meeko 10:55 AM 12-25-2020
I would terminate care. No provider should be expected to put up with being hit and spat at.

Bad behavior aside, I let parents know at interview that I do not care for non-nappers....ever. That 2 hours of quiet is needed by my soul!
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Equart 01:37 AM 01-14-2021
Hello, dear! As I understand, you work as a daycare provider. Are you alone with those kids? Do you have any partner who works with you? In the Kindergarten where my kid goes there are several providers for one group of children. They are all professionals, so we have not ever had any problems. As for your situation, this is honestly awful. I would say to the administration and parents of those kids about that. If they can't solve it - I would change a job to a better place. I do not know, maybe we are really lucky, but there no such annoying kids in our kindergarten. Everyone is very polite.
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Jo123ABC 01:18 PM 01-14-2021
How I've solved (most) nap time issues.
1. Only enroll infants. Start the nap time good behavior early!
2. I bought some pirate treasure sticker "maps" and a treasure box which I fill with novelty toys like squishies, noise putty, mini playdough, mini slinkies, water tattoos etc. Each kid over the age of two has the opportunity to earn two stickers per day. One for no timeouts and another for "not being disruptive" during nap time. When they fill their map they get to pick a treasure. I frequently let them know if they are "risking" a sticker. I learned not to let them put stickers on or pick from the treasure chest when their parents are present. Power struggle I was amazed at how well this worked for behavior issues!!! Peer pressure, bribery, and positive reinforcement.

I can't say the treasure box will stop the bad habit but maybe! I actually started it because of a bad napper and it worked instantly for her (2yo). I have sat and literally stared blank faced at disruptive nappers before. The trick is zero expression. They don't know what to think but it usually works and they don't much want you to keep doing it every day.
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Tags:nap issues, naptime interruptions, naptime issues, temper tantrums, terrible 2's
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