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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Drapes/Curtains on Windows During Nap
JeepGirl6 03:38 AM 03-11-2011
I have been having difficulty with two children at nap time that do not want to sleep so I went and bought Drapes to block out most of the sun light.

So far I haven't seen a difference with the two children, they still won't sleep ....One of the parents told me their child won't sleep at home unless the door in shut all the way. Well I don't have doors on my child care rooms because of worrying with the children closing them on their fingers. I do have new doors, just have to get them on if that's what will get her to sleep.

How many of you darken your room for nap time?
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melskids 04:25 AM 03-11-2011
i pull the curtains, which darkens the room, and play soft lullaby music. i dont have any doors either, as the DC room is in my "old" living room.

could you "tuck" them in an area that is surrounded by furniture or shelves, to give the illusion of a closed off space?
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kendallina 04:45 AM 03-11-2011
Have you tried white noise at all? My daughter falls asleep so much easier if we have white noise on, we use a humidifier.
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nannyde 04:59 AM 03-11-2011
Originally Posted by JeepGirl6:
I have been having difficulty with two children at nap time that do not want to sleep so I went and bought Drapes to block out most of the sun light.

So far I haven't seen a difference with the two children, they still won't sleep ....One of the parents told me their child won't sleep at home unless the door in shut all the way. Well I don't have doors on my child care rooms because of worrying with the children closing them on their fingers. I do have new doors, just have to get them on if that's what will get her to sleep.

How many of you darken your room for nap time?
I used heavy duty aluminum foil on the glass panes egress windows. It's the only thing I can find that completely blackens the rooms. We have really good lighting in the rooms so when the windows are closed there is still good light.
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ninosqueridos 05:05 AM 03-11-2011
The kids sleep with blackout shades or curtains that do a pretty good job of darkening the rooms. I don't think the dark helps to be honest.

BUT there is NO WAY they could sleep without their WHITE NOISE. I used humidifiers with no water in them - it's hard to find noisy ones these days - the ones I have are about 6-8 years old.

Another thing I use is an alarm clock radio set to a "static" station with the volume turned up. Yesterday, we had a power outage right at naptime, and everyone was awake for 20 minutes until the power came back on and they had their white noise on again.
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SunflowerMama 05:10 AM 03-11-2011
Originally Posted by JeepGirl6:
I have been having difficulty with two children at nap time that do not want to sleep so I went and bought Drapes to block out most of the sun light.

So far I haven't seen a difference with the two children, they still won't sleep ....One of the parents told me their child won't sleep at home unless the door in shut all the way. Well I don't have doors on my child care rooms because of worrying with the children closing them on their fingers. I do have new doors, just have to get them on if that's what will get her to sleep.

How many of you darken your room for nap time?
I put blankets up over the blinds. Doesn't look too great but the kids sleep like logs and the blankets are only up during nap and then come right down. I also have a sleep cd and crack the door.

Maybe you could get those rubber stoppers for under the door if you wanted to put the doors back up. I was having worries about them closing fingers in the door and once I got the stoppers it was much better.
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thecrazyisout 08:08 AM 03-11-2011
What about putting a curtain on the door that you can pull over the doorway, it is still open and the kids can shut doors....
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robinsoninfl 08:30 AM 03-11-2011
Get a cheap little lock from the hardware store and use it to lock the door OPEN instead of shut so the kids can't close it during the day but then you can still very easily unlatch it and close it during nap time.
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safechner 09:19 AM 03-11-2011
How about closet? I know it is silly but I had a dcb who must in dark room that it helps him to go sleep. It works very well. Of course, the parents know about it. Just thought.
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JeepGirl6 09:27 AM 03-11-2011
Where can I get a white noise Cd at? Right now I just use the radio. I have a cd player but it doesn't have a repeat button so when the cd is over and I hit the repeat button, one child always hears me press it, even in his sleep and he wakes up screaming because he knows I am right there... I need to get a new cd player that has a repeat button. I am very interested in the white noise cd's if anyone can give me an idea of where to get them. Thanks
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Meeko 11:13 AM 03-11-2011
Originally Posted by JeepGirl6:
Where can I get a white noise Cd at? Right now I just use the radio. I have a cd player but it doesn't have a repeat button so when the cd is over and I hit the repeat button, one child always hears me press it, even in his sleep and he wakes up screaming because he knows I am right there... I need to get a new cd player that has a repeat button. I am very interested in the white noise cd's if anyone can give me an idea of where to get them. Thanks
I bought a machine from Amazon. Works like a charm.
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SilverSabre25 12:11 PM 03-11-2011
The blinds in the naproom are metal and they do a fantastic job of blocking the light. It's not 100% dark, but close enough that I do think it makes a big difference. If the blinds weren't doing such a good job, I'd use blackout curtains.

They also sleep with white noise on--we use a CD of radio static on repeat. It's the white noise that I think makes the single biggest difference to their length and quality of sleep. My dcks all sleep like logs here for way longer than they ever do at home. Parent after parent has commented on it and thanked me profusely for "whatever it is I do that gets him/her to sleep so well!"
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jen 12:35 PM 03-11-2011
I got blackout curtains off Amazon for pretty cheap. I am with the others, white noise helps a ton.
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Abigail 06:13 PM 03-11-2011
Instead of pushing play again on the cd player for a song, just keep it off. Usually the kids don't notice it is not playing anymore because they are sleeping. If you don't want to get another cd play with a working repeat button fuction then put in a longer cd.
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