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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Disruptive Nap Time :(
Stepping 12:50 PM 10-23-2014
Hello all, I've always had really good nappers and I'm struggling with ideas for how to help our 'new' boy settle down at nap times.
Dcb (28 mos) has been with me since April. He comes to dc weds, thurs, fri and is looked after by grandma Monday and Tuesday. At interview, we were told he's an excellent napper and dcm was actually concerned about how well our existing children nap because she didn't want nap time disrupted.
At first, naps went great. He read books during quiet time and then laid down to sleep like everyone else. After a few weeks he started becoming very disruptive. He's usually a very quiet boy (although not good at accepting instructions and boundaries) but as soon as quiet time starts, he shrieks, sings loudly, and chants the alphabet over and over. This has been going on for months now and I've run out of ideas. It's upsetting for the other children and today I had three of them crying, begging me to get him to be quiet as they just want to sleep!
So far, we've tried:
Multiple gentle reminders.
Multiple firm reminders.
Role playing nap time during play.
Discussions with dcb at other times.
Discussions with dcm and dcd.
Separating him until the others go to sleep. Not a permanent solution due to space limitations.
Ignoring him (he jumps up and down shouting 'look at me')
Parents were open to discussion and have asked grandma to stop any game playing, singing etc that she used to do at nap time at home, but it's not getting any better. He does eventually fall asleep but by that time the others are all wound up and can't settle.
I'm meeting with parents today to discuss again. They've asked for my advice but I'm all out of ideas. Help
Dcb (28 mos) has been with me since April. He comes to dc weds, thurs, fri and is looked after by grandma Monday and Tuesday. At interview, we were told he's an excellent napper and dcm was actually concerned about how well our existing children nap because she didn't want nap time disrupted.
At first, naps went great. He read books during quiet time and then laid down to sleep like everyone else. After a few weeks he started becoming very disruptive. He's usually a very quiet boy (although not good at accepting instructions and boundaries) but as soon as quiet time starts, he shrieks, sings loudly, and chants the alphabet over and over. This has been going on for months now and I've run out of ideas. It's upsetting for the other children and today I had three of them crying, begging me to get him to be quiet as they just want to sleep!
So far, we've tried:
Multiple gentle reminders.
Multiple firm reminders.
Role playing nap time during play.
Discussions with dcb at other times.
Discussions with dcm and dcd.
Separating him until the others go to sleep. Not a permanent solution due to space limitations.
Ignoring him (he jumps up and down shouting 'look at me')
Parents were open to discussion and have asked grandma to stop any game playing, singing etc that she used to do at nap time at home, but it's not getting any better. He does eventually fall asleep but by that time the others are all wound up and can't settle.
I'm meeting with parents today to discuss again. They've asked for my advice but I'm all out of ideas. Help
AmyKidsCo 01:23 PM 10-23-2014
You can't put him in a separate place to nap? I've got nappers all over my house...
Can he look at a book or other quiet toy until he's sleepy? My friend makes fabric Hide and Seek bags that work great for naps, and I have small glitter bottles they can look at.
Can he look at a book or other quiet toy until he's sleepy? My friend makes fabric Hide and Seek bags that work great for naps, and I have small glitter bottles they can look at.
Stepping 07:09 PM 10-23-2014
My license only covers two rooms of my house, so I can't really separate him. There's a baby sleeping in the other room.
We already have a quiet time before nap with reading or busy books on their cots and he just sings/shouts all the way through it.
Dcm admitted she is still rocking him to sleep (he's 2 and a half!!) so I've asked her to wean him off that. Hopefully, this will help.
We already have a quiet time before nap with reading or busy books on their cots and he just sings/shouts all the way through it.
Dcm admitted she is still rocking him to sleep (he's 2 and a half!!) so I've asked her to wean him off that. Hopefully, this will help.
LovetheSun 02:33 PM 10-24-2014
If there is two of you (caregivers) can one put the little boy to bed earlier than te rest of the group?
We did that for couple months since dcb (13months) would get too excited and want to play with everyone else. We would put him to bed about 20/30min before everyone else.
And we got a white noise machine (you can use your phone/iPad go on youtube or download an app!
.
Also we don't give toys in bed before nap time or else the group we have now thinks is Play time. But I do give them books if they wake up early
We did that for couple months since dcb (13months) would get too excited and want to play with everyone else. We would put him to bed about 20/30min before everyone else.
And we got a white noise machine (you can use your phone/iPad go on youtube or download an app!
.Also we don't give toys in bed before nap time or else the group we have now thinks is Play time. But I do give them books if they wake up early