Almost every Monday, I get kids in that are just unbelievably exhausted. Most take no naps at home or very very short ones. I just always wonder what the heck goes on at home because I know most of my DC parents at least try and put their child down.

My little 4 month baby supposedly did not nap all weekend including a 4 hour car drive....how is that possible? She is so reliable and easy for me to put down for nap, never fusses or anything.

The just turned 2 year old came in exhausted as well and I know she is down to an hour or less of sleeping at home. Sometimes she does 3 or 4 hours here. I dont do anything special, just stick her in the PNP and thats that.

I just dont get it.

I know my 3 year old DG child will be bleary and exhausted as well because that is what she always does on Mondays, and usually Tuesdays too.

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I have that problem with one family. Both the kids usually sleep sooo much on Monday and sometimes Tuesday. I suspect they don't get much in the way of good naps on the weekends, poor things. I don't get it either...we go do fun stuff on the weekends and still manage to get DS his naps, even when it means changing our plans or hanging out in the car for awhile while he gets a snooze.

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I have the same issue here. It makes Mondays and Tuesdays horrible! Actually most of my summer has been like this. I have children with older siblings and the parents have the little ones out all hours at baseball games etc... Idk, when my own were little we had some consisentcy which made things so much better! the little ones need their rest. I personally think the parents cave if the kids don't want to nap at home. Rest time here is mandatory. You don't have to sleep, but they are laying down quietly during that time and usually ALL fall asleep quickly!

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I bet if you ask any of these parents how routine their weekends are, you would get "Not at all." for an answer from 99.9% of them.

I would even venture so far as to guess that very few parents even spend a majority of their weekends AT home so there really is no way to give a child a good, healthy nap. If they are at home, it was probably only one day in a series of busy weekends and being at home is so foreign to the child that they don't nap because they aren't used to being home.

Families seem to be on the go so much and rarely home now days so I am betting that is the biggest influence to the napping issues. Just my two cents.

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I have one DCG who started with me in September, was my first DCK, and her mother swore up and down that she didn't nap anymore and that she didn't need it. The first day she was here she slept 2 hours. By the second week she was sleeping 3 hours. All I did was present her with a quiet place to rest and she did the rest. I never force anyone to do anything they don't want to. Now she is back down to 2 hours but still really needs that time. I also don't wake anyone before they are ready to wake up on their own.

Switch to my other DGC, who does not nap at home but comes here and just crashes in the same way, only she won't sleep in the evening until close to midnight. I don't know what to do...she obviously needs the rest because I just show her the bed, she goes to it on her own and sleeps, I refuse to wake a sleeping child but they want me to wake her after 30 minutes when she naps. Waking this child is like waking the dead. She is SO tired I could shake her and sit her up and talk to her and she won't stir. Makes me so mad and feel so sad for her.

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I was a great napper as a childe clear through first grade (fell asleep everyday during afternoon story time). We weren't on the go in the evenings though and I was in bed the same time every night.

To this day I love to nap! I don't get to do it during the week which really wipes me out but during the weekend I will nap. I have a friend who naps everyday. I think naps are important and I which America would allow their workers to have quiet time as some countries do.

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My families are really hit and miss with sleep patterns - a few of my families rarely, if ever, deviate from their child's regular sleep cycles - same nap times every day and same go to sleep and wake up time each night/morning.

Then I have 2 families whose children don't even have set bed times let alone nap times, unless they are here with me.

I really don't understand why it's so difficult for some parents to do even the basic of tasks to help benefit their kids.

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my kids are always tired on Mondays.

They sleep in on the weekends, and are busy with family stuff, and they sleep if and when they can, but usually by age 2, they stop napping on the weekends.

I don't mind. I remember being happy that it was the weekend, and we could finally go out of the house and do fun things. My kids napped in the car or not all all.

But, I was fortunate that both of them slept very late on the weekends too. (which means I slept in too)

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I see this a lot too. I don't know if the parents are too busy or feel quilty but the kids come back on Monday exhausted. I always give the kids a good nap on Monday (easy since they are so tired) and Friday knowing the weekend will be exhausting for them.

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maybe its the new style of parenting. Because I napped my children till they went to school. Heck there are days that my now 8 yr old still naps in the van. I believe as adults we need a nap too. There is so much going on, so much of our brains going crazy, taking a short nap helps tremendously.

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I know for us, we are busy on the weekends. We go go go. During the week we are in routine, but come the weekends- sorry but we throw it all out the window and do a go with the flow type of schedule. Naps are as they are where we are. My three year old can nap in the car or wherever we may go, or if at home and tired wherever comfortable. I don't set a time but more of when tired, relax, nap. I don't go home, to put the child down at the same time as during the week's schedule. During the week, it is on time,same place and no problems. I have found that kids will adapt. They know the difference. Babies- well that does slow down more, but even still we always had the go go attitude then too. Make it work. Mondays the kids are more tired and I expect it. They fall right back into routine~ Weekends are when we are off so we make the most of that time and we do stretch it, but we are also able to stop mid sentence for rest wherever we may end up be. Errands, beach,car trip, friends, whatever we are doing- I want my daycare kids to have just as much fun with their families so I just figure Mondays are get back in the routine and I expect my kids to be out of sorts maybe a little, very little -they just seem to know, at daycare we do this at this time and that is how it is.

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Same situation here. I have one kid whose mom says "I only get to see her so much, so I don't make her nap on the weekends." Ok, I appreciate you wanting to spend time with your child,really. But that's selfish. I hear how she falls asleep on the table at restaurants EVERY saturday and sunday, because she's so exhausted. They think its funny

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I have one DCB that shows up every single day exhausted. Last Friday I put him down for a morning nap as soon as mom left and he still took a 2.5 hour afternoon nap. He's two! Mom says he won't stay in his bed so he sleeps with her, kicks her all night then wakes the whole family up as early as 5. On the weekends he won't take a nap and on the one week day he's with grandma she holds him so that he'll sleep for an hour max (and this boy is huge!) These people just let him run the show and he knows it. Dad sleeps on the couch every night so two of her boys can sleep in bed with her (the older one sleep walks). At my house he lays down on his cot with no trouble at all and is asleep within minutes and ususally sleeps longer than anyone.

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how is dealing with an exhausted child that keeps trying to fall asleep, "quality time"?

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oh no, no, no....that would NEVER happen in my house! We co-sleep but I dont kick my hubby out of bed and we transition to their own beds or own rooms if co-sleeping becomes a problem.

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Right!! Ugh.

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I don't know what the circumstances of your families are however from my own perspective I have a 10 month old daughter. There have been 3 weekends we have traveled out of town stayed with family this summer. Twice to the lake and one time to my aunt's blueberry farm during season and my daughter refuses to take a nap unless she is at home in her own bed. This last weekend we went to the lake Friday through Sunday. She had very broken sleep at night and didn't nap much to any at all so she is catching up from that yesterday and today. Not ideal but that's just the way it is. Luckily she is a really easy baby and it doesn't put her in a bad mood at all.

We have a pack and play that we take. When we are away I regularly lay her down to nap in it when she should lay down. If I leave her in there she will stand there and cry for well over an hour. I've tried rocking her. If she gets to sleep, as soon as I go to lay her down she rolls over and stands up. If I leave her in there she will either just sit play or again stand in there and cry for well over an hour if I left her. Doesn't matter how much sleep or how little sleep she got the girl will not nap to save her life unless we are home. Even after a weekend like that she often will not even sleep on the car ride home. My son however will be out cold, even if we play a movie for him. I can't explain it but we can't just not go places and stay home because she won't nap for an undetermined amount of months/years either. She has to learn how at some point and staying home isn't going to make that happen.

Personally, I would think it would be especially difficult to blame a parent for a child who doesn't sleep in the car and that should tell you something about the child as well. Aside from having the radio up loud there's not a lot they can do to discourage a child from sleeping in a car. I just think a lot of kids are going to be a little more stimulated if they are not home. I don't have a lot of problems with kids coming when they haven't gotten naps in all weekend but it's not really a big deal if they don't either. I don't keep my daycare kids on the go. They are younger, so it's not a real big deal if they need to catch up as long as they are not little bears all the time because of it.

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I think a lot of families are busy over the weekend. Trying to get out and do activities and may not be home during nap time and just hope the kids sleep longer in the evening.

DD just turned 4 and I don't usually mind if her nap isn't perfect on Saturday's but Sunday's we're back to normal so she can be ready for Monday's.

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