Daycare nap time. Would this bother you?

[wendibird22]

DD1 and DD2 go to a daycare center full time. The center is brand new, opened in August, but the director and many of the teachers are from the center we used to go to. We like them a lot. DD1 is 4.5yo and in pre-k room and DD2 is 23 mo and in the toddler room. They have webcam and I'm able to log in and see both kids' rooms.

Typically nap time in both rooms starts at 12noon. I've noticed quite a bit lately that DD1's room is still lights out at 2:30 but many of the kids are clearly awake and moving about on their cots. DD1 usually only takes a 45-60min nap at home and daycare reports the same. So, she is likely on her cot, awake, for 1.5hrs. I think that is a long time to have a kid sitting quiet with nothing to do on a cot awake. Today when I checked, yes at 2:30pm still lights out and yet the toddler room all the kids are up and eating snack. Shouldn't the toddler nap be longer than a pre-k nap? DD1 doesn't complain about it and her bedtime is not negatively impacted.

Would this bother you?

[Giantbear]

very much so, and after a week of logging activity each half hour, i would sit with the director with my data

[elbenn]

I think the toddler nap should be longer than the pre-k naptime. I also think that after they have slept and woken up or after they have tried to sleep for awhile, they should be allowed to look at books or do other quiet activities.

[amldaley]

I would just ask what time that room goes down for nap. Do they actually go down at noon for sure or is it possible they are going down at 12:30?

DD's room is supposed to go down from 11:45 - 1:45 pm but due to the fact that they are the last classroom in the building to have lunch delivered to their room, they go down at 12:00 and sometimes a little later. They are only down for 2 hours though, no matter what.

If there is not some reason why, then yeah, it might bother me a little. I think it would especially bother me though if it was affecting bed time. If it seemed the teachers were abusing the time to have more "quiet time" then yeah, it would REALLY bother me!

[twowhat?]

If it wasn't affecting my child's nighttime sleep at home, I don't think it would bother me as much.

Having said that, we ran into this "problem" at the girls' school and it DID affect their nighttime sleep at home. They were putting the 2-3yos ("early pre-school) down at noon or 12:15 and let them sleep for 2.5 hours. They did it because the kids were actually sleeping that long.

I talked to the teachers and told them not to let our girls sleep for more than 2 hours, tops. They chose to keep the girls up for an extra half hour doing something quiet while everyone else went down for nap, then the girls would go down for nap at 12:30 or 12:45. It totally helped with the night waking problem we were having.

So I would definitely say something if it's affecting sleep at home...but if it's not I think I'd be inclined to just leave it alone, though you might mention something along the lines of "I thought naptime was 12:30-2:30" and see what explanation they offer...after all you're paying them to keep your child engaged, and not encourage them to sleep longer during the day just because it's easier to deal with sleeping children...

[BabyBearsMom]

Do they have to lay doing nothing? DD sometimes wakes up before the other kids at DC and they will give her a book or quiet toy and let her play on her cot. She will shush anyone who dares to make noise while the other kids are napping.

[daisymommy]

I would ask about licensing laws, which here in VA are naps last 2 hours, and after 30 minutes of a child "trying to sleep" they must be given a quiet activity to do (puzzles, books, coloring, books on CD, etc.)


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[AnnieW625]

no that would not bother me at all unless it was affecting her sleep at home. We do an in home center and once the babies are 8 to 10 mos old. they sleep in the same area as the older kids. My DD1 is 5/1/2 and sometimes sti takes a nap. It's a random sometimes who naps longer the older kids or the babies.

[wendibird22]

Thanks all for the good food for thought. I think I'm bothered that I can see 5-6 kids all wake flopping around on the cots for up to an hour. DD1 isn't the only one awake. I wish they would let them go to the table and color or some other quiet activity. They definitely have lights out at 12noon and I logged in today at 12noon and the lights were out, all kids on cots, and the teacher was reading a book (I assume aloud). At 2:40 the lights were still out and kids were still on their cots. To me that's too long.

[DrSally]

I think the toddler nap should be longer than the pre-k naptime. I also think that after they have slept and woken up or after they have tried to sleep for awhile, they should be allowed to look at books or do other quiet activities.

:yeahthat:

[Melanie]

Hmm...I would check in to see what time they go down, for several days, then what time they go up. It does seem like a long time. I would think once several are up (after napping or making a good effort of it) they'd move them out of the quiet area.

[Simon]

Yes, I would be bothered by what you describe and I would talk to the teachers and/or director.

I would expect them to come up with a solution. At our DC, after the state min. time has passed, all the kids who have woken are able to come to a specific table and do quiet work (puzzles, coloring, reading, etc). This is true in many of the classrooms. In the pre-K room, the kids are able to take books and quiet toys to their cots in case they don't fall asleep.

[egoldber]

I would ask about licensing laws, which here in VA are naps last 2 hours, and after 30 minutes of a child "trying to sleep" they must be given a quiet activity to do (puzzles, books, coloring, books on CD, etc.)


:yeahthat:

Younger DD seldom naps and she has to lie down every day for the whole nap time because it is the law. That being said, the quiet time is no doubt good for her. But they literally cannot let her up and move around because 1) it's the law and 2) she would disturb other kid who are napping.

Nap time is much shorter for the 4 year old room (they don't have an official preK) than it is for the younger kids though.

ETA: Her official nap time is 1:30 - 3:15.

[wendibird22]

This is the law in my state:



(i) Appropriate sleep, rest and quiet periods which are responsive to individual and group needs must be provided so that children can sit quietly, lie down to rest, or begin or continue their night's sleep. For children unable to nap, time and space must be provided for quiet play. Children must not be forced to rest for long periods of time. Sleeping arrangements for infants require that the infant be placed on his or her back to sleep, unless medical information is presented to the provider by the parent that shows that arrangement is inappropriate for that child.

I'm going to log into the camera today and check. DH does drop off/pick up and he was going to ask the teachers how long she naps and what she is allowed to do after she is awake. We'll take it from there. He and I both agree that 2.5hrs is too long.