Getting Toddler to Nap Longer At Home?

[HeatherlovesCDs]

Originally Posted by doodah find out EXACTLY what they do at daycare.....is she in a darkened room? white noise? any music? any pre nap routine? any detail you can find to copy. and I would guess that she actually is crying when she wakes but is used to naps not being negotiable and having to go back to sleep. I personally would let her cry and see if she can go back to sleep at home. Many daycare providers say things like "oh she fusses a little bit" but she is actually crying at daycare too.....either they just dont want to tell you that she is screaming (which is obviously upsetting for parents to hear) OR their tolerance is very high when it comes to crying because they hear it all day. You may see it as screaming bloody murder but they see it as dramatic crying from a tired kid that needs to go back to sleep.

I'm not a daycare provider like Doodah and therefore don't have the "inside scoop", but this is exactly what I would have said. I said I would tell them to go back to sleep. What I did not tell you is I don't mind crying. If they wake up early, I only even go in if they start to cry. I pat them on the back and lay them back down and tell them to go back to sleep. If they cry, I leave them. I do go back after a few minutes if they are still crying and pat them and tell them to go back to sleep again. But, within reason, I don't get my kids up before 2 hrs. They learn to go back to sleep if they wake too early. (Like I said above, I'm not militant.)

Of course, I know not everyone would do this, but I suspect it is what is happening at daycare and it is what I would do.

[EmilytheStrange]

Originally Posted by doodah Many daycare providers say things like "oh she fusses a little bit" but she is actually crying at daycare too.....either they just dont want to tell you that she is screaming (which is obviously upsetting for parents to hear) OR their tolerance is very high when it comes to crying because they hear it all day. You may see it as screaming bloody murder but they see it as dramatic crying from a tired kid that needs to go back to sleep.

This was my first thought.

[cdeweese]

I had parents say the same thing when I had my daycare. Nap was not negotiable since one child being awake would disturb the other children. Therefore they learned that when the lights went out, it was time to sleep. They even slept on mats at around 18 months. Your child knows how far they can push at home, but a DC provider is a little bit of the unknown. I always had parents tell me how their children were crazy at home and calm at DC. They just trust their parents and have seen them at their worst. With DC providers there is a little bit of "healthy fear"

[cobbermama]

Thanks everyone! I will definitely try letting her cry a bit longer, and will ask DCP next week about exact nap routine/etc. Hopefully it will improve soon!

[cobbermama]

Originally Posted by DottieHarley This is my DD, as well. For the first year of her life she would not nap at home wo being held, but would voluntarily lay down AWAKE in the crib and fall asleep at day care

Haha this is DD, only, get this: she will voluntarily lie down awake on a nap mat on the FLOOR and sleep during nap at day care! Oy.

[chandni3]

Originally Posted by cobbermama Haha this is DD, only, get this: she will voluntarily lie down awake on a nap mat on the FLOOR and sleep during nap at day care! Oy.

What about having her nap on a nap mat at home too?