Too Old to Nap?

[KingstonMom]

What is the age which you allow a child not to nap and instead watch tv,or play on their own quietly?
Or do you make them at least lay down quietly for a period of time?

[Crayola kiddies]

Everybody lays down in my daycare ..... None of my dck would be able to play quietly ..... And I don't allow tv during daycare hours. Mine all go to individual rooms in pack and plays and generally they sleep but if they don't that's fine but they have to lay quietly until quiet time is over. Since all my kids are under four it's rare for them to not sleep for some or all of quiet time.

[Sarah]

My daughter is 4 and she will nap until FULL TIME school starts!

In september, she is starting part time, in the morning, and she will nap with the others in the afternoon.

Same treatment for dck

[Lou]

I have a 5 (almost 6yrs old) girl who comes on her off days for S/K, and she brings a movie with her to watch during quiet time. This works for Mom and myself and is wonderful for the dcg to lay down and completely chill. After the movie is done, I have a quiet activity set up for her (something crafy/creative) unless she would like to free play quietly. That being said, if she has had a difficult morning I do lay her down for a sleep with the rest of the sleepers so she can get some proper sleep.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Yup - if you are enrolled here during the day time over nap period you REST quietly on your bed for a period of at least an hour - after that if you are non napper than you can get up and engage in quiet time until all the others wake up ... I have kids in care who are on the 10 day rotating school schedule so they are here every other day and while they do not nap on their school days HERE they still nap - and honestly their parents comment on how they come home from 'care' happy but on their school evenings they are miserable - because they still NEED their nap ;)

We work a 10 plus hour day - do not know about others but I NEED a proper lunch break where I can rest my mind and recharge my spirit knowing that every child in my care is 'at rest' and not needing me any part of me other than my EARS to listen for them.... I also find that when allowed to 'rest' most children even if they do not SLEEP get up from rest period recharged and in better spirits and with better behaviour for the afternoon period ... on the RARE days where I have not had rest time because of a field trip or what not those are the days where I have 'issues' in my program with children suddenly incapable of sharing, screaming matches over play and so forth because their minds are over stimulated and they lack the resilience they normally have when they have had that rest period!

[gcj]

The general rule here (Quebec) in the centers is that naptime is 2 hours. Everyone lies down. If a 4 year old or older does not fall asleep within 1/2 hour, they may do something quiet (books, puzzle...). I follow the same policy, although I may make them try for more than 1/2 hour. I have yet to have a dck not nap on a regular basis. Here they start kindergarten at 5, so it is likely to happen next year.
That being said....my own daughter has not napped for over a year. shhhh Noone's caught on yet ;)

[Sarah]

gcj, my son (6 now) startedlast year in kindergarden in QC, and the teacher was making them sleep for 30 minutes-45 sometimes. And still he was coming home SO tired! He still needed the sleep.

So I am happy that I am now in ON, my daughter is gaining a year over her brothers! But now some schools in ON are starting to be full time like in QC at 5. Not in my area though!

I agree with Reggio, WE need the rest, THEY need it too!

And during PA days, I require that my 6 and 9 years old rest, quietly, either on their beds or on the couch, for half an hour!

[fruitloop]

Everybody lays down in my daycare ..... None of my dck would be able to play quietly ..... And I don't allow tv during daycare hours. Mine all go to individual rooms in pack and plays and generally they sleep but if they don't that's fine but they have to lay quietly until quiet time is over. Since all my kids are under four it's rare for them to not sleep for some or all of quiet time.

Do you put the 3 year olds in a pnp to sleep too?


Quiet time is a mandatory time here too. All children MUST lay down. My oldest is 4.5yrs and she is required to lay on the couch for 40 minutes. If she is not asleep by then, she can watch a movie. Everyone else is under 2 so they all nap for the required time.

[Crayola kiddies]

Fruitloop, I have one that is 3.5 and she naps on a sleep mat in the playroom, the others (almost 3, 2, 2, 1) are are in pnp's, the 3.5 will start full day jk in sept, so I will be looking for a replacement in the fall at which time I will transition the just turned 3 yr old to a nap mat to free up a pnp.

[Momof4]

Everyone has to sleep or rest for 2 hours in the afternoon for quiet time at my daycare too. I have one JK boy who comes on his PD days once in a while and he brings his DS and plays it for about a 1/2 hour until his eyes get tired in the dark room and then puts it down and rests/sleeps, but he knows my rule.

[mom-in-alberta]

In the past, I had a 5 y/o boy who DID NOT understand the concept of quiet play.... Grrrr. I finally managed to get through to him that the little ones are sleeeeppping!! So shhhhh.
Anyway, he's gone now and the deal is: Quiet time is from after lunch (12:45ish) until 3pm. The little ones sleep, or stay in the p&p in the bedrooms, anyway. The older ones (don't have any right now, thank goodness) must rest for 45 mins. And then can play QUIETLY, under my supervision but not "involving" me (this is not the time for running games!) until 3. Should they insist on hooting and hollering, they can go back to the designated resting spot until quiet time is over.