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How do you redirect talking after they wake up from nap? I have 2 little ones on the opposite sides of the daycare that chat and yell at each other when they wake up. I will tell them to stop talking or ignore it then when I get the kids up, I leave those two in their PNPs until last and will say "suzy gets to come out first because she laid quietly in her bed after nap." Other ideas?
What age are the chatterboxes?
20 mos and 17 mos
How long have they been napping before the chatting starts?
I have this issue too. I have a 19 month old who I refer to as my little handful lol. He usually wakes up earlier than the rest and some days his chattering wakes the others. Today was one of those days. He was soooo loud and ended up waking up the 15 month old and the 2 older boys (3 and almost 4 years) a whole hour early!! I left him in his playpen which was a mistake. The poor 15 month old fell asleep in my arms outside after snack. He was so cranky from not getting his full 2 hour nap and I am transitioning him out of morning naps so he was extra tired!! So annoying when the chatter wakes them up!
I have no advice lol. In hindsight, I should have just gotten him up and outta his playpen when I saw on the monitor he was awake. I selfishly wanted a longer break though :( He very very very rarely falls back asleep and I know this. Good thing he's part time ;) lol
Can you physically put them in different rooms?
My day care is on my main level and the under 2's nap in my guest room and the over 2's nap in my room. When I've had this issue, I've been fortunate to be able to put up a crib in my walk-in, so I would put one in there and completely separate the talkers.
If that's not an option, the two ideas (which you've likely tried already).
1. When you hear the chatting, go in and lay the both down, and shhhh them before walking out. This might need repeating a few times before they get the message.
2. Can you get them up? I don't leave mine in their cribs until end of quiet time. Some need less sleep than others. One of my youngest is 16 months as she's always awake long before the others but the older ones have had lots of running, walking, climbing and are physically exhausted. Where she is less steady, she ride the wagon for much of our walking time, so she's not as worn out. She's a loud personality, so I scoop her right up so she doesn't wake the others, and she will play independently with puzzles or blocks as I prep for the afternoon. As long as I chat to her as I'm prepping, she's quite content to play on her own for the rest of quiet time.
Just one more comment. You mentioned that sometimes you tell the to stop talking and other times you ignore it. - I think the inconsistency might not be helping. If they are only going to be told to stop sometimes. then when they do wake, it's worth them chatting and carrying on, just in case today is a day you are going to ignore it.
Different rooms
Maybe I need to start rethinking my daycare set up. I have them all sleeping in the playroom which is one open space. This has worked well and for the most part it does. They are only talking the last 20-30 mins of nap and it has just been this week and last week but I am trying to nip it in the bud!
To clarify, I was trying to just ignore the talking and continue to leave them for the whole nap time. I learned quickly in this job that if I ever take them out of their PNP before the end of nap time then the nap time just gets shorter and shorter for them as they know I will come for them.
My most recent approach has been to tell them to stop talking and then leaving them in their PNP until the other children are out and their diapers have been changed. I have not gone down and laid them down again while I tell them to stop. My talking had been strictly through the monitor because I did not want to risk waking up any of the other kids when I went down as they all sleep so lightly towards the end of their nap.
I had one talker who was moved up to my bedroom during nap time. This has worked really well, I just find it less than ideal e.g. if my husband is home sick or home for another reason and wants to lay down and he can't because there's a kid in there etc. I was going to move her back to the daycare now that she is sleeping so well but I don't want to mess with things especially since the others are now becoming little chatterboxes.
Since it's only 30 mins until to end of quiet time, it might be that your quiet time is just too long for these particular children.
Not all children nap as long as others and for such little ones to lay quietly for a full 30 mins plus. once awake and fully refreshed, that's quite a big expectation. Of course they will chatter to their buddies since they have nothing else to occupy them.
I know we all do it differently but I don't make any child stay in their crib/on their mat once they are awake especially if someone does require less sleep routinely. I scoop mine up so they don't disturb the others and so everyone gets the amount of sleep they individually need.
Most in-home day cares have a quiet time/nap time of 2-3 hours. But not all children need that much sleep mid-day. I just think expecting an under 2 year old to lay quietly is asking a lot.
Is there any reason they can't get up and play since it's only another 30 mins anyway? How long is your quiet time - i.e. have they been sleeping for 2.5 hours already?