Working nap times around school drop off & pick up?!?!

This year my eldest is starting Kindergarten (if the strike ever ends) and I have 4 nappers! Most of them nap at different times (the youngest at twice a day and the other older toddlers once a day but one naps from 11-2 and the other two nap from 1-3). No one naps at the time we'd have to be walking to the school in the morning but I'm suddenly feeling petrified at how I'm going to work picking up my child when I will potentially have two napping when we are supposed to head out.

How did you rework things to accommodate this new activity into your day?????

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Originally Posted by chenderson

This year my eldest is starting Kindergarten (if the strike ever ends) and I have 4 nappers! Most of them nap at different times (the youngest at twice a day and the other older toddlers once a day but one naps from 11-2 and the other two nap from 1-3). No one naps at the time we'd have to be walking to the school in the morning but I'm suddenly feeling petrified at how I'm going to work picking up my child when I will potentially have two napping when we are supposed to head out.

How did you rework things to accommodate this new activity into your day?????

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I used to do drop off and pick up from our local school here but with only one nap time. It was difficult but manageable, I couldn't imagine doing it with 2 naps. I would drop off for regular school and preschool at the same time, pick up or drop off for preschool before lunch and then again after school. I'm assuming none of your daycare children are going to preschool? We would eat right after coming back from preschool and then have nap time. It was pretty rushed at times. I would also have to wake up the heavy napper, not fun!
By the way, you're located fairly close to me, I'm in the Langley area.

First of all get ALL your kids on the same sleep schedule - down to one nap. I don't do two naps here, never have and have taken kids as young as 11 months. I recently had 1 boy who napped mornings at home but he quickly transitioned here. I think mom still naps him at home 2x on weekends.

Work around the times you need to. If you have to leave the house at 3 then nap from 12:30 - 2:30 and get ALL kids on that schedule. I have never let a heavy napper sleep longer than our allotted time. I have a schedule to keep and its time to get up.

Day care children here nap on my schedule not their own. When a new child joins, I'll try and consider their schedule for the first week or so whilst they adjust to this environment but then I move them onto my day care schedule.
For those children who come very young and who still have two naps, I find a "power nap" soon after they arrive in the morning, which I will wake them from after max of 45 mins, seems to help and then they go down with everyone else after lunch.
We have a set schedule were we aim to go out to the park or walk along a private track we have access to which leads to a private beach, before heading home for lunch. We leave the house around 9am so everyone needs to be awake, have had their morning snack and bum changed, so we can go.
Try and move them onto your schedule rather than having all these individual children on their own. It makes life much simpler.

How do you get a break if they all nap at different times? That must be exhausting!

I agree, get them all on the same schedule. You may have to do it gradually, depending on how young they are, but it can be done. I do the school run twice a day and this time last year had 3 one-year-olds, that all had different nap times when they started. It took a month, and it was brutal, but they all eventually went down at the same time.

I am more of a "go-with-the-flow" parent schedule-wise, but with daycare, I found that the schedule needed to be pretty set. If lunch was pushed back half an hour, that delayed naptime, and the kids couldn't just sleep a bit longer, we had to get to the school at the same time. Now snacks, meals, and naptime are set pretty much in stone, with no more than a 10ish minute difference day-to-day.

I would love for everyone to nap on the same schedule, but how do you work it then if you have one (or potentially two) children that make a real ruckus if they just aren't tired? In turn not allowing the others to nap or waking the others up?

I do have two nap rooms, so two in each. Do you ask the parents to move their nap at home too? We have to leave for school pick-up at 2:00/2:10 at the latest (but I prefer to give myself more time seeing as we are walking) as school is done at 2:30. If I want to allow the 3 hour window for naps that some currently use, then I'd need to have them all in bed for 11, making lunch at 10:30? So confusing. I am not a fan of waking a sleeping baby and thus far have had no issues with the children being on their own schedules. Some days I do not get a break from the little ones as someone is always awake, but the big ones are already awake so it doesn't really make a difference.

Either way, I need suggestions. Do you literally just put them into bed and leave and hope for the best? Do you have them in one room and they can all see one another or do you separate them in some way? How would you work your day if you had to leave for school pick up at 2:10??? HELP! :)

That is a tough one! 2:10 is definitely not convenient. I would say lunch from 11:15 to 11:45, nap from 11:45-1:50 and then out the door by 2:10. If they want to catch a cat nap on the walk to school and home again then so be it (I am assuming you have a stroller for everyone - if not I would invest in one).

It is time to get everyone on the same schedule and fast. If a child is tired and cranky too bad, they stay awake until it is time for nap. They will soon learn that when you put them to bed it is time to sleep. Normally I have 2 nap rooms (daycare is currently under renovations). The ones that are difficult nappers go in a room together, those that nap good go in a room together. When nap time comes along, everyone gets their bum changed, put in their playpen, a happy goodnight and out I go. If someone doesn't want to nap and is bugging the rest I go in, lay the child back down and firmly tell the child it is time for bed, goodnight. If I need to go in again then I say nothing and lay them back down. If they are just laying in bed crying majority of the time I will just let them CIO. I invested in a video monitor and love it. Now I know exactly who is the one bothering the others. Now when they hear me coming down the hall they lay down before I even get to the room LOL!

As for asking the parents - NO. Tell them your new schedule (tell the one who naps 2x that it is no longer an option). If they want to follow it at home so be it, if not then so be it. I have my times in my contract so all parents know, if they use the same time I have no idea. I also almost always wake the kids up everyday. We have a set schedule and I don't go far off of it.

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Originally Posted by chenderson

how do you work it then if you have one (or potentially two) children that make a real ruckus if they just aren't tired? In turn not allowing the others to nap or waking the others up?

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All 6 of mine nap at the same time. The newest baby is just 11 months and started last week. She is now on my schedule although she has a power nap soon after arriving.
Of course, once a schedule is in place, at worst you are having to bring one new child (maybe two if siblings) into the schedule.
The louder ones who wake sooner, I separate initially until they are used to the routine. I put their cribs in the walk-in closet of my guest room since it's large and empty so when they wake, they aren't disturbing the others. Once in the routine of my schedule then they go into the appropriate room for their age range.

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Originally Posted by chenderson

Do you ask the parents to move their nap at home too?

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No but many do.

At interview, I outline our usual day. I state that although I will mirror their routine at home as much as I can, my objective will be to bring their child into line asap so often parents try and move their child to my routine before coming. No big deal if they don't. I usually only takes 2 weeks max. to settle a new child.

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Originally Posted by chenderson

If I want to allow the 3 hour window for naps that some currently use, then I'd need to have them all in bed for 11, making lunch at 10:30?

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Three hours is a long time! Holy. No wonder you are struggling to schedule what needs doing. I think once you get them all in a routine, since they will all be going down together, that three hour "window" won't need to be so long.

I serve lunch around 11.15am. Bear in mind, most of mine get here between 7am and 7.30am. We have morning snack at 9am. Head outside all morning unless it's pouring with rain or too cold. We aim to be back around 11am which gives me 15 mins to warm lunch which has already been cooked the evening prior, and change diapers before they eat. Normally by noon, the meals is finished even with the slow eaters, all are headed up to nap. After 2 hours, I will wake them if they are still sleeping.


I do exactly what mickyc does. I put them down, I cover them, say goodnight and walk out. Anyone fooling around, I go back and lay down and tell them it's time to be quiet. If I have to return again, I lay them down without speaking. I also let them CIO and at worst, after the second/third day of doing this, it's no longer than 2 mins.
I will however, scoop up and bring out any child that is awake following a nap, as some children don't sleep as long as others. But the quieter activities (puzzles, building blocks) are all that's accessible until all are awake.
I've often had to video a parent's child barely a couple of weeks after they start because the parents are stunned their child settles so quickly.

210 is early and inconvenient for sure. Mine nap from 1230-3/330 even the one who has a 45 min nap in the morning. Most days I am waking 3 out of the 4 up. They all nap in same room but I do from time to time have had to put one just outside the nap room. ( usually due to an early riser)

I would wake them 15-20 mins prior to when you need to leave. I would have their sippy cups ready to go and they can have a drink in the stroller. I would make sure they are still getting at least 2.5 hours to nap and give yourself 30 mins for lunch.

If you are finding it doesn't work maybe you could hire someone to walk him home?

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not so worried about switching the one that naps twice but the one 18 month old whose nap usually doesn't start till 1 is the one that frightens me. She is loud when she's not tired and my places to put her are limited. I guess I"ll just start moving the naptime up a bit each time she comes (which is only 3 days/week).

Thankfully I already have a video monitor so I can watch the two rooms. 2:30 is definitely not overly convenient. I have another family who can pick up twice a week if needed but it's not overly reliable. I guess its time to get down to business and seeing as school probably won't start on schedule I have some extra leeway time.

I agree one nap time only and if the 1-3 nappers are the ones that are having two naps then cut out the morning one and serve lunch at 11 and have them in bed by noon at the latest that gives them two hours to sleep .... But can you find another parent in the area to walk your child home cause that's really early

Followed the day today on the new daycare schedule and everything went super well. I only had 2 nappers today but the one that normally goes down around 12:30/1 went to bed easily at 11:45.

I'm curious what time school ends in other provinces?!? Lol. 2:30 is just the dismissal time here (with an 8:30am start time).

In mb, it's 9-330ish. Some are 325, some 335/340 depending on buses and school districts.

My kids' school is 9:15-3:35, but schools on the other side of the city go 8:30-2:30 in order to get 2 runs from every bus and driver. We're in Ontario, between Toronto and Kingston.

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Originally Posted by chenderson

I'm curious what time school ends in other provinces?!? Lol. 2:30 is just the dismissal time here (with an 8:30am start time).

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In Nova Scotia, the school opening hours are insane. They are dictated primarily by STOCK transit who transport the children. This means the none of the schools operate on the same schedule and the start times and finish times are staggered based on the bus availability!

I live just outside Halifax. We have three Elementary schools which feed into one Junior High. From there, our students then go to High School which is miles away and covers a huge geographical area of smaller communities!

The Elementary near me, starts at 8.20am and finishes at 2.15pm for Grades Primary to Two. And the Grade Threes and older are dismissed at 2.45pm.
The second Elementary starts at 8.15am and has the same dismissal times as above. The third starts at 8.30am and dismissal is 3.15 & 3.45pm. Junior High leaves early in the morning 6.45am and is dismissed at 1.45.

Go less than 8kms up the road to the next town, and their school schedules are entirely different again.