Mom requesting schedule change...

Mother of one of the children I have in my care today at pickup time asked me if I can start putting her son to nap at 11am instead of 12:30 when all the other children nap. She said her son is giving her trouble going to sleep at night on time and doesn't want to wake up in the morning.
He doesn't act tired before its nap time here and sleeps around 2:30hrs.
I told her I can't put her child to nap at 11am as I have other children that will not fall asleep then, plus it throws my whole schedule off. I already changed lunch time from noon to 11:30ish and nap from 1pm to 12:30 to make the child's transition easier when he came to my care, now I am not going to change my schedule again.

What time do you guys have set for lunch and nap time? Ever had any parents request something like this?

Yes. But do not change. They have to go on your schedule and u do what works for u. Here we eat at 1130 and nap is 12-3pm

Can you cut his nap back to no more than 2 hours even if it means waking him up.

I did move lunch back to 11:00 and serve only a drink of milk for snack just before 9 and then babies go for morning nap. I found when they woke up they were hungry and saves being in the kitchen so long since the others see the snack and want it too. So lunch is 10:45 - 11:30 and then we have our story time followed by everyone into beds for 12:15 and up by 2:45.

I can sometimes accommodate a parents request but this is too much of a change and I wouldn't agree to it. Lunch and nap are a pretty big part of the day and I schedule it around the needs of the majority of the group. 11am nap is just too early for us. We eat anywhere from 1130-12 (usually closer to noon) and they are in bed between 1230/1245 with the occasional late nap starting at 1 if we've gone on a field trip that day.

How old is he and what time is bedtime? Maybe she needs to push it back a half hour or find some way to tire him out in the evenings?

11 am is really early. I do know many, many children that needed naps at 11/11:30am when they first transitioned to one nap BUT they napped 3-4hrs and slowly pushed that nap back later and later as they adapted.

It does not work to have one child on a completely different schedule. Tell her if she wants her son to nap at 11am then he gets no nap and stays in bed until 3pm like the other children. OKAY don't say that lol but really they need to come to terms with the fact they have chosen group care for their child.

I do prefer nap to start around 12:15-12:30. Sometime we do a 12noon nap. Most children are ready to go down that early and it centers that nap a bit better between their morning wake up and bedtime. It also leaves a better chunk of time for snack and play after nap.

But, it is your daycare and your schedule and your rules and they can find a nanny if it better suits them. Odds are, changing the nap time won't make the child sleep better for them...often times it is all behavioral and children running the show at home.

I had a child that the Mom was having a hard time to go to sleep at night so I woke her up earlier than the others and that fixed the problem and Mom was happy - her last day was last week and now I am happy :)

I will not put a child down for a nap earlier that everyone else, but I would be open to wake the child up a bit earlier. Maybe should also think about changing the child's bedtime instead of putting it all on you.

I would not be able to change napping schedule. Putting one child down at different time affect interaction and restrictive for those awake. Changing schedule for all parent to suit one, not fair or practical.
My all day children have lunch at 11-11.30 and then nap. Normally down for noon. I wake older children at 2pm but some littles sleep until 2.30pm.
Maybe you can do shorter nap but not change schedule.

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Originally Posted by playfelt

Can you cut his nap back to no more than 2 hours even if it means waking him up.

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I mentioned this to the father and he said not to wake him up when he is napping, if he is still sleeping that means he needs it. I would wake him up however if he was still napping at 3:30 as I need time to get him ready and fed before pickup at 4:30

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Originally Posted by 5 Little Monkeys

How old is he and what time is bedtime? Maybe she needs to push it back a half hour or find some way to tire him out in the evenings?

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He is 15 months, she mentioned his bedtime was around 8, sometimes later sometimes earlier, depending how tired he was. Ever since he came in my care about 2 months ago he was always only having one nap

I suggested if he was giving them a hard time to wake him up in the morning-which they mentioned as another problem- to bring him a sleep and I would let him sleep till 9 (I have a 7am drop off and mom brings baby asleep and I let her sleep until 9am so its not a problem for me to have him sleep too)

It could also just be a phase he's going through. If it hasn't been going on for awhile, I wouldn't be in a hurry to change his nap if I were the parents

Yes, and nope nope nope. Three thngs and definite in our day, drop off lunch/nap, and pick up. The rest is debateable, and can be shuffled around depending whats going on/kids energy level.

I don't ever change nap time for anyone. It's just the way it is.