Parents not wanting 3yr old to nap ????

[Inspired by Reggio]

Agreed Cfred !

Sleep is a basic human NEED and if a child NEEDS to sleep it is not my job to mess with their self regulation of that by 'forcing' them to stay awake cause the parent thinks it will make it easier!

The fact is we offer a SERVICE ... therefore WE get to choose what that service entails based on our philosophies and values and we make that clear to clients upon enrollment so they know what 'service they are buying'!

CLIENTS do not get to dictate our values or philosophies or how our business is run .... if your belief is that children need to REST daily in order to thrive in your program and for YOU to thrive, if you believe that if they fall asleep during that rest period it means that they must NEED the sleep still and therefore will be allowed to sleep than that is your VALUE AND NAP POLICY ~ therefore you make it clear to clients upon enrollment!

"Please note that a rest time is from 1-3 in the program. Rest time is not negotiable, children who still need to sleep will be given at least 2 hours of a quiet restful atmosphere within the house to support their need to sleep ... if your child has outgrown REST TIME than they have outgrown my program"

Basically you let your clients know upon enrollment that if you do not want your child to rest cause you are afraid they will fall asleep and it will mess up your evening routine than you need to seek alternative service because that is a deal break for you!

I have yet to have a client whose tried to TELL me that they do not want their child resting ~ because they know it is not an option! I will admit I have had a few who've come in concerned that their child is not going to bed at night as easily and implied could it be the nap and they were promptly given several articles with tips and resources for dealing with 'sleep time resistance' and how to sleep train your child to over come that 'behavior' at home ... and within a week or so their child was 'sleeping well' again because the parents were not buying into sleep resistant behavior and keeping a consistent bedtime routine and expectation that at the end of the routine you stay in bed in a restful state until you fall asleep ~ which means no playing with things in your room, no talking or singing, no calling out you need another hug / drink / pee as we've done all that as part of our bedtime routine and now it is REST TIME so rest until you are ready to fall asleep and you stay in bed in that state until a parent comes back to get you in the morning ... works like a charm