https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 06 Apr 2026 19:57:25 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/preschool-nap-help#post-2781897 Wed, 25 Oct 2017 10:16:55 +0000 winniebee 2781897@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think you are over-reacting a little bit. Of course the teachers want the kids to nap - that is THEIR break time too, lol. It also sounds like they are enforcing a mandatory rest period - even if it is a short rest period. Check what is required by state law. Ultimately, I would just push bedtime way up and deal with the short nap. If the other kids are not sleeping and keeping your son awake, they cannot force the other kids to sleep. </p> <p>My middle son is 2.10 and is still in the toddler room of 18-36m olds. They almost all nap. The upstairs pre-primary and pre-school class is 3-4 year olds. I see daily that they write the names of the kids who nap. It's around 20 kids per classroom and only a handful nap. So, I think it's pretty normal for naps to be short or even nonexistent when you get to that age. My older son also went to another preschool previously and it was similar. In fact, he was the one who stopped napping at pre-school at age 2.5. He literally did not nap a single day in pre-school room. Just my experience though! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/preschool-nap-help#post-2781895 Wed, 25 Oct 2017 10:02:16 +0000 Ajsmommy 2781895@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I feel your pain. I have a soon to be 4 yo who still needs a nap. They do a 1 hour nap/quiet time at preschool but *if* she settles down enough to sleep she gets about 15-20 min nap. It's def not enough. At home she'll nap for 2-3 hours!! Anyway, there's not much we can do about it. We have pushed her bedtime up and we are just more aware of her fragile state :shocked: she's def more quick to cry or get upset over nothing. We start to see it around Weds and it gets a little worse until Friday. </p> <p>My advice to you would be to talk to the teachers. Is there a quieter spot in the room that DS could "nap"? Like maybe a little farther away from others? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/preschool-nap-help#post-2781892 Wed, 25 Oct 2017 09:46:30 +0000 birdofafeather 2781892@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JoyfulKiwi: CA also requires a rest period for any children under 5. This includes a mat or cot and a quiet room without distractions. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/preschool-nap-help#post-2781831 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 21:36:09 +0000 JoyfulKiwi 2781831@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Have you checked your state's licensing rules? My state requires a 30 minute rest period. I'd be pretty concerned if the teachers don't understand the importance of naps (at 3, most kids need daytime sleep). You could ask the director what they can do to help your child get the rest he needs. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/preschool-nap-help#post-2781710 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 11:37:53 +0000 snowjewelz 2781710@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our preschool doesn't even nap (don't get me started). DD1 is almost 3 and she had a tough time for maybe 2 ish weeks and has since adjusted. She does get slightly cranky in the evenings, but will pass out by 8pm. Weekends she usually doesn't nap either unless it's a car nap. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/preschool-nap-help#post-2781462 Mon, 23 Oct 2017 14:20:40 +0000 AnnabelleG 2781462@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@raspberries: That's good advice, I might just do that and talk to the director. I haven't yet because I'm worried about coming off as complaining too much, but I think I need to suck it up. What I suspect is that trying to get 18 kids down for quiet time seems like too much work for them, so they just don't. Ugh!<br /> @gingerbebe: I did ask about a younger room and I was told there isn't room. I still might ask the director though, because his teacher answered me without even checking first. It seems really reasonable to me to have 2 hours of quiet time for kids, even if they aren't napping. This group care thing is so tough sometimes. </p> <p>Thank you both for your responses! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/preschool-nap-help#post-2781454 Mon, 23 Oct 2017 13:41:17 +0000 gingerbebe 2781454@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This is tough. My kid is 3 and definitely needs a nap (naps like 2-3 hours at home). But he definitely does not nap as well at his school (he probably naps like an hour). However, part of it is because the school's nap time is way earlier than we have at home. At home he naps at 1pm or 1:30pm and goes until 4pm, but at school, they put the kids down at noon. So often he's just not quite as tired as he would be. But there's not much I can do about that.</p> <p>However, our school requires naps and laying quietly from 12-2pm all the way through Pre-K because philosophically, they believe its very important - and I'm a sleep nazi, so I agree. The 4 year old classrooms go down a wee bit later like probably 12:15pm or something, and they are more understanding if the children don't sleep and just lay quietly, but the younger kids are expected to nap and the teachers work hard at it. They don't allow the kids to get up and play, they will lay with the kids, pat and shush them, sing to them, whatever. Its definitely not a zone out time for them. My son hasn't been napping well about 2 days a week and those days the teachers get creative and either move him to a different classroom (sometimes a new teacher and classroom will get them to quiet down and fall asleep) or they move him to the 4 year old room so that he doesn't disturb the napping children in his class and so that he learns how to lay quietly instead of loudly singing to himself (which is what he usually wants to do). </p> <p>So if my school wasn't working with me to get my kid the sleep it needs, it would piss me off. Could they move your child into a different classroom (with younger kids for instance) for nap time so that he can get the rest he needs? </p> <p>The crib/cot thing I wouldn't worry so much about. It does take some getting used to, but my kids transitioned just fine after a few weeks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/preschool-nap-help#post-2781425 Mon, 23 Oct 2017 12:05:24 +0000 raspberries 2781425@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I really think you need to get the school on board - since you've talked to the teachers multiple times and nothing has changed, can you talk to the director? Even if the majority of kids aren't napping, it should still be quiet time/quiet play - if you're considering sending noise canceling headphones, there's something seriously wrong with the atmosphere. I'd let her know that your kid absolutely still needs a nap (as is normal at 3) and ask what they can do to accommodate that. Even if they move the kids who need to nap to a quieter/darker area, that would at least be an improvement. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/preschool-nap-help#post-2781422 Mon, 23 Oct 2017 11:52:43 +0000 AnnabelleG 2781422@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ChiCalGoBee: So frustrating! Thanks for commiserating and I hope it gets better for you soon. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/preschool-nap-help#post-2781351 Sun, 22 Oct 2017 23:37:48 +0000 ChiCalGoBee 2781351@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Commiserating but no advice. My son is almost 3 and just started needing to nap at school (previously I picked up up and brought him home midday to nap) and the transition has been awful. He isn’t sleeping at all-he’s still in a crib at home and the cot/sleeping in a big, noisy room at school just isn’t working out. I, too, don’t want to switch schools, but it’s been two weeks of it not working and the school doesn’t see, to care or want to help us, either. Hoping someone chimes in with good tips! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/preschool-nap-help#post-2781349 Sun, 22 Oct 2017 23:05:16 +0000 AnnabelleG 2781349@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My 3-year old started preschool this fall (at the same place he was doing daycare last year). His class is about 18 kids, ages 3-5. He definitely still needs his nap, 1.5 to 2 hours at home. At school, we're lucky if he can get in 45 minutes. This tiny nap/no nap is new to this school year, and it's clearly because the class is too noisy to sleep. Also, I don't think the teachers really care about naps. One of them recently told me only 3 of the 18 kids even nap regularly, which I'm pretty sure isn't true. I've talked to the teachers multiple times, but I just don't think they're concerned about sleep. It's so bad my husband is trying to send our kid to school with these huge noise canceling headphones. </p> <p>Any thoughts? Am I overreacting? Is there something else I should be asking for? I don't want to switch schools for nap reasons, since we otherwise like the school, but this is super frustrating! Thanks:) </p>