Author Topic: Nap schedule, 13 month old - forced transition from 2 to 1  (Read 1237 times)

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Offline owlmama

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Nap schedule, 13 month old - forced transition from 2 to 1
« on: November 29, 2018, 18:35:57 pm »
My child (almost 13 months old) is in a day care with two other older toddlers (one is 17 months old and the other is almost 18 months old). The nap schedule has been two naps a day - one 10:30 ish and one 3:30 ish.

About a month ago the day care center told us that they were going to transition all three kids to one nap per day. The older kids are showing signs of readiness, according to the teachers. I told them that I didn't think that our child is ready and that at home she takes 2 substantial naps - one usually 3 hours in the morning and then another that is usually 1 to 1.5 hours. They tried it one day and it was disastrous for our little. The next day, the teacher asked me how it went and I was honest and told her it didn't go well. She apparently didn't like my answer. The teacher went into a long tirade about how naps at home are different, telling me that this is a group care, and that if they don't get to transition to a one nap day then the kids would be cooped up inside all day and not have any outside time. It was an awful conversation and I felt like I had done something wrong. I kept on being honest, and they luckily decided to wait until after the new year and transition then.

I do not know what to do. I do not think she is ready. I don't know if she will be in one month, but she may be. I want what is best for our child. I do not want her well being compromised, and I definitely don't want nights to become tougher! It’s about the biological need for two naps versus one.
Naps at different times of the day serve different purposes in mind and body development at different ages. I have read that morning naps have more dreaming, or REM sleep, which makes them important for young babies who require it for early brain development. I don’t want to rush the process if our child is still benefiting from this important sleep time.

The teacher continues to pressure me, trying to convince me and citing reasons and examples of our babies readiness to transition. I do not see it at home, and I think that she is not ready, and that is all I can say. We have a parent conference this week, and the teacher has now approached me two different times - feeding me stories of her "readiness" and warning me that we will be discussing this at the conference. I feel like I am being bullied.

Yesterday, she slept a total of 1.5 hours total in naps. She was a complete wreck when I picked her up. We are trying to do a 7 pm bedtime. Last night it was a little later because I had to grocery shop after work, then make dinner, and do the bedtime routine... It's hard to fit everything in!

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Offline deb

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Re: Nap schedule, 13 month old - forced transition from 2 to 1
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2018, 15:58:24 pm »
Your little one is so much younger than the other two that it's absolutely not fair to impose *their* signs of readiness onto your LO! Yours might well be ready when SHE is 17-18 months, but not now.

Is there only one adult to watch over the 3? When I worked in a group setting, there was always an adult who hung out with the nappers (these were a bit older, so only the one nap and not all the kids) and another (or 2 or 3!) to play with the others. We absolutely did NOT EVER decide arbitrarily that a child was or wasn't ready for [X] naps or no nap; it always went by their own signs of readiness, which vary for the 2-1 switch from 12-24 months! It has less to do with naps at home vs naps at school - of course the settings and routines vary, but if your LO needs 2 naps, she needs 2 naps.

I don't know whether this is a certified or accredited daycare - regulations vary so much from place to place - but if the teacher has the relevant coursework/degree for this job, she should know this already. I'd hold firm, ask them to hold off for a couple of months or try to find an arrangement where she gets to keep her two naps if the others *are* ready to transition. You are doing nothing wrong, and your child is not defective in any way. It's the job of the carers to work this out, with your help, but not to shortchange her sleep, which is so important to her development.

You may find this helpful when talking to the teacher: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-naps-2/12-month-olds-one-nap-transition/ . Also this article by Elizabeth Pantley (author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution, which saved my sanity!) might be useful: http://www.justthefactsbaby.com/baby/article/changing-from-two-naps-to-one-107 .

Good luck!