DC can't keep DS on his schedule

chikinyellow

DS is only at daycare 2 days a week.  He is at home the other 5 days.  He is on a routine of Sleep, Eat, Play.  He takes a nap every 2 hours, eats after his nap and then plays....repeat.  He gets 3 naps a day.

I have given daycare his routine 3 times and they can't get anywhere near to his routine.  His first nap is about 8:30-9 at home and at DC it is about 10.  They say that they are too busy to put him down for an earlier nap b/c they are feeding all of the kids breakfast at that time. 

Thus, he ends up taking only 2 naps and only sleeps about an hour total at daycare.

I see him at lunch (to nurse) at at pickup and many times his eyes are red and he is visible tired.  He is usually going about 3 hours between sleep cycles.

I write down examples of his schedule, I ask about naps, I tell them what time to put him down.....nothing works.  Should I talk to the director next?  DS basically has a meltdown when we leave and falls asleep on the way home every time.

dpdw

I wouldn't be so concerned about them not keeping to his normal schedule -- my kids have a very different schedule at home compared to daycare & they adjust fine between the two.  But, I would have a problem with them not being able to put your DC down for a nap if he's clearly tired just because they are dealing with some of the other kids.  Sounds like there is a very high child to caregiver ratio if they can't spare one person for a few minutes.  I would talk to the director about that & them responding to your DC's "cues" to needing a nap vs sticking to a rigid schedule.

xmasbabymama

My daughter has a totally different routine at home and at daycare. Some days she only gets about 1 hour of naps too. So far there really isn't anything we can do about it. She would do best if she could go down for a nap between 8-8:30, but part of the problem is that 8-9 is drop off time and there is so much going on, I don't think she will settle down.

You can ask them to put him down more often, but really we've just realized that she is tired during the week and we put her down early on the nights she gets terrible naps (usually around 6). It stinks, because sometimes it means I see her only for an hour after work and DH not at all, but she's fine on the weekends.

Mjmksb04

My DS does not nap well at his sitter's house. I think its because with her 3 kids running around, there is just a lot going on and he doesn't want to *miss* anything. I suspect that is what is going on with your DS. I really wouldn't stress about it. To some extent its good for your DS to get used to dealing with situations where he isn't always on a set schedule.

EastCoastBride

Well, the fact that he isn't sleeping enough is an issue.  Only an hour ALL day?  Unacceptable.  They need to be providing an environment where he can get better sleep, and on this issue, I would talk to the director.

However, as DC does have many children to take care of and the possibility of many different schedules - many moms I know end up having to adjust the at home schedule to match the DC's schedule.   One nanny we almost used in a nanny share had asked us if we were o.k. w/ her getting the 2 babies on the same schedule.  We told her of course it was fine!

So - I think you need to be flexible that DS's schedule may need to be adjusted to work w/ DC a little better.  However, it would be a HUGE concern to me that he isn't getting more sleep.  My DS sleeps at least 3 hours during the day, sometimes up to 6. D epending (spread out among 3 naps!).  1 hour is simply not enough. 

katy75

Honestly, I wouldn't talk to the director.  My DD goes to a center 3 days/wk and a private lady 2 days/wk.  She has a schedule at home, one at the center and one at the private lady.  All 3 are different - nap time, eating, playing etc.  But, each one works for the situation she is in.  At first it bothered me, but I realized each environment is different.

lewis514

The only regular aspect of DD's schedule is her feeding (bottle every 3 hours when awake). DC keeps this schedule 99% of the time.

She naps totally different there than when at home. She's so interested in what's going on that she definitely naps less than at home (but still takes 3 45 min naps usually).

Are they keeping to his feeding schedule?

14years

DS has a really regular schedule at home but has never been able to keep to it at daycare.  I know they try, it just doesn't seem like he can sleep there, with all that is going on.  A lot of times, he sleeps less than an hour.  There's only so much they can do when the lights are on, and the other kids are awake.  I think it will improve when he moves to the toddler room and every one is on the same schedule.

Honestly, I think this is just part of daycare.  You can talk to the director, but I don't think it's going to help.