do you let your mindees sleep outside?

**sweets** · 17-12-2009, 05:25 PM

had my little 10 mnth old screamer today! and actually he was quite good

the major problem i have with him at the moment is getting him to sleep, he is obviously tired but when i put him in the cot he screams blue murder and thrashes about. i cant really stay with him too long as have other littlies to settle too. last week when i had him he only slept for 20 mins all day and was very grumpy. i was nearly crying too!

at toddler groupt today one of the childminders suggested wrapping him up and putting him in the pram on the patio. out of desparation this afternoon i tried it, i layered him up in clothes, put 2 blankets over him and the cosy toes and within 2 mins he was asleep! didnt even have to rock the pram. he slept for an hour and a half and was a delight when he woke up and has been all afternoon. i was worried he would be cold but he was toasty warm when i got him out.

is it ok to do this? my pram lies flat which is good. my garden is secure and i can see the pram at all times.

mum seemed happy about it tonight when i told her and i will get her to sign a permission slip for it.

does anyone else do it?

**ajs** · 17-12-2009, 05:29 PM

Originally Posted by sweets

had my little 10 mnth old screamer today! and actually he was quite good

the major problem i have with him at the moment is getting him to sleep, he is obviously tired but when i put him in the cot he screams blue murder and thrashes about. i cant really stay with him too long as have other littlies to settle too. last week when i had him he only slept for 20 mins all day and was very grumpy. i was nearly crying too!

at toddler groupt today one of the childminders suggested wrapping him up and putting him in the pram on the patio. out of desparation this afternoon i tried it, i layered him up in clothes, put 2 blankets over him and the cosy toes and within 2 mins he was asleep! didnt even have to rock the pram. he slept for an hour and a half and was a delight when he woke up and has been all afternoon. i was worried he would be cold but he was toasty warm when i got him out.

is it ok to do this? my pram lies flat which is good. my garden is secure and i can see the pram at all times.

mum seemed happy about it tonight when i told her and i will get her to sign a permission slip for it.

does anyone else do it?

if baby slept and mum was happy then what's the problem.

**sweets** · 17-12-2009, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by ajs

if baby slept and mum was happy then what's the problem.

i just felt really guilty as its the middle of winter! lol.

actually just spoke to my mum about it ans she said that she used to leave me in my pram out on the front pavement in all weathers! the house didnt have a front garden either! and she never checked me till about 2 hours had gone. charming! that was years ago tho

imagine doin that now

**singingcactus** · 17-12-2009, 05:33 PM

I have done this in the past too. Still do now sometimes, my DH built us a lovely covered 'sun'deck just out the patio doors which is nice and sheltered.

**haribo** · 17-12-2009, 05:34 PM

I cant see a problem as long as the garden is secure and you can see him from the house , you would still be doing your checks obviously. if he is warmly wrapped the fresh air can promote a really good sleep and it does seem to settle fractious children quicker .my mum says i slept outside for naps all year round come rain hail or snow

**ajs** · 17-12-2009, 05:35 PM

babies were often left out in all weathers when i was a baby.
it's meant to be quite good for them to be honest
i don't do it unless it's the summer as i hate the thought of them being cold

**Hebs** · 17-12-2009, 05:35 PM

i used to do this with my own kids, the fresh air they get while sleeping does them the world of good, and as long as he's wrapped up nice and snug and warm then why not

**HELEN10** · 17-12-2009, 05:37 PM

Yes i have done that when they fall asleep in the buggy walking back from nursery or school. I put the buggy right outside the patio door so i can see them and of course the back gate is locked. They always sleep for much longer outside and feel much better for it!

HELEN10

**MissTinkerbell** · 17-12-2009, 05:38 PM

Haven't done it with mindees but my own 3 year old twins slept outside in the mornings all of their first winter. My HV was actually pleased to see it and said that she wished more mums would do it because its really good for baby. The only weather you shouldn't put them out in is fog because you can't keep the damp out of the pram but as long as they are well wrapped up all should be OK.

My twins never ailed for anything that winter but since they cut out that nap they have had colds every winter since and I'm sure its doen to the fact that they are not getting a daily hour and a half of fresh air.

**flora** · 17-12-2009, 05:52 PM

My dd used to sleep in all weathers and would have screamed the house down if I had put her in doors

I used a snowsuit and a lovely big cosytoes and obviously gloves and a hat and she was never cold and would sleep for several hours and would wake up lovely and happy.

If mum is ok, go with it

Remember cat net, just in case

**Dragonfly** · 17-12-2009, 07:13 PM

When I was a nanny nearly 30 years ago we used to put the babies to sleep in the prams outside, apart from in foggy/misty weather. the fresh air does the children good as long as they are wrapped up well.

**sweets** · 17-12-2009, 08:48 PM

phew... thanks everyone. i thought i had maybe done something really awful

will try him outside again tommorrow and hope that todays good sleep wasnt just a one off.

**ajs** · 17-12-2009, 09:00 PM

it's so funny cos i was talking to another minder about this today.
she met a mum today who's only question was where will the baby sleep, she said either in the cot upstairs or in the pushchair and mum said phew thank goodness as she had met another minder who would put them to sleep outside.
i said there was nothing wrong with it but it was frowned on a bit today. funny that you should have asked that very question today too
unless you're the minder who actually was asked today

**margaret** · 17-12-2009, 09:18 PM

i have permission to put my babies outside ,they generally sleep for 2.5hrs and i put them out in all weathers other than fog and damp much better than in travelcot,parents now do same thing ,kids are healthy and get lots of fresh air

**Chimps Childminding** · 17-12-2009, 09:47 PM

My mum used to do this when I was little, so I did the same for mine. Have done it on occasions for mindees and they do seem to sleep much better!

**Blackhorse** · 17-12-2009, 10:15 PM

you know what I think is funny...

when I go for a walk (not now as dd hasnt been in a pushchair in months..but when she was little)
she was wrapped up nice and toasty in her pushchair and would also sleep and it didnt bother me. I thought the fresh air would be good for her ..and me as well..

But I would not put her at the back of the house in the pushchair while I am in the house... and it is not because I worry about her getting stolen...

there is no good reason for this....but I am sure you wouldnt think twice about seeing a baby asleep in a pushchair being walked by mum or dad...

but if they are parked behind the house we wonder if they are to cold...???

or is it just me?>?>

**Twinkles** · 17-12-2009, 10:33 PM

Originally Posted by Blackhorse

you know what I think is funny...

when I go for a walk (not now as dd hasnt been in a pushchair in months..but when she was little)
she was wrapped up nice and toasty in her pushchair and would also sleep and it didnt bother me. I thought the fresh air would be good for her ..and me as well..

But I would not put her at the back of the house in the pushchair while I am in the house... and it is not because I worry about her getting stolen...

there is no good reason for this....but I am sure you wouldnt think twice about seeing a baby asleep in a pushchair being walked by mum or dad...

but if they are parked behind the house we wonder if they are to cold...???

or is it just me?>?>

I agree , funny isn't it ? I too walk mine in all weathers but don't really think to sleep them outside unless it's summer. It is something I will bear in mind though

**angeldelight** · 17-12-2009, 10:40 PM

Make the most of it

It might not work again now you have told us all

Angel xx

**Heaven Scent** · 18-12-2009, 12:01 AM

I've tried to put my screamer asleep all over my house and the only place she sheeps is in an old fashioned silver cross waterproof pram just outside my back door in a sheltered spot - she sleeps for hours there. In Sept when she first started I put her further down the garden in the shade with just a sheet over her as I used to put an older mindee out there or just outside my living room window (the one at the back) in an old urban detour push chair because she used to sleep for hours in there - actually every child I ever put in that one to sleep slept for hours - its got rusty wheels and the bar that goes across the front is missing but I'll never get rid of it - its my lucky slepping pushcair. When the weather started getting colder I brought them both in for sleeps in the travel cots but the baby wouldn't settle no matter what I did - I brought that blooming big pram in and tried it all over the house but nowhere worked until the day I decided to wrap her up well and put her out and she slept like a trooper. Now and again when its pouring down i do put her in the utility room with the doors and windows open but it means that my cleaner can't get on with her work as all the junk for cleaning etc is kept in there or the garage which is accessed via the utility room also as the weather got colder the house used to get freezing despite the heating being on and DH used to go mad with me for letting all the heat out. I couldn't risk leaving the older one out as the pushchair is not waterproof and I wouldn't leave a child alone in a pushchair with a plastic rain cover on not even for a couple of minutes.

I have to say though, that there is a minder who lives in the town where my children go to school who used to live in a terraced house with one of those tiny front gardens and low walls that had railing on until the 2nd world war when the government took them all down to make bombs etc. who used to leave LO's outside in a big Silver Cross Coach Built Pram - now I wouldn't do that but in a secure rear garden if you remain at the rear of the house and check on them regularly then it should be no different to taking them for a walk. Having spoken to another minder from the town she told me that this lady has been in trouble for it and she no longer engages in this practice.

I recently got a new side gate and cant get either of my side by side double pushchairs through it anymore because the frame is much bigger now and one day the screamer baby mentioned above fell asleep in my new(second hand) posh double Urban Detour and I had to sit in the hall for the afternoon while she slept in there just outside my front door - this was the event that made me realise that she only liked to sleep outside and hey presto its outside in the pram - oooohhhh and she just loves that pram - she can be howling her lungs out and as soon as I lay her in there she just stops and totally relaxes - and that is saying a lot as she is after all the daughter of my mum who is highly strung as mentioned in my previous thread (cheeky/unthinkg mum - or something along those lines). Actually now if she falls asleep in the pushchair or car when coming back from our morning activities I can just pick her up - and she will have a scream or just an agitated moan but as soon as her head lands on that mattress in the pram off she goes into a blissful relaxed slumber - its brill - and mum knows all about it and is very happy that thats what I do but doesn't do it at home and guess what baby doesn't sleep at home.

**peanuts** · 18-12-2009, 07:04 AM

was once asked at an inspection, where the baby slept in his pushchair, was it out the front garden or back garden, i told her i sat beside the window with the window open and baby would be in front of the window, was told that it would be better if it was my back garden as it was more secure than my front at the time.