tired children

[danielle10392]

Hello all

Could i have some advice please ? :)

I look after 2 new children (siblings) one is 2 next month and the other was 3 in january. Mum is adament she doesnt want them sleeping during the day and tells them if they fall asleep they cant go swimming, got to nanas etc. This is the 3rd week i have had them and it is impossible for me to keep them up all day. If they do stay awake they become very grouchy. The 3 year old will fall asleep on the sofa in the afternoon and there doesnt seem to be anything i can do to stop her - i try to distract her but she just flings herself down and cries :( when she does sleep though she has accidents (wees) which lately has ruined my sofa!! :( what do i do? what do i say to the parents?

Thank you in advance :)

[jelly15]

Not letting a child sleep if they need to is a form of abuse. I have had this before with a parent. I tell them I won't stop physically stop them from sleeping and they would be better off letting them have a short nap after lunch than falling asleep in the car on the way home.

I don't understand parents who can't wait to get them off to bed when they have hardly seen their child all day.

[AgentTink]

I have a Sleep policy which clearly states to parents that I will not stop a child having a nap if they are tired as it is a form of abuse. I also used the table from the below link (which is found at the top of the page in free resources) as it shows how much on average children of different ages should sleep. I also state in my policy that I will not unnecessary wake sleeping children, however I will work with parents on the best times for the child to nap.

http://childmindinghelp.co.uk/freeresources/Free%20downloads/sleepproblems.html

[rickysmiths]

Hello all

Could i have some advice please ? :)

I look after 2 new children (siblings) one is 2 next month and the other was 3 in january. Mum is adament she doesnt want them sleeping during the day and tells them if they fall asleep they cant go swimming, got to nanas etc. This is the 3rd week i have had them and it is impossible for me to keep them up all day. If they do stay awake they become very grouchy. The 3 year old will fall asleep on the sofa in the afternoon and there doesnt seem to be anything i can do to stop her - i try to distract her but she just flings herself down and cries :( when she does sleep though she has accidents (wees) which lately has ruined my sofa!! :( what do i do? what do i say to the parents?

Thank you in advance :)

It is hard but I will not stop a child who clearly needs sleep, sleep deprivation is a form of torture :eek: I will try to get them to nap earlier in the day, perhaps an early lunch 11.30-12 and a nap straight after. A nap in the day will not affect a child's sleep at night and often quite the reverse, they will sleep better at night if they have had a sleep in the day.

It sounds as if the parents need to work a bit on a good bedtime routine which is hard. Do you give the children their dinner? If not maybe you could offer to do this and then the parents can spend time bathing, reading stories and having a bit of good time with the children before bed?

I would show them a copy or even give them or email them the leaflet Agent Tink has given a link to it is very good and aimed at parents.

With the three year old it sounds as if they are not yet dry at night, I have often had this with mindees of this age and you have to use a nappy when they have their nap which is fine if they use one at night.

[miffy]

Poor kids! :( if they need to sleep surely it's better they have a nap after lunch than fall asleep over tea or on their way home through sheer exhaustion.

I'd put a nappy on the three year old so you don't have any more accidents on your sofa

Miffy xx

[Bridey]

I've popped a Pampers care mat under a sleeping child on my sofa before - if I haven't managed to get a nappy or pair of pull ups on firs.

[Ripeberry]

I tell parents straight off that if they fall asleep clearly need it, but I can limit it if needed. God even us adults sometimes need a nap in the day. I certainly do!
As soon as the last mindees go I have a quick 20 mins before the next round of madness with my own family ;)

[nikki thomson]

I think what parents forget is that maybe at the weekends when there not on a timescale and they get up late, just chill that yes if the children fall asleep in the afternoon they can be a nightmare in the evening but during the week when they sometimes can be plucked out of bed at 6.30 and then have a busy day with the cm they then need a nap.
I'm lucky my mindee who us 21mths has a good 2/2 and half hours in the afternoon and sleeps 11hrs at night and she needs that sleep sometimes I struggle to get her to lunch time but she gets up a good 3 hrs earlier than she does at the weekend, her mum really doesn't mind what sleep she has with me as she goes to bed at 7.30 and sleeps all night.
I could not look after her lo all day everyday if suddenly she told me she was no longer to have a sleep it would be horrendous and I'd have to give notice, it's just not worth the distress all round. X