Naps at Mother's Day Out

Maybe ask them to lay down quietly for five minutes (or however long they can handle laying there..) and if they can do that they earn a quiet activity. I would offer them a book to look at, color, or something like that.

The only reason I say to have them lie down first is to hopefully give the other kids a chance to get comfortable and sleepy before seeing the others getting something to do. I would be worried they might also want to pass on the nap to color instead too.

What does your supervisor, or the program director, say? There must be a policy in place. I know at our preschool the 2 year olds were required to "rest" but those that couldn't lie still were allowed to go into the "quiet" room and play with quiet toys (dolls, puzzles, etc.)

Put yourself in the shoes of these little ones! Would you like to lay on a mat for an hour or two and stare at the ceiling unable to sleep?
I my state it is against licensing regulations to force a child to lay on their nap mat for the entirety of naptime (often two hours!) if they no longer sleep for nap.
You should offer them a quiet activity that will keep them occupied and that way you will be able to avoid having them wake up other kids.

My DD stopped napping early and her school would ask her to lay down for 20 minutes and rest while everyone was settling down. Then she was allowed to sit at a table and color, read books, do puzzles and other quiet stuff while everyone else finished their naps.

If this is something that you cannot accommodate, because of staff limitation for example, you need consider that your program is not a good fit for them.

Good luck.

You need to provide a quiet activity for these kids where they will not disturb the others, or have them join the older kids who do not nap during nap time. My kids no longer napped at the age of two and it would have been silly to make them lay down and be still and quiet in the middle of the day.

Call the Sisters of the Sacred Heart! Don't know what they did but my daughter laid perfectly still during nap time! Never slept but you wouldn't know it by scanning the room. I think she even kept her eyes shut for effect.

My first thought was have you talked to the parents about this? Do the children nap at home? If so, what techniques do the parents use to help the children fall asleep? Maybe you could do the same things in your program.

Also, back when I was doing childcare, I had some children like this. (They were also 2) They really needed to nap, but had a difficult time settling down and falling asleep. What we finally had to do was have a staff member sit with them and rub their backs and sing to them to help them settle. Could you try something like this? I have a hard time believing a 2 year old doesn't nap, or at least have quiet time, but that's just me.

I was older at the time, but my mom asked that I be kept from napping and allowed to do quiet time activities during pre-school. The school accommodated her request. I remember coloring and other such things in a dimmed classroom while the other children napped on their cots.

I was apparently a handful, and my mom didn't want me catching zzzs at school, only to be trouble and a half at bedtime during her watch.

Best,
F. B.

I wish someone would come by my desk every day at 2:00 PM and rub my back and sing to me. I'd happily take a nap!! Had to go there.