TORO Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Hi there l was told today at training that nursery should not have fixed sleeping time for toddlers or babies, due to the unique child aspect. The advisory teacher said that they should sleep when they what to and not "force", but have a comfy corner for them to go to. I would appreciate your comments on this, we are open form 8 - 6, what do you do in your settings. sleep time is when staff can on break, but what they are saying is that children should not be made to go to sleep just because it is convienent for the staff. Toro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hali Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 im in preschool Toro - but i do agree they should not be made to go to sleep - i understand that in reality this must logistically be hard especially for staff breaks etc but there must be ways around it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 The best way round it might be to ask what parents want you to do - this then comes under the category of partnership with parents? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I work in a nursery and our children can all sleep whenever they want to and also rest. However we do try to get the 1-3's off for a little sleep after lunch but only if they want to and if the parents don't mind. 3-5's aren't encouraged to sleep however if they want to they can. All children are checked every 5 mins and this is recorded Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 hi sorry to jump on post, I would love to know how other settings manage this. we (babies, toddlers and tweenies) have a sleep time. a few children stay awake and their needs are catered for. but all these chidren that sleep go down at the same time and are patted of to sleep. i am getting the distinct impression we should not be doing this? Dawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beau Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Speaking as a parent here, all of my children were completely different in terms of when they slept during the day and how much sleep they needed. Their needs also changed considerably over the course of the year. When I was childminding I would find out from the parents when their child would normally have a nap and for how long and work around this as much as possible. It would never have entered my head, either for my own or my minded children, to try to make them sleep at a specified time for my own convenience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rea Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 If we're catering for children's needs then they should sleep when they want to not when we think they should. I've been in settings who pat the children to sleep and I hate it. Patting for comfort becomes a battle of wills with some staff getting distinctly agitated. Staff breaks shouldnt be used as an excuse for pushing childens heads down, thats a management issue not the childrens fault. Even parents wishes cant always be catered to. I hate it when a parent leaves instructions the child can only sleep for 15 minutes or must have a sleep. What if this doesnt suit them? A quiet corner or a comfy lap, no matter what the age. I also dont like that older children are denied the chance to sleep. Some of them are at nursery longer than the staff are. Who are we to decide if they should sleep or not? Sleeps in nursery really are an issue for me as you might have guessed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucie Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I agree with Rea, as adults we would not appreciate it if someone said 'right now is the time that you must go to sleep'! i understand the staff breaks issue, but best practice has always got to be catering for the individual needs of the children, which in my opinion will vary daily due to the different levels of activity the children will engage in. lucie x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 One of the standards for EYPS is to consider how we plan daily routines that are flexible enough to meet children's needs. As far as I'm concerned this means meeting each child's individual needs for sleep and rest. having set times is not conducive to this. I'm a childminder and I plan my day around when children need to sleep, bearing in mind this changes. Sometimes it can be inconvenient if one child naps in the morning and another naps in the afternoon as we are tied to the house for the day. But I strongly believe that flexibility ensures good practice and that children's individual needs are met. a childminder friend reported to me that 2 of her parents had demanded she put another child down for naps in the morning (as their children both did) so that she could take them out in the afternoon!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplewednesday1 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 We have sleep area linked to baby room - 5 cots and big floor space for sleep mats. Children of any age can sleep at any time ... baby room staff can see sleepers at all times and sign off 10 minute sleep checks (which are marked in times so that parents can see what time child was tired, how long it took them to fall asleep, how long they slept for etc). If child isn't one of baby room children then the key person will make sure that baby room staff know that they have "a sleeper". Staff breaks don't coincide with sleeps - can't work like that / too difficult. We manage staff breaks by coinciding them with altogether singing times / story times / mealtimes when the children are fixed in one space and the supernumary manager or me (as the owner) can be available to any of the groups to help out if necessary while the staff take breaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 breaks!! you mean you get breaks LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hali Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 bless some are lucky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Sometimes it can be inconvenient if one child naps in the morning and another naps in the afternoon as we are tied to the house for the day. But I strongly believe that flexibility ensures good practice and that children's individual needs are met. a childminder friend reported to me that 2 of her parents had demanded she put another child down for naps in the morning (as their children both did) so that she could take them out in the afternoon!?! Been there, heard that - & struggled to kep a straight face in front of the parent! Generally I find the children nap at the most inconvenient times - school runs, through planned activities & outings, face down in their lunch.................... Nona Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I know, and some days you look back and think where was the time to do the planned activity in all of that!! by the way - say you plan an activity or outing and a child sleeps through it do you ensure they have opportunity to do it another time or just accept they've missed out. I have one child who's full time and the rest vary between 4days and 1 day but all of them need naps most days except one. If I keep repeating the activity/outing to ensure every child has experienced it the full time child could be doing the same things over and over - I know sometimes you can extend it or do it differently. sorry to tag another question onto this post but I suppose we are still talking about flexibility of routines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I would just make it available, if they want to do it, fine, if not don't stress yourself over it. After all it's meant to be children leading what they want to do. If a child wants to do something several times - as they often do as it's an important developmental part of learning, then that's fine too! Incidentally I quoted this a few years ago to my (then) teenage daughter who was watching her friends videos for the thousandth time, saying that I felt she should be beyond this particular developmental milestone by now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplewednesday1 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 breaks!! you mean you get breaks LOL I'm the Nursery owner ... I believe that if you look after people (breaks / planning times / obs and ass time) then they'll work hard for you. All my staff know that i'd rather work an hour for them myself at lunchtime so that they're raring to go in the afternoon. I've just recruited a completely 'extra' staff member (all day, everyday) to do breaks, cover, washing up paint, getting stuff prepared , tidying up etc!! It's fab ... staff much more relaxed, much calmer children - better all round. "Do as you would be done by" is my motto I've rarely had staff take liberties with my attitude - cuddly bunny me, with the roar of a tiger! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hali Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 sounds fab - can i come and work for you (still hiding promise) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Me too - that sounds fantastic I only made the joke because I'm a childminder, I've not proper breaks since I worked at sainsbury's when I was 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 hi all, i work as a nursery teacher in a spanish school and "all" our children sleep, as its siesta time between 1-3pm every day! we actually have 76 children to get to sleep! all on their own beds! out of 76 maybe only 10 dont sleep but rest quietly, so the next time you struggle with your group think of me!! just to horrify you even more thats 2 staff to settle them! ratios, haha its a bit different out here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Our babies and toddlers sleep when and where they want. All children are little individuals who enter the nursery environment with routines that are unique to them. The children also sleep in what they feel comfortable in that could be a cot, day bed, large cushion, bouncy chair or a swing as this is familiar to their sleep pattern and routine at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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