I am a childcare provider and we are having problems with one of the children. When it is nap time he won't settle down. He will bark at the teachers, and hit them. We have encouraged him that if he is quiet for a few minutes he can get a quiet activity, this is not working. We have met with the parents, but haven't found that magic touch.
looking for some new ideas????
Try to ditract him by maybe reading a book first to settle him down. It always works for my 3 year old granddaughter.....
You might want to look at what he is eating. Keep track of all his food intake. There may be a food that he is sensitive too. One of my sons gets VERY hyper when he has wheat, dairy, or soy. He also gets VERY aggressive when he has citrus. A friend of mine's son has actually take a baseball bat to his sister when he got dairy in his diet. For some information on food sensitivities you can go to feingold.org. It helped me out a lot. One of the first things to get out of the diet is artificial stuff.
Also, if this is happening after a while that he hasn't eaten, he could be suffering in part to low blood sugar. So if that is an issue, make sure he is eating well and NO sugary stuff period as that will spike his blood sugar and then make him crash. He would need protein sources to regulate his blood sugar better. I recently found out my problem was due to this (it's called hypoglycemia if you want to look it up).
Hope this helps.
Tell his parents to find new care providers..........
L. - I'm not a childcare provider but I did have a thought. What if the child was given some "responsibility" when it comes to the quiet/nap time. Maybe the child can be responsible for helping to get out some of the mats or pillows or whatever is used. Maybe pass out books or be your assistant with something.
Is it possible that the child may want/require deep pressure to calm down? Parents automatically do it with big hugs and such... Maybe a bean bag chair will help (which provides great sensory input).
Is it possible that by nap time it's too late, he's already beyond tired and cranky?
Maybe a smell from home will calm him? A smell can provide a feeling/sense of safety. The blanket is a great idea, because some children need the added pressure/weight of a blanket to settle down.
Is hunger an issue? My guy settles down better after a snack.
Is he too keyed up? Would a story help? Some soothing music?
It's so hard to guess with so many variables. But maybe these help :D Good luck.
Does he nap consistently at home? If he has a special blanket or toy that he could bring with him, perhaps that would help. What about bringing some books to his mat with him. Maybe a reward system, ie: if he does not fight with you he can be first at the next activity or help give out snack... If he usually naps with music at home- a biggie for my daughter- maybe headphones with quiet music?
Have you tried to rub his back to settle him down? My son is in daycare and when they cant get him to stay on his cot, they will sit next to him and rub his back. It always seems to work. Also, depending on whether the parents have stopped bringing in a lovey or pacifier might affect nap time too. Maybe they could bring in a lovey for nap time use only. Good luck
I you've used all your teaching techniques, and there not working, (I'm sure you have more resources than most parents!!) you might look at dietary issues.
I have a friend whose son (at about 2 - 3 years) was acting out at school, including hitting. It turned out to be undiagnosed food allergies ... nuts, soy, egg & milk. Basicly, he was always feeling agitated and in pain from the allergies which seemed normal enough to him not to cause an acute response, but left him unable to settle down and easily pushed over the edge.
Just something to think about!
L.,
You didn't say how old the child was but, some children just don't nap. Instead of expecting him to earn the quiet activity by proving he can be quiet, why not take the initiative and realize he is not likely going to settle down and just move him to a different area and initiate the quiet activity when the other children are napping? Then if he persists in being disruptive you can take the activity away. It sounds a bit like a power struggle, but, being much older and more sophisticated I am sure you can achieve the desired result without participating in a show down.
Good Luck
J. L.
Hi-
There is a homeopathic sleep remedy called Calms Forte. It comes in a formulation for children and we use it regularly with my son who has a hard time settling down. You may want to check with the parents and see if they would be willing to try it.
I think it is wonderful. My son is 2.5 and has been on it as needed for 3 months without any side effects.
Hope this helps.
Mara
hmmmmm there may be more to this then just "not settling down".
how old is this child...?
just curious.
is the child sleeping too late in the morning? kids usually enjoy laying down when everyone else does...hmmm
also, when i was in daycare, one of my kids was extremely a.d.d. and he was a challenge!! wow!
he needed meds...it was awful!! and stressful. but i felt more "sorry" for him =[
that was my only experience....but my little guy didn't get physical at all!! hmmmm strange.
i hope there isn't more to this then a child just not wanting to rest!! sorry, but this world is full of surprizes, and not all of them are good ones.
best of luck.
i will keep him in my prayers
My youngest son (4) has trouble settling down at preschool. The teachers suggested a weighted blanket to be placed on him. It does work. Take a look at an occupational theraphy catalogue or you could make one your self.
Hope this helps.
S.
Maybe try engaging him with puppets at naptime? I have them "Talk to" my daughter and tell her why it's important to do something. That way they are the "bad cop" and I am the good one. Hope it helps.
Morning Laura, one thing you did not mention is the childs age. However I will go on the fact that he is 2 . Some children outgrow naps very early on, as a nanny of 11 plus years I would quietly put him away from other children who are napping and read or color with him,or sometimes just having him resting up against you with maybe his fav. blanket or toy while you are reading is enough to have him nod off, NOT ALWAYS but sometimes. Again , some kids just do not need the sleep. Pam
Sounds like the little guy needs an evaluation from a specialist, i have read all the other responses and they all are good, so i would exhaust all of them first, but hitting and barking are signs to me as well. He might never take a nap for you and you might have to do something different with him, my little guy at the time never slept and was like the duracell rabbit.
A good recess time to expel all that energy and then maybe naptime for him might work.
Hope this helps, it helped our family situation
Hi...you've probably tried this already, but, just in case; either give him a choice of where to sleep, two choices is enough or let him be some sort of nap helper. Maybe he could be the one to turnoff the lights or tell the other children it's nap time. If you give him a chance to feel like he's part of the decision then he may be more likely to want to do what he's supposed to...we can hope.
Good luck.
