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*Some* 4 year olds don't need naps. Some still do, but some don't and the number who don't keeps increasing over time based on the academic calendar most daycare centers and preschools go by.
And good daycare centers are appropriately staffed to handle the reality that not all 4 year olds nap.
*Some* 4 year olds don't need naps. Some still do, but some don't and the number who don't keeps increasing over time based on the academic calendar most daycare centers and preschools go by.
And good daycare centers are appropriately staffed to handle the reality that not all 4 year olds nap.
Have to disagree. Doesn't have anything to do with a daycare being good objectively, it has to do with it being a good fit for a specific kid.
This thread has established that a 2 hour nap or quiet time is pretty darn standard. And that the majority of kids cope just fine. If the OPs kid can't, well the parent has the responsibility to find a better fit. The alternative is not demanding the rules be broken for Johnny. Again, teaching children to self soothe, calm down, lie still and be quiet, encouraging self discipline and making an extended quiet or rest period normal is not, in my mind, in any way undesirable. We have far too many Karens out there who want norms to bend for their child. That's not the answer. Find a different arrangement if this one isn't working, but let those it DOES work for nap in peace.
As many others have said, this is almost a standard in day care. Our neighbors own several daycares. Some, like those our neighbors own, even teach the kids breathing and meditation exercises to calm them and allow them to lie still for extended periods. I don't see this as a bad thing. My mate's mother was Japanese and he grew up learning how to be quiet and still for extended periods from an early age. The resistance to this practice may be in part cultural. Just think about how useful it would be to have a 4 year old who could sit still and quiet without needing entertainment or cajoling on a 2 hour plane ride for example. I see a lot of benefit to children having this set of skills.
The idea that 4-year-olds should be taught to sit or lie still for two hours with "no entertainment" is just weird to me. What parents and teachers need to do is teach children to entertain themselves with quiet activities for an extended time, not just to lie with their eyes shut and meditate.
With this caveat, I am all for quiet time. Speaking for myself, at four, I was very active and had stopped napping years before. I was also already an avid reader and writer, so I was easy to deal with. Give me a book, or a pencil and paper, and and the two-hour rest time would have passed in the blink of an eye for me. Tell me to sit still, breathe, and meditate, and I would have been climbing the walls. A daycare that made me lie motionless on a mat for two hours wouldn't have taught me a thing except that adults enjoy torturing little children.
The idea that 4-year-olds should be taught to sit or lie still for two hours with "no entertainment" is just weird to me. What parents and teachers need to do is teach children to entertain themselves with quiet activities for an extended time, not just to lie with their eyes shut and meditate.
With this caveat, I am all for quiet time. Speaking for myself, at four, I was very active and had stopped napping years before. I was also already an avid reader and writer, so I was easy to deal with. Give me a book, or a pencil and paper, and and the two-hour rest time would have passed in the blink of an eye for me. Tell me to sit still, breathe, and meditate, and I would have been climbing the walls. A daycare that made me lie motionless on a mat for two hours wouldn't have taught me a thing except that adults enjoy torturing little children.
Shrug. I guess be glad you aren't a 4 year old right now?
Irs a norm in my area. Honestly we have a nanny who does something very similar with my son. There's "downtime" every day for about 2 hours. She does exercises with him to calm him and help him begin to meditate. He's too young to really learn that but it's definitely helped with his focus and self control. He either falls asleep or rests and 90% of the time has zero issues staying put. And as I say, my husband was raised in a culture that values the same thing. It certainly works for a lot of people. It's definitely not torture. Such drama around teaching a kid how to be quiet or take a nap!
There's a big difference between "it works for many people" and "one size fits all." Saying that all four-year-olds need two-hour naps and if they don't naturally take them, need to be taught to, is one size fits all.
I take it you have only one child? If so, that also explains a lot.
There's a big difference between "it works for many people" and "one size fits all." Saying that all four-year-olds need two-hour naps and if they don't naturally take them, need to be taught to, is one size fits all.
I take it you have only one child? If so, that also explains a lot.
Please read my other posts. We agree
Not every arrangement works for e every kid. If the OP doesn't think this works for her son, she needs to find another arrangement.
Quiet time is encouraged.
Consider it a healthy manner to discipline the young one to concentrate on quiet activity. Reading. Coloring come to mind.
My sons both had an afternoon schedule of quiet time. One chose to nap, the other in his self made 'tent' in his room and read a book. At daycare they had a quiet corner.
I personally remember afternoon snack of cookie and milk. After which we got our sleep mat and drifted off to sleep. Our teacher played some somber instrumental music. How bizarre to call it abusive to have children learn a skill we all need in life. Rest is as equally important as being attentive in activities.
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