QUESTION OF THE WEEK: During their time spent in Peek-A-Books! Centre, should all the children take nap? Children of preschool age need about 10-12 hours of night time sleep, and some children may need an additional day time nap that may last 1-2 hours. The need and schedule for nap may vary with the age, but also with individual needs of the child. The nap time in Peek-A-Books! is from 12:00 to 14:00, and not every child is brought for nap. Usually when the child is admitted in the center and afterwards, we talk with the parents about their children’s need, including the need and sleeping habits of their children, and in cooperation with the parents we decide if the children should take naps or no. Sleeping is very individual, and we cannot assume that all children have the same need for sleep. At the same time, the same child can have different needs for sleep, depending on the season of the year, the growth spurt periods when their body is going through big changes, maturing in certain aspects, health condition, or different experiences that the child might be going through. During our experience we have noticed that nearly without exception all children younger than 4 take day time nap, and the need for nap decreases between ages 4 and 5. When they have finished their snack at 11:30, children that take a nap prepare to go to the sleeping room. The sleeping room is dark and quiet. Children are requested to lie down on their beds, to be quiet and not to disturb others, to sleep if they can or to just keep their eyes shut and take a rest. In order to put children to sleep the teachers/caretakers can sing lullabies or can play classical music. One staff will be in the sleeping room during the entire nap time. The staff will never force children to sleep by threatening them, rocking them, or by using any other methods that might be suggested by parents. If 40-60 minutes within lying down the child has not fallen asleep, than the child will be allowed to get up and join the quiet activities. Sleeping is never used as a threat or punishment for children. Children, who have slept, usually wake up within 1-2 hours, but if the children continue to sleep, they will be checked for temperature, to make sure they are not feeling ill. If they are feeling ill, they will be allowed to sleep or lie down as long as needed, or until their parents come to pick them up. There are also times when children are not ill, but because of the growth spurt they may be feeling tired and need to sleep longer. Between 12:00 and 14:00 o’clock, children that don’t take a nap, are engaged in quiet time activities like listening to music, stories, coloring, reading, logical numeric and visual card games, and other activities supervised by staff.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 15:14:59 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015