Babysitting and daycare
wake up the baby at daycare
madelene
Hi ladies, quick question:
My two youngest kids, 2 and almost 1, my little boy is turning 1 this month, are going to daycare on Mondays and Tuesdays from 7:30 am to 6 pm. I just heard from the caregiver that they wake up our kids—my daughter Jasmijn and our son—because otherwise they’d sleep too late. But she also mentioned that my son isn’t happy about being woken up.
That’s because he’s never used to it; my husband and I never do that.
I think it’s sweet that they take it into account that he might not sleep in the evening otherwise.
But now I’m wondering: do more daycare centers do this?
My two youngest kids, 2 and almost 1, my little boy is turning 1 this month, are going to daycare on Mondays and Tuesdays from 7:30 am to 6 pm. I just heard from the caregiver that they wake up our kids—my daughter Jasmijn and our son—because otherwise they’d sleep too late. But she also mentioned that my son isn’t happy about being woken up.
That’s because he’s never used to it; my husband and I never do that.
I think it’s sweet that they take it into account that he might not sleep in the evening otherwise.
But now I’m wondering: do more daycare centers do this?
Replies
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Red_tears #2
Hey hello.
I work in a daycare center and yes, sometimes we have to wake the little ones up in the following situations:
- if we think the child has been sleeping too long. Usually, these kids then wake up with a fever. Otherwise, they sleep fever-free.
- for kids who have a fever, we wake them up sooner.
- kids who are sleeping and their mom or dad is there. Sometimes the parents come back, but sometimes there's no other way.
- at the request of the parents (we don't like doing this because we prefer to follow the child's rhythm)
- with the smaller babies when they need to eat. Not if they ate just 4 hours ago. Then we can add another 30 minutes. (If they were already having trouble falling asleep, we prefer they sleep a bit more. A happy and well-rested baby is important.) But if we see they've gone 5 hours without eating, then eating is more important. Because some babies don't ask for food.
Now, it really depends on the child. There are kids who aren't fussy when we wake them up. But there are kids who find it a bit harder, and for those kids, we prefer not to do it. But sometimes we have to for their health.
The most important thing is 'following the child's rhythm' and not the rhythm of home or the daycare. -
madelene started this #3
thank you for your reply
and is it also true that it has to follow the rules of the daycare center?
or do you decide that yourself as the caregiver? -
Red_tears #4
We have to follow the daycare rules more or less. Our motto is always 'following the child's rhythm'. But in the past, we've had conversations with parents about sleeping. After all, it's their child and we always have to do what's best for the child. Sometimes there were parents: my child is only allowed to sleep for 1 hour, otherwise my child won't sleep at night anymore, etc. With your child, it's different now: they wake your child up and I get the feeling that you don't really like that, because your little boy isn't so happy then. I'd say: talk to the caregiver. And she can maybe try not to wake him up and then you see when he falls asleep in the evening. If there's no problem, then she shouldn't wake him up anymore. As a mother, you know what's best for your child. We're here to support you in raising your child. -
madelene started this #5
Yeah, I'm a bit worried that his sleep rhythm will get disrupted, but I also find it kind of sweet that she does it because she thinks he won't sleep well otherwise. Thanks for your detailed and clear explanation
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