'I got scolded for letting a 2-year-old nap': Parents demand pre-school teacher stop their kids from napping, claims it makes bedtime too difficult

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
May 1, 2024 8:00 PM EDT

I don't envy parents trying to ensure their young children get the perfect number of hours of sleep every night. If they sleep too little, they will be grouchy and borderline evil the next day. If they get too much sleep, they will bounce off the walls and be unable to sit still during their regularly scheduled naptime. There is no perfect system, and every kid responds to naptime and bedtime differently. 

While some kids grow out of the need for naps early, most kids who are of preschool age at least need some rest during the day. One preschool teacher found herself in a difficult situation because many parents asked her to stop their kids from napping. The problem is that her state's state licensing forbids her from waking up a child who has fallen asleep. Still, the parents persist, claiming that mandatory napping has made bedtime a nightmare.

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  • 01
    r/mildlyinfuriating u/breebree934 • 1d Every parent wants me to stop napping their child.
    via u/breebree934
  • 02
    I work in preschool. Nap time is the only time I have for prep time. Lately, some parents who are all friendly with each other have started talking and are beginning to ask us to stop napping their child. The thing is though is literally I can't keep their kids awake. Our state licensing states that they need to at least rest on their mat and if they fall asleep I am not allowed to wake them up.
    via u/breebree934
  • 03
    Every parent is made aware of this when their child starts at our center. It's in our contract and they sign off on it. Yet, I'm now having an influx of parents asking what I can do to keep their child awake.
    via u/breebree934
  • 04
    It's more frustrating too because the reason they give is that bed time is a struggle, yet do nothing about changing the bed time routine. These kids will go home, eat dinner, take a bath, and then are expected to go to bed before 8:00 p.m. resulting in either they are fighting the bed time sleep because it's too early for them, or they're waking up at 5:00 a.m. because they can't sleep for more than 9 hours.
    via u/breebree934
  • 05
    We try to explain that changing the bed time to a later time is probably the better solution they are looking for, but no one wants to try it. They just want us to have their kids be absolutely exhausted by the end of the day so they go to bed early and stay asleep for longer.
    via u/breebree934
  • 06
    And no one is happy with me when I remind them of the licensing rule. I can give them a quiet activity to do on their mats but all of them will still inevitably fall asleep at some point and then I can't wake them up until nap time is over. I'm having to deal with some angry parents now.
    via u/breebree934
  • 07
    MeowsCream2 • 23h I was a nanny in college and got scolded for letting a 2 year old nap. She fell asleep one day watching TV while I was making lunch. I was told she didn't go to bed until 8pm that night she the mom was so mad at me. She wanted to put her to bed at 7. From then I had to force this poor child to stay awake and it was torture for both of us Reply 11.1k
    via u/MeowsCream2
  • 08
    Frost_Goldfish • 22h 2 yo?? But that's so young! She definitely needed her naps. So sad. Eta let me clarify that I don't mean every single 2yo on the planet wants/needs/can take naps. But this one clearly did and could and should have. ... ← Ŵ 7k ↓
    via u/Frost_Goldfish
  • 09
    decadecency 21h . So sad indeed. I'm 34 and still want naps that my workplace denies me. If we aren't even allowed to nap as 2 year olds, then why we even here on this earth haha ✩ 3.4k
    via u/decadecency
  • 10
    Acenterforants333 22h I have a home daycare so not exactly the same since I'm my own boss but I feel your pain. Where I live, they make kids take a short nap even in kindergarten (5 years old) so even if a parent were to demand I do that, they're not doing themselves any favours because the nap will be back once they get to school anyways.
    via u/Acenterforants333
  • 11
    When someone first signs a contract with me I am very VERY clear that I will not force a kid to stay awake. I always tell them, I can't force them to sleep the same as I can't force them not to. No one HAS to sleep (they do have to be quiet to respect those who are sleeping tough) but I'm not going to force them to stay awake if they need rest. Anyone who gives me a hard time about it gets the same responses: 1. wake your kid up earlier in the morning if you're convinced they're oversleeping (no
    via u/Acenterforants333
  • 12
    abm1996 22h I remember mandated sleep deprivation when I was in the army, not at daycare! Reply 13.1k
    via u/abm1996
  • 13
    GoFast EatAss • 21h In my kindergarten class we were forced to do "nap time" except we weren't allowed to actually sleep for some reason. Our teacher told us to lay down with our eyes closed but to never fall asleep. If we did fall asleep, she'd wake us up immediately. I remember asking myself why we did this, and tbh I still kinda do. Maybe it was because we were in kindergarten, or maybe our parents also pulled this ? Idk, it was just weird. 3.5k
    via u/GoFast_EatAss
  • 14
    DogWalkingMarxist • 22h I love just being like "here's the directors number, he's my boss, take it up with him" if he's not letting you literally enforce the rules Reply 1.4k
    via u/DogWalkingMarxist
  • 15
    scrapqueen • 1d Just shut that down immediately. Be stern- "Absolutely not. Not only is your child tired and in need of a nap, but it is a licensing rule. You were made aware of this when you came here. It is not negotiable so please stop asking." Reply ✰ 8.4k
    via u/scrapqueen
  • 16
    breebree934 OP. 1d I wish! My director won't let us be stern with the parents. We have to watch what we say all the time because if a parents complains about us she will take their side 100%. ... 4k
    via u/breebree934
  • 17
    ThotHoOverThere ⚫ 1d Ask your director for a script. It needs to be shut down before there are even more unhappy parents trying to get you to break this very serious rule. ... 4.3k
    via u/ThotHoOverThere
  • 18
    emmaliejay 21h • Yeah, that Director needs to make a choice and whether she wants parents that don't complain or a daycare that is allowed to continue to run under state licensure. ✩ 1.5k
    via u/emmaliejay
  • 19
    RogerClynelsAGod2 • 21h Or a daycare with employees. 636
    via u/RogerClynelsAGod2
  • 20
    JustALizzyLife • 22h Neither of my kids were nappers, but they did lie on their mats every day during naptime with all the other kids and had quiet time. Sometimes, the class had an extra helper who would braid my daughter's hair while she quietly sat on her mat since it was calming to her and wouldn't disturb any of the kids. Even if kids aren't sleeping, they all need quiet time/ breaks during the day. I'm so sorry you're having to deal with multiple entitled parents. Reply 581
    via u/JustALizzyLife
  • 21
    Maru3792648 • 23h Whaaaaat!? I have my child in daycare and I beg teachers to nap them! Reply ◇ 816
    via u/Maru3792648
  • 22
    maybe_little_pinch • 21h Right? I became the sandman for nap time because parents wanted them to nap so they weren't cranky monsters at home. But my guess is these parents are putting their kids to bed even earlier than they say, like immediately after dinner. I had parents who wanted their kids asleep by 6 at the latest. ... 277
    via u/maybe_little_pinch
  • 23
    Lavender_Nacho • 22h I had kind of the opposite problem when my son was in daycare one summer. He couldn't sleep during the day, on a mat, surrounded by other kids. He couldn't relax enough. This one daycare worker kept fussing at me about it. I asked her if he refused to lie down or bothered other children. No, he was perfectly behaved. He laid on the mat and didn't bother anyone. I tried reasoning with her. Then one day my son told me that she had started picking on him, even hiding his shoes
    via u/Lavender_Nacho
  • 24
    wiggle_butt_aussie • 22h We had a struggle with napping with my youngest. They had stopped napping at home, but because of the routine at daycare would always nap there. This resulted in them not being able to sleep until between 10pm and midnight, which in turn caused difficulty in the mornings. It was a really rough few months, but we NEVER blamed the daycare. We tried so many things (white noise, music, singing, stories, scented lotion, heavy activity before dinner...) and nothing worked. It
    via u/wiggle_butt_aussie
  • 25
    of them by day, pray for them Give them all of my dear Ave and long to warn before i se
    via Andrew Ebrahim

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daycare school nap kids asleep teachers teacher parenting napping naps little kids sleep sleeping Parenting Fail falling asleep Parenting FAILS preschool
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