Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Where does LO nap at childminder

23 replies

penguinparty00 · 31/08/2021 21:37

FTM and 10 month old due to start at Childminder's soon and when we had a walk round I asked where the cot was and she mentioned she didn't have a cot and that they would sleep in pram in other room if they needed a nap! I don't know if I'm being unreasonable to think a cot would surely be better as our little one has 2 naps a day sometimes lasting 2.5 hours for the long nap and he never naps anywhere but cot or in the car so I'm just wondering what will happen when he starts with the childminder! I'm just trying to understand if this is normal - Does your childminder have a cot?

OP posts:
StepawayfromtheBiscuittin · 31/08/2021 21:42

Mine used travel cots for naps. Provided by me with their own blankets.

penguinparty00 · 31/08/2021 21:44

@StepawayfromtheBiscuittin

Mine used travel cots for naps. Provided by me with their own blankets.
Ah ok and would they sleep ok as we've only ever had blackout windows, I might just be overthinking all of this just not sure as he's such a good sleeper now I think I'm worried that will change and he will go back to sleeping rubbish Sad
OP posts:
Elzbells · 31/08/2021 21:47

My little ones have a travel cot in my daughters room which has black out blinds and I also have a video monitor.

Individual bedding for each child. To be honest though once they hit about 2 it tends to end up being a tangle of limbs laid out on the sofa!

Very littlies always go in the travel cot though.

Merryoldgoat · 31/08/2021 21:49

Sofa usually.

I wouldn’t worry too much - you will find your child does things for the childminder that they won’t for you.

Mine is 3 and needs cuddles to go to sleep (absolutely fine).

The childminder sent me a video of him getting under the covers himself and putting himself to sleep. He absolutely refuses for me.

Waspsarearseholes · 31/08/2021 21:50

Our child minder has three cots - one in each of her bedrooms upstairs. Each child has their own cot. My daughter very rarely naps there but if she does it'll usually be on the childminder's lap after a cuddle and she will then put her on the sofa.

lking679 · 31/08/2021 21:50

I had a Childminder who used prams and to be honest didn’t like it. In the end DD much preferred to sleep in it which bugged me and ended up being inconvenient at home!
If you haven’t got many options though I’d suck it up. I find childminders have pros but also quite a few cons in terms of really they do things their own way whereas a nursery may be more formal and flexible. But they’re by far and away the biggest provider of early years childcare where I live so I didn’t have much alternative!

Shouldbedoing · 31/08/2021 21:50

My childminder encouraged naps in the pushchair so she could get out for school pick up when necessary. As it was my PFB I was horrified and my baby took very short naps at the childminders- and then slept loads on my day off when I wanted her awake and she was in her cot! However, when DC2 arrived, I had to use the pushchair for naps because older sibling had nursery drop-off etc. It's practical, and maybe feels safe and like a little bit of home for the tot

penguinparty00 · 31/08/2021 21:52

Ah ok sounds like I just need to adapt really , I might ask about taking travel cot and see what they say Smile

OP posts:
notthemum · 31/08/2021 21:56

Hi Op, just quick. I used to be a childminder, I had a moses basket and a cot but usually little ones would sleep in the buggy on the way to school for other children.
I also used to work in a nursery and the little ones there were all laid on their own bedding on the floor of one of the rooms.

lanthanum · 31/08/2021 21:59

My DD never had her daytime naps in the cot - proper flat-bottomed pram when she was small, and then ordinary pushchair as she got older. It meant she could fall asleep on the way home from things, or I could set off out for something without having to wake her. I can quite see why a childminder with school runs would opt for a pram, at least for any naps that might run into that time.

milkytwilight · 31/08/2021 22:00

@penguinparty00

Ah ok sounds like I just need to adapt really , I might ask about taking travel cot and see what they say Smile
You need to remember though that your LO's 2.5 hour nap might not be convenient if you're wanting them to use the travel cot. The childminder will have a schedule for pick ups and drop offs, potentially more than 1 per day. Mine did the morning and afternoon school runs plus a trip at 12:30 to collect the morning-only pre school kids. Hence why most naps were in the pushchair because it was a 20 minute walk each way.
ToastandJamandTea · 31/08/2021 22:03

Cm here. Agree with what others have said about the practicalities of using a pushchair as you have to be able to meet the needs of a variety of different ages.
I also can't be upstairs settling a baby to sleep in a cot while safely supervising the other children.
I use a variety of sleep mats, sling and pushchair here

myheartskippedabeat · 31/08/2021 23:03

My childminder had a travel cot but my 2 year old is too big he sleeps on her sofa with his own blanket

Zelda93 · 31/08/2021 23:05

My cm uses a pram which is fine by me as my dd has never napped in her cot and at most you get a 40 min nap from her since she was about 12 month old She is now 27mnths. And will do all sorts at cm like take herself off for the nap which she doesn't do for us at home in fact she doesn't nap for me at all! And will eat everything at cm but is a funny bugger for me at home .. the joy!! I keep asking the cm to teach me her stare that makes my dd do as she's told!!

IncyWincyGrownUp · 31/08/2021 23:21

My son refused to sleep anywhere but in the garden in a pushchair when at his childminder’s house. She had an orangery as her playroom, and she set up a play pen around the doorway to park him in. He was, and still is, a contrary sod. Top notch differentiation though, loved that lady so much.

She once rang me to say she thought he was coming down with something, as he’d flaked out in her playroom on the car mat clutching a brio train.

The rest of her charges slept on her sofa, sleep mats, in the pushchair if she was out and about, or in a travel cot - depending on their need and the time of day.

CherryMaple · 31/08/2021 23:30

DS at home only napped in his cot with blackout curtains drawn. At the childminder’s, he slept quite happily in a pushchair in her hall. (Like you, when I had looked round, I thought there was no way it would work.)

If your childminder is looking after multiple children, they will all have to fit in with her routine and the way that doing things works for her. It’s not a bad thing, and the chances are it won’t affect your routine at home. She will need to decide where and when your LO sleeps, based on her daily routine.

My childminder was fantastic, and DS loved going there. He made some great friends too. A brilliant adventure for your LO!

penguinparty00 · 01/09/2021 10:01

Ah I'm so thankful for the reassurance from everyone I'm feeling much more positive for him going now ! Thanks everyone

OP posts:
1lifeliveitright · 01/09/2021 16:54

I'm sure your LO will be fine. I'm a CM and have both cots and lay flat pushchairs in all my bedrooms! Hardly any children end up using the cot unless of course a parent specifically requested it. New babies in particular seem to like the cosiness and security of a pushchair and without sounding harsh it means they are fastened in and don't spend ages standing up in a cot! (throwing dummies/ blankets/toys out also Grin)
Children also have an entirely different routine at mine than at home quite often and it makes no difference to them.

Eilatan2018 · 01/09/2021 17:10

@penguinparty00

FTM and 10 month old due to start at Childminder's soon and when we had a walk round I asked where the cot was and she mentioned she didn't have a cot and that they would sleep in pram in other room if they needed a nap! I don't know if I'm being unreasonable to think a cot would surely be better as our little one has 2 naps a day sometimes lasting 2.5 hours for the long nap and he never naps anywhere but cot or in the car so I'm just wondering what will happen when he starts with the childminder! I'm just trying to understand if this is normal - Does your childminder have a cot?
My childminder has a cot upstairs for babies to sleep. My little one used to nap up there, then my CM started saying he was sleeping on the sofa and I wasn’t happy about this! He’s a terrible sleeper and I was in a good routine. I would definitely offer your travel cot to her, just say it would be such much easier for your little one to sleep where they’re used to sleeping. I find a lot of responses I got on here when I queried the same as you, was people reminding me just how busy CM’s are, they have so many children to focus on so they can’t really worry if each one is having the right nap in the right place… I do agree but feel at least a cot upstairs should be provided x
CaramelWaferAndTea · 01/09/2021 17:17

I swear the CM has a different child to me. With her he slept progressively in the buggy in the playroom, on the sofas under a blanket, in a cot upstairs and now apparently asks for milk and walks himself to bed upstairs on a floor mattress at 2 years. At home he sleeps in a darkened room in his bed and would never do a long nap in a cot - sling naps really were the mainstay when he was a baby. Sleeps for longer for her too.

I find all of this really does give me perspective on what is my child and what is my parenting 🙈 resolving it will work better with baby 2!

2bazookas · 01/09/2021 17:20

I would not be happy with that.

A 10 month old would have to be strapped in to pram so they couldn't fall out; not very restful for her that she can't even turn over or change position.

RedMarauder · 01/09/2021 17:25

If your CM has older children - which is likely as they can only have one under one, unless they are twins - then your PFB won't actually be sleeping in the pram in her house he will be sleeping while being taken out and about with the older children.

glitterelf · 01/09/2021 17:32

I'm a childminder and haven't used cots upstairs for years for safety reasons and the logistics of getting everyone out of the house in an emergency. All children now either sleep in the pram or on the sofa and are within reach in seconds. I also stipulate on my ofsted visit that upstairs is not to be registered as no minded children are permitted upstairs.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread