lazy 2 year old!

[steph29]

i currently look after a 2 yr old boy who goes down for a nap after lunch and sleeps for 2 hours. His mum says he sleeps for 3 hours at home and 12 hours every night! This is is fine if his mum is happy with it, but i've noticed that he often wakes up after an hour and just lies there with his blanket over his face rocking or talking to himself.
If i know he's awake should i get him up or just leave him? Trouble is i've tried this and got to 3 hours before i gave up and picked him up. He just lies there for hours talking to himself and never calls for me, tries to climb out or cry, even if he just sat up and looked around i could take this as an indicvation that he's bored and ready to get up.
I feel like i have to force his every movement is he just lazy? I'm not too worried it's just i get a bit bored trying to get him to activities when he seems happier to be busy doing nothing with the toys all day. I would like to feel like i'm doing my job properly!

3hours!!!!
I look after a 11month old and he sleeps from 1-3 and thats enough for him..Maybe he is so used to all this sleep his enthusiasm and creativity have been lost..Talk to the mum and tell her he is waking up early and maybe 3 hours is too much.

she usually laughs when i mention it. Although friday i put him down and he didn't fall asleep at all but was happy to just lie there for 2 hours till i got him up.he has no independance he won't leave the table at meal times until i tell him to he just sits there and quietly sobs but won't touch his dinner.
He eats happily at lunch when my ds is there but i have to feed him at 4pm which is too early for my lot to eat so he sits on his own with me and cries every day. His mum said he does it at home too sometimes but usually she can't get him to sit he keeps running off(typical 2 yr old!) and throws a lot of tantrums at home but not here.
Is is odd that he should behave so differently when he's here? he adores my dp and loves men - even strangers, but i get no enthusiasm from him.
He really lights up when i have boys round to play but most of the time is just with me or my ds who won't play with him and strangly never took to him. what does everyone think?

Aww bless him this is rather sad..Maybe you should tell her your being serious and prehaps write up a new routine for him when he is with you and see what she thinks.

How many days a week is he with you?

IF this nap been introduced when he was younger with a CC plan, he may not even consider getting up and playing an option.

I do think that is a lot of sleep for a 2yr old!

When you say he plays with boys, does he play anything with them or just enjoy certain things. Could you go out with him in the afternoon or do you have other little mindees napping?

How is his development in general? ie speech, motor skills etc.

Oh dear, what an unhappy story! I wonder if there is more to it, you know trouble at home maybe?

God, i could have written this myself 1 year ago, the boy that i looked after was excatly the same for about 4/5 months then one day he started to speak and he is now a different little boy, we had routines like toddle group etc and libary outing to try and get him to mix better, He plays lovely now with all the children we come across - still likes along sleep but mum is happy with this

thanks for your comments, funnily enough he has been in a very good mood today - a lot more affectionate with me and even ate his dinner. I went and got him after 1 hrs nap and took him out to see some animals. I thinks perhaps he is just happier outdoors, he has suddenly talked more than usual today too maybe me being able to understand him has made him feel more confident - here's hoping it's not a 1 off!!
btw his mum is a teacher and his dad's in cid and seem very nice so i'm not worried about his home life. I think he's quite close to his 4 yr old brother hence prefering boys company - not specific activities, just running around!