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Original poster

Transitioning to one nap at nursery.

8 replies

Motherofking · 03/06/2021 12:27

My son is due to start nursery soon . He would be just turning 12 months when he starts . At the moment he takes two naps a day , one around 11 am and another around 3 pm. His nursery has told me that they try to get them to transition to one nap between 12-3 pm. Im not sure how this is going to work I can't imagine him staying awake for so long because I've tried to transition him into this routine and when he has one nap he's usually ready to go bee by 6-6:30 . However I wouldn't be able to get him to sleep at that time as I would pick him up from nursery at 6. Also Even if he managed to go to bed at 6 he would be up early the next day for 5am and there's no way he could stay awake from 5am till 12. Does anyone have any advice . Im a little confused with how this will work

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FATEdestiny · 03/06/2021 19:49

With the significant change your son will go through in starting nursery, it wouldn't be a good idea to change his routine straight away. I would hope they'll encourage him to settle into nursery on his normal routine first.

Once he has settled in, he might be 14 or 15 months old and could well be ready to start the transition by then. Nurseries are very busy-busy, active places with lots going on - it's probably the easiest place for him to be distracted and kept going in the morning, because there is no much to do.

He may well be ready to drop when he comes home. If you're picking him up at 6pm I'd have your expectations set that as soon as you get home it will be bath and bed largely straight away.

welshweasel · 03/06/2021 19:51

Let nursery deal with it. Both mine transitioned to one nap at nursery around that age with no issues. You don’t have to keep the same routine at home. There were loads of things I thought my kids wouldn’t do (based on what they did at home) that they did with no problem at nursery. Peer pressure and FOMO!

HavelockVetinari · 03/06/2021 19:54

Nursery staff are amazing at dealing with sleep stuff, it's like witchcraft - DS started aged 13 months, with a varied nap schedule of 2 per day at random times. Within 2 months he was napping after lunch with all the other children, it was amazing!

ISaidDontLickTheBin · 03/06/2021 19:59

@welshweasel

Let nursery deal with it. Both mine transitioned to one nap at nursery around that age with no issues. You don’t have to keep the same routine at home. There were loads of things I thought my kids wouldn’t do (based on what they did at home) that they did with no problem at nursery. Peer pressure and FOMO!
Agree with this - let nursery worry about how it'll work. How long is your journey home? Might he fall asleep on the way then you could just pop him into bed? Make sure nursery do a nappy change and even PJ's right before pickup.
FakeColinCaterpillar · 03/06/2021 20:01

Nursery are great at this and all the children asleep at the same time works as it’s quiet (and honestly gives the staff a break).

Bambam2019 · 03/06/2021 20:06

They won’t ‘expect’ him to slot in right away- especially if he starts in the baby room they will initially follow his routine and he will slowly change and adapt as appropriate, but they won’t force him to stay awake, only have one nap etc. I work in a nursery, we have had so many children come through those doors with different routines we are used to it and always figure it out!

SquigglePigs · 03/06/2021 21:25

When DD went to nursery she was right on the boundary between two rooms so they put her in the older one so she could settle and not be moved. She was 13 months and still having 2 naps a day. If she got very tired in the morning they would put her down to sleep in the baby room with the little ones. After a few weeks she stopped wanting that nap most days (although still did occasionally). She then had the middle of the day nap with the rest of her room. Sometimes in those early one-nap days we'd go to pick her up to find her curled up/flat out on the cushions in the book corner having a cheeky nap. It was generally only 10-15 mins so didn't really mess up her sleep. Lockdown then hit when she was 15-16 months and she was still having 2 naps a day at home until she went back to nursery at 18 months - at that point we decided to adjust to nursery schedule.

Your little one will find his own way. Try not to worry too much (I know!).

user7891011 · 04/06/2021 15:41

A good nursery would go by your routine

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