I have an 18 mo little boy in my dc. I've had him since he was 11 mo. He was a problem sleeper way at the beginning, but we overcame that and up until this week he's been easy at nap time. He always falls asleep in his high chair at lunch time, I know he's exhausted, and I've always been able to give him a little cuddle and put him in his play pen without an issue.
This week all of a sudden he starts screaming as soon as I start to walk away from his play pen. If I'm not in the middle of the other kid's routines then I'll pick him back up and rock him. Today though I rocked him for half an hour, brought him back to his playpen while the other kids got ready for their naps, and he SCREAMED like he was being beaten (which is his typical cry so I'm not terribly alarmed by it.) I checked on him between the kids' bathroom trips, laid him down and told him in a soothing voice that it's night-night time and he needs to rest, and he kicks right back off again as I walk away. Once the other kids were resting - they're still not sleeping because I usually rub their backs and can't right now with this 18 month old being the way he is - I picked him up and haven't been able to put him down since.
His needs are all met - he's clean, he's just been fed, and he's absolutely exhausted. I need to know what else I can do. To me, at 18 months old he's old enough to know nap time. He's been in my care for 7 months.
I know his parents coddle him, and I've been gently telling them they need to get him self-soothing (she's pregnant again too, due in Feb.) .... What can I say to them to make them realize this is REALLY disruptive to all the kids?
This week all of a sudden he starts screaming as soon as I start to walk away from his play pen. If I'm not in the middle of the other kid's routines then I'll pick him back up and rock him. Today though I rocked him for half an hour, brought him back to his playpen while the other kids got ready for their naps, and he SCREAMED like he was being beaten (which is his typical cry so I'm not terribly alarmed by it.) I checked on him between the kids' bathroom trips, laid him down and told him in a soothing voice that it's night-night time and he needs to rest, and he kicks right back off again as I walk away. Once the other kids were resting - they're still not sleeping because I usually rub their backs and can't right now with this 18 month old being the way he is - I picked him up and haven't been able to put him down since.
His needs are all met - he's clean, he's just been fed, and he's absolutely exhausted. I need to know what else I can do. To me, at 18 months old he's old enough to know nap time. He's been in my care for 7 months.
I know his parents coddle him, and I've been gently telling them they need to get him self-soothing (she's pregnant again too, due in Feb.) .... What can I say to them to make them realize this is REALLY disruptive to all the kids?
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