Hi everyone. I need some advice or at least a place to vent. My 4 year old has been coming home from daycare and falling asleep for hours. At first, I thought it was just because daycare was tiring with all the playing and learning, but now it’s affecting bedtime. He won’t fall asleep until super late at night, and the whole schedule is off. I’ve tried waking him up from his nap earlier, but he’s super moody when I do, and it makes the evening harder. I feel stuck in this cycle where neither of us is getting a good night’s sleep, and I’m stressed. Is this a phase? Should I be doing something differently? I’d love to hear if anyone’s been through this.
my kid used to do this exact thing. We had the worst bedtime battles because of those long naps. It’s like they use up all their energy at daycare and then crash, but it totally messes with the night. We started doing a super short car nap on the way home to take the edge off and then kept bedtime consistent. It helped eventually, but yeah, it’s rough for a while
We went through this last year! What worked for us was adjusting the daycare schedule if possible. I talked to the teacher, and they agreed to let my LO do quiet activities instead of napping. It took some trial and error, but eventually, he started going to bed at a normal time again. You might want to check if the daycare can tweak things a bit
That overtired but still hyper combo is the worst. I don’t have any magic answers, but just know you’re not alone. It’s a tough age for balancing their energy needs with our sanity. Hang in there
Have you tried a consistent wind, down routine right after daycare? Like maybe a snack, 30 minutes of quiet play, and then a short nap that you wake them from? It’s hard at first because of the crankiness, but keeping the nap under an hour might help reset the schedule
This sounds so frustrating, but it’s probably just a phase. At 4, they’re growing so much and learning to manage their energy. It might take a few weeks, but eventually, he’ll settle into a better rhythm. You’ve got this!
Same boat here. My LO is 3.5, and we’re already dealing with this. I’ve been experimenting with keeping her awake on the drive home by singing or playing silly games. It’s exhausting, but if she stays awake, bedtime is way smoother. I feel your pain, solidarity!
I call this the “daycare hangover.” My kid used to come home looking like he’d been through a full workday. The only solution we found was a 15 minute power nap and then a lot of snacks, for both of us
My youngest is 8 now, but I remember this stage all too well. What helped me back then was shifting dinner earlier and adding a short post-nap activity, like a walk or playing outside. It broke up that afternoon crash and made bedtime smoother. Hang in there, it gets better as they grow
One thing that helped us was using a wake light clock. We set it to signal when nap time was over, so it felt like a game. It gave my kid a little control over waking up, and it was less of a battle. You could try that if he’s into gadgets or lights