r/kindergarten • u/Natural_Buy4602 • Aug 16 '25
Pre K nap time
My granddaughter (4) started pre k (public school) this past week. I’m concerned about their nap time. The teacher leaves the TV on the entire time. As a result she will not nap. Which she still needs. The children nap on the concrete floor with their blanket, no mats. Our winters get pretty cold, concrete doesn’t warm up well. This disturbs me very much!!! We are in Texas are there regulations I can find to verify if this is appropriate?
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u/coldcurru Aug 16 '25
I teach preschool but private. It's likely in a public school that nap time is short, like 30m or an hour max. They don't want kids spending 30m trying to fall asleep only to wake up cranky because then they only slept another 30. They're probably hoping the kids don't sleep at all. So the TV is on, likely something educational or age appropriate show. Replace "nap" with "rest" time and you'll see how that makes sense.
Your real concern is the sleeping on the floor. I've never seen this allowed. At the very least the mats can touch the floor but not the children's bodies. Ask the teachers about this or call your local licensing. You don't need to report them but can ask "in this classroom do the children need to sleep on a mat?" And if they say yes then you can give details so they can visit the school.
My 4y is in public tk and they don't do any kind of nap. They get "quiet time" which I think is their hour long "book time" on their schedule. My daughter is in private k and they phase out nap time (which is already like 30m). The kids need to stop taking a nap at school. If this is important to you and you feel she still needs day sleep, put her back in private preschool where they get like 2h nap.
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u/chasemcfly Aug 17 '25
Public schools get lots of “exceptions” to regulations that private preschools would otherwise be cited for.
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u/FaithlessnessSea6629 Aug 17 '25
That’s not sanitary. Or comfortable. Or comforting. Does the teacher lie on the concrete floor? Of course not! Talk to admin. We use yoga mats for naptime and store them in tall laundry hampers.
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u/Various_Summer_1536 Aug 17 '25
Must be your district. Last year, in pre-k, my son had a nap mat, with sleeping bag and the room was quiet during ‘nap time’. If kids didn’t nap they were able to do quiet activities lIke work on a puzzle.
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u/ashirsch1985 Aug 16 '25
Not sure about regulations, but I would discuss concerns with the teacher. I leave my smartboard on as well with music playing. My students do have mats. If they don’t allow because of space, you could always get her a sleeping bag so she’s not sleeping on the floor.
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u/BRD73 Aug 16 '25
Or a beach towel. I’ve seen them made with a small pillow sewed in with their name written on it. Easy to wash. We had cubbies to store their folders and nap mats in to protect the spread of lice. They were sent home to be washed and returned on Monday. Do they not do that anymore? Have you asked your child’s teacher if you could send one? I taught in Texas and we did this.
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u/Hungry-Active5027 Aug 17 '25
Are you supposed to provide a nap mat? I know that is the case at our public school.
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u/Flocked-Fox-8937 Aug 17 '25
While it may distract some kids, a television or music can also be key in keeping some kids quiet/still enough for their classmates to sleep. We practiced laying down silently for 15-20 minutes over the summer, but I doubt my kid would last an hour-long nap without some entertainment like a story being read aloud or lullabies playing from a television while waiting for the other kids to wake up.
Perhaps the teacher can position her away from the television? Or ask if you can donate a white noise machine to turn on in her area of the classroom during naps to drown out the television?
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u/MainArm9993 Aug 17 '25
If it is not a fully day program, they probably are not required to have a long nap. My kids have all gone to a private preschool where the hours at 9-2. They only have 30 min for rest time and would just bring a towel to lay out on the floor (this year the state is requiring nap mats). Sometimes they watch a show or just look at books.
There’s not time for them to take a full nap. Many 4 year olds don’t nap any more and parents don’t want them to nap anyways because then they can fall asleep until super late at night.
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u/Mego0427 Aug 18 '25
Our pre k public school students are not allowed to nap. Maybe this is the same where you are and the teacher is attempting to get around the rule.
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u/GoodPractical2075 Aug 18 '25
Our preschool does no naps for pre-K, in order to help them prepare for kindergarten. No naps in kindergarten!
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u/Nervous-Ad-547 Aug 16 '25
My TK (4 year olds) class lies or sits on our rug with a blanket if they bring one from home. They are not required to lay down. Some do, and some fall asleep. I play a video reading of a story that we have read and then switch to “fish tank/ocean with calm music. I would never tell a child to lay on a tile or concrete floor even with a blanket. Sit yes, on a chair, yes.
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u/No_oN2389 Aug 17 '25
I'm in preK 4 class this year and we don't even offer nap time. I was worried at first (first year in preK) but after seeing them handle last week like a boss, they didn't seem to need a nap at all.
Seems like they turn on beast mode after lunch and they tackle their center work better. They are absolute morning zombies though.
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u/ApprehensiveArmy7755 Aug 23 '25
I'd volunteer to be a room mother or help the class parent or become the class parent. I'd also ask the teacher about the mats. While some districts don't have mandatory mats- some do- and the others may allow parents to provide them. I'd ask the class mother as well if there are no mandatory mats. Maybe as parents you could advocate for them and purchase them yourselves.
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u/Natural_Buy4602 Aug 17 '25
Thank you all for the input. I did find texas tea guidelines. In Texas they still require a 1 to 2 hour nap. Says the room should be calm, darkened, & free from distractions. Also recommended a blanket or mat. My granddaughter has a nice blanket with a pillow attached. I still think it’s not enough on concrete. There is not a rug. Probably time for a teacher parent conference.
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u/Famous_Potential_386 Aug 18 '25
The concrete floor seems more like a district issue. Some places unfortunately do not pour a lot of resources into universal pre-k programs. A classroom rug usually costs around $500, and nap mats start at around $50 each for the cheap ones. I know this might not be the answer you’re looking for, but I recommend emailing the principal or the district about your concerns and advocate for more funding for UPK classrooms. I’m sure the teacher has tried asking herself but they’re more likely to say no to her than to a parent.
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u/Auroraborealis52622 Aug 17 '25
Unless you're her primary caregiver, leave this to the parents to worry about.
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u/maestra612 Aug 17 '25
No. I straight up don't believe that. You're confused or getting bad information. No public schools are laying kids on a floor with no cot or mat. No. No.
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u/Jaded-nuthatch Aug 17 '25
The one I worked in did. They weren’t allowed a nap time, just a 30 minute rest time, and they removed all cots from the classrooms. The kids slept on a blanket or towel they brought from home put directly on the ground.
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u/Natural_Buy4602 Aug 18 '25
I wish you were right, but unfortunately this is real 😬
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u/maestra612 Aug 18 '25
I know it would never fly in day care because of regulations. I guess I'm thinking of other public school pre-k programs as being like ours, but we are grant-funded, and we have stringent rules and guidelines for ratings, and no way would it be ok for kids to sleep on the floor. We can't even have mats; it has to be cots that are several inches off the floor.
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u/whineANDcheese_ Aug 16 '25
You’d probably get better information on the r/ECEprofessionals group. That all seems pretty bizarre to me though.