Brigitte Langevin is a sleep specialist. She is a speaker and author whose goal is to improve the quality of sleep and understand dreams. She is the author of several books on the subject. Helping my child sleep provides a great deal of information for parents. She is a dynamic person who is much sought-after for her humour and ability to make theoretical and scientific concepts accessible to all. Nights are more satisfying so performances during the day are improved thanks to her help!

Discipline and naptime

The role of the caregiver is to set firm limits concerning naps since this a period of the day during which children tend to particularly test the authority of their caregiver. However, some caregivers sometimes have difficulty enforcing naptime. In fact, children's behavior is often directly related to the person who is guiding them. We often see two caregivers (let's say caregiver A and caregiver B) obtain totally different results with the same group of children. For example, with caregiver A, the group falls asleep calmly while with caregiver B, the same group becomes excited during the naptime routine and remains difficult to calm when it is time to sleep. Since these children have shown that they are capable of relaxing with caregiver A, it becomes obvious that they are capable of doing the same with caregiver B. What is the problem?

In fact, even if these two people (caregiver A and caregiver B) give children the same instructions and follow the same routine, they are not perceived the same way by the children. Some adults seem to have natural authority and children listen to them without hesitation. It's not so much the words or actions used which make a difference but more the person's attitude, nonverbal language, tone of voice, and general energy.

Caregiver B must learn, and it is possible, to be firm in regards to her nonverbal language, attitude, actions, and words. Observing colleagues is a good way to learn. Caregiver A must inform the children in her group of what she expects from them in her absence. However, she must not interfere while caregiver B is with the group. For example, if caregiver A gives a child a consequence for his behavior while he was with caregiver B, this takes away all credibility caregiver B may have.

Through practice, perseverance, and consistency, you can learn to manage discipline and naptime.

Brigitte Langevin, author
Speaker and teacher

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