day care from work and ask how long it took your child to calm down.
- Naps
Erroneous Expectation: Parents would like their children to take
one- to two-hour afternoon naps until the age of ten or eleven!
The Reality: About 60 percent of children stop daily naps by age
three; 80 percent stop by age five. As they get older, children sleep
longer at night and less during the day. You will see more sleeping
during the day as children go through growth spurts, get sick, or are
working hard physically or cognitively.
What to Do: First, ensure a good nap environment with a calm-down
routine and a dark and quiet room. Be consistent in your approach to
nap time. Nap schedules are different for every child, so look for
signs of fatigue. As your child gets older, instead of requiring that he
fall sleep, ask your child to spend quiet time in his room. If he’s tired,
he will sleep. If not, he will relax and regroup.
- Lying
Erroneous Expectation: Parents expect kids of all ages to tell the
truth at all times.
The Reality: Just about everybody—kids and adults—lies at some
time or another. Some research indicates that 20 percent of two-year-
olds lie, as well as 50 percent of three-year-olds, 90 percent of four-
year-olds, and 70 percent of sixteen-year-olds. The increasing
percentages in the preschool crowd reflect a positive thing—
increasing intellectual capacity! The most common reason for lying is
to cover up mistakes or misbehavior.