When you pick up your child from daycare you get a progress report detailing how much your child ate and when, whether they are running low on diapers and/or wipes, and how much they slept (or didn’t sleep) and when. All helpful information, but frustrating nevertheless when the section about nap time states that your little one didn’t nap well. Your kiddo naps like a champ at home so you aren’t sure what the problem is and are puzzled as to how to fix it. Rest assured. This is actually a very common problem with a simple solution. Keep reading to find out my top three tips for great daycare sleep.
- It can be scary and unsettling for a child that has always napped at home to suddenly be asked to nap in a different environment like daycare. The best way to help your little one feel comfortable going to sleep at daycare is to make daycare a little bit more like home. One way to do this would be to purchase2 super cozy chenille fitted sheets. Put one on your child’s mattress at home and send the other one in with your child at daycare. Sleeping on the same cozy sheet in both places will help your little one to feel a sense of familiarity and comfort which will help them settle to sleep.
- It can feel like a mad dash in the early evening hours to pickup baby from daycare, drive home, get dinner started, eat dinner, clean up after dinner, wind-down time with baby, bedtime routine, and bed. Getting baby to bed between 7-8 pm (their normal biological sleep time) takes a lot of conscious effort, planning, and time management to achieve. There is a temptation to keep baby up later because after all you hardly saw him the whole day, and you miss him! That is very understandable, however, when bedtime is pushed later it throws off sleep hormones making for a sleepless night, an early morning, and a grouchy baby. It’s tough for sure, but it’s important to remember quality time is more important than quantity of time.
- Making the transition from napping at home to napping at daycare can be challenging. Or perhaps your little one is struggling to adjust to their new classroom (From the Infant Room to the Young Toddler Room, for example). Transitions and change are hard on everyone and young children are no exception. Oftentimes, when a young child is experiencing new stress or changes, it can result in poor sleep. However, once they are given time to adjust they will have a newfound self-confidence and sleep will be back on track. So be sure to give your child time to adjust to change. During this time, be sure to build them up with lots of hugs, kisses, and words of affirmation and they will be back to their normal self in no time!
So there you have it! Try out these three tips to help your little one to get GREAT sleep at daycare! Perhaps these tips have helped you but you feel like you need more? That is exactly what I’m here for. If you are struggling with your little one’s sleep and feel alone not only in motherhood but in sleep struggles then join my free sleep coach community. Join Moms from every walk of life all over the country and build your mom tribe! LIVE trainings every month, weekly LIVE Q and A’s, free downloads, free sleep workshops, and more! I hope you consider joining! Thanks for reading and sleep well!