5 Tips for Choosing a Great Daycare Conducive to Sleep

Sending your little one to daycare can feel intimidating - especially if you’ve put a lot of effort into perfecting your child’s sleep schedule. We know that a good sleep doesn’t magically happen 1 night, and a good sleeper doesn’t suddenly stop sleeping 1 night either. However, we do know that how our child falls asleep will seriously impact the quality of their sleep.

Making the transition from sleeping at home 100% of the time to sleeping at daycare can be a big change! But here are 5 tips to ensure great naps at daycare.

1. Dark Sleep Environment
   It’s no secret that darkness helps the production of melatonin. While melatonin is an essential aspect of our sleep health, it’s not secreted all day long for babies, even if they do require a day-time nap. Having a pitch-black sleep environment is not only less stimulating for our babies, but it also helps them associate darkness with sleep-time. Checking out your daycare’s nap-time space and protocols is one of the most essential parts of choosing the right daycare provider. If their nap space isn’t dark enough, ask the daycare provider if they’d be willing to make any adjustments to darken it further.

2. Safe Sleep Space
   It is common for daycare facilities to move a child to a sleeping cot as soon as they’re above 1 year of age. Children under 3 sleep best in a crib or pack n play situation, so I would highly recommend choosing a daycare provider who has the appropriate amount of cribs/playpens to accommodate children who still require them. I also recommend looking for a daycare/dayhome that has a separate sleep area for the children to sleep in. I don’t particularly like when a day-home converts their general play area into a nap-time area for kiddos. It can be confusing for some children to suddenly switch from playing to sleeping, even if the lights are dimmed/off. Sleep is much more complicated for children than it is for adults - mostly because children can’t logically understand how/why they need to sleep, so having some separation from their play-time environment to their sleep environment is key.

3. Noise Machine
   Sleeping with some sort of background noise (like a sound machine or even a loud fan) helps the body ease into sleep easier than without. Mimicking a silent sleep environment is far more challenging than simply turning a sound machine on. I would check with your dayhome/daycare facility and see if they play white noise during nap-time. I wouldn’t recommend using a radio or lullabies (yes, these happen!) while your child is sleeping. Having words play in a song or even being able to hear the end of one lullaby and the start of the next one can be stimulating for your child’s resting brain. A constant stream of white noise is preferred. If your day-home doesn’t use white noise, it would be worth asking if they would start. Especially once your child starts napping in a shared room with other sleeping kids, having some background noise is essential in making sure your child gets the best nap they can.

4. Familiar Sleep Items
   We all love familiarity - even as adults! This is why sleeping in a hotel can be a challenge…you don’t have your regular soft sheets or your favourite pillow. When transitioning your child to a brand-new sleep environment, it’s helpful to make this transition with some familiarity. Pack their usual sleep sack, bring their favourite lovey, and let your daycare provider know of your nap-time routine. It might come as a surprise, but your childcare provider also wants your child to have a great nap! Nap-time is a chance for them to clean up from the morning and also get ready for the afternoon - so I have found that most childcare providers are willing to adapt to your child’s nap-time regime to help them sleep well.

5. Patience
   The same as when we start any sort of sleep training - patience & consistency are your friends. All major sleep transitions take time - sometimes even up to 4 weeks to really stabilize and become normal. If your child isn’t sleeping well at their new daycare, I would recommend offering a slightly earlier bedtime for them during this adjustment period. I wouldn’t offer bedtime too soon, but 30 minutes early could make a big difference.

All in all, the transition to daycare doesn’t have to be a rocky one. Choosing the best provider for your child will be essential to how well they nap at the facility! Of course, if you’re struggling with your child’s sleep and it seems like things won’t ever get better, let’s chat about it! Book a free discovery call to see if Sleep Training may be the right fit for your family.