Talking to Daycares
Advocating for Your Child’s Sleep
If you are looking to put your baby, toddler, or child in a daycare, discussing your child’s sleep needs with a daycare may seem like a daunting task! You may not know exactly how to communicate with a daycare about your child’s sleep needs, and this might be something that has you feeling a little overwhelmed. That is totally ok! This blog is going to be all about what questions to ask and what to keep in mind when making daycare sleeping arrangement requests and demands. I hope that after reading this you feel prepared to have that chat with your child’s daycare and make requests and demands about your child’s sleep needs.
Be an Advocate
Before we get started with the questions you should as and the things you should consider, I want to remind you of one of the most important things. YOU ARE ADVOCATING FOR YOUR CHILD. Daycares and their teachers are very helpful in supporting parents in this role, but you need to remember that you are your child’s number one and biggest advocate. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and don’t be afraid to make requests and demands. That is your job as a parent!
Before Selecting a Daycare
When you are searching for daycares and selecting from your options, be sure to have discussions with each daycare about their policies concerning naptime and sleep. These discussions could help tremendously in making your decision. Here are a few questions that I highly recommend asking before making any decisions.
What is the nap schedule for the room my child will be in?
This question is so important. If the nap schedule is similar to or the same as your child’s nap schedule at home, then that is great! However, if it is drastically different, you may want to ask if other rooms have nap schedules that align better with your child’s schedule or if the daycare will accommodate your child’s nap schedule. If there is no wiggle room or compromising made, then this might not be the best fit.
Some daycares will accommodate your child’s nap schedule by sending them to a different room for nap time only. This is just fine so long as the other teachers are willing to accommodate your child’s sleep needs as well.
What is the sleep environment for nap time?
Ask to see the room where your child will be napping.
Is the room dark or at least dim? Are there cribs or napping areas that have less lighting? Ask if your child can sleep in those areas because we all know that the darker the better!
Is there white noise? If so, great! If not, ask if you can bring a portable white noise machine to be used when your child is napping.
Is the room cool? Most of the time the teachers may not have a lot of say-so about the temperature of the room at nap time, but it never hurts to ask!
Can the teachers in your child’s room do a consistent naptime with your child before putting them down for nap time?
This may be more difficult than it sounds for teachers, but it never hurts to ask! Ask the teachers if they can do a short and simple routine the same way before every single nap. Try to make it very similar to the nap routine you use at home, but keep in mind that they will have other babies and children to attend to at the same time.
Can my child sleep in a sleep sack or can they be changed into pajamas?
This question is especially important if your child naps better at home in a sleep sack or pajamas. You will more than likely have to provide these items daily, but they may help your child feel more comfortable and safer in their new napping space.
Can my child have their security item or blanket? (For one year and older!)
Never underestimate the power of a security item or blanket! Just like using a sleep sack or pajamas, if your baby is used to having a certain lovie or blanket with them at nap time, be sure to ask the daycare if they will allow them to have them there as well.
How flexible is the daycare during transitions?
When your baby transitions from 3 naps to 2, 2 naps to 1, and 1 nap to none, you may run into some differences between what I have told you as your sleep consultant and what the daycare is doing. Most babies may not transition from 3 naps to 2 until they are around 8 to 9 months. However, the daycare may want to put your baby in a room with only 2 naps on the schedule. The same happens especially at the one-year mark! Many daycares will move your child from the under 1-year room (two naps schedule) to the over 1-year room (one nap schedule). This can be a problem because most babies will still need a two-nap schedule until they are 15 to 18 months old.
Ask your daycare to keep your child on a two-nap schedule until you know your child is ready to transition to one nap. If this is not possible, no worries, you will need to work out a schedule at home to allow early bedtimes and also plenty of sleep on the weekends.
Other Considerations
As a parent, you can have a long list of requests and demands for your daycare, but you must remember that many daycares have regulations set by the government that they must follow. These rules typically can’t be ignored or bent because doing so can easily jeopardize the daycare’s ability to operate. If one of your requests goes against the regulations they must follow, you must understand that they have to follow the rules. In any case like this, a sit-down conversation with the daycare director and teachers may help to brainstorm a new idea to handle whatever requests you have.
When your child attends daycare, there will automatically be a sleep debt that develops. This comes about because of a schedule change and increased stress levels just from change occurring. Keep this in mind and implement super early bedtimes when needed and maintain an early and consistent bedtime regularly. Consistent weekend schedules will also help to keep the sleep debt from getting out of control.
You may find that your child falls asleep easily in the car on the way home from daycare. Do your best to keep them entertained and awake. However, if they do fall asleep, don’t fret! Go ahead and let them sleep but once you get home, wake them up and don’t let them sleep again until bedtime. Avoid transferring them from the car to the couch to continue sleeping, as tempting as that might be! Stick to their bedtime routine and schedule. Don’t push it later just because they take a catnap in the car. Catnaps aren’t restorative and pushing bedtime later if they catch one will not be helpful in the long run.
Remember: You Are Advocating for Your Child!
I hope that all of this information was super helpful for you. If you remember anything from reading this much, remember that you are your child’s biggest advocate. When I say you are making requests and demands of your daycare, that can sound harsh and intimidating, but when it comes to your child’s sleep, you must be direct and not beat around the bush, so to speak. Even though daycares deal with babies and children every single day, they may not know much about sleep in general. If your child is new to the daycare, they will also be learning the sleep schedule of an entirely new child. So, don’t be afraid to go in with printed-out information, schedules, and routines. They will find it helpful and it will give you more confidence in trusting them with your child’s sleep. Advocate for your child and their sleep needs.
Do you have more questions about talking with your child’s daycare about their sleep? Book a call with me and together we will build your confidence and prepare you for the conversation! Until then….
With Love,
