My oldest was 6 months when he started daycare and I remember the tears (more from me than him for sure)! This season of transitions is hard folks! No matter if your child has never been to daycare or if they are switching to a new one, there will be some adjusting. We worry about transitions for the baby and child, but many transitions are happening for you as a parent too!
There are so many positives for children attending daycare from socialization to routines and schedules, so let’s not let the sleep adjustment deter you from a wonderful experience!
Once you know the transition to daycare will be happening set up a meeting with your child’s teacher and/or daycare to understand what a typical day looks like for your child. Will your little one be in a mixed age classroom or are all the children on the same schedule? When are meal times and snack times? Will you get a report at the end of the day with when they slept? Knowing meals, sleep schedules, and the ages of other children will help you plan ahead prior to starting at daycare.
Knowing meals, sleep schedules, and the ages of other children will help you plan ahead prior to starting at daycare.
For younger babies, your child will likely nap when they are tired, typically 2-3 times a day. But by 18-24 months, children need only one nap each day. In fact, most daycares will move a child down to one nap at around age 12 months of age.
Before your child moves to that new daycare room start the preparation for the 2 to 1 nap transition! (see my YouTube below for more on this)
Main points to help your baby (and you) adjust to daycare:
- Start adjusting to new schedule a few weeks prior to starting daycare so that your child can get used to the new clock time (adjust meal times as well)
- Have extra sleep sacks, and blankets for older kiddos, since you’ll likely want to bring these home more frequently to wash
- Talk with your daycare about your child’s daytime sleep schedule. Explain what helps them nap well at home. While not all factors can be duplicated they definitely want your baby to nap well too!
- Don’t be afraid of an early bedtime! Especially if your child is on one nap a day. If they are only sleeping 1-1.5 hours they will be very tired after daycare. Either allow for a cat nap on the drive home OR do an early bedtime of even 6:30 pm for a period of time while they adjust.
And remember that in regards to naps, daytime sleep does not need to be perfect for you to have a great nighttime sleeper! Continue a similar nighttime routine from night to night and your little one will continue dreaming away. If any trouble with the transition please reach out for help, I’m always just a phone call or message away.
