Five tips for better daycare naps
While some daycares remain closed during the pandemic, many children have been able to return to daycare, which has hopefully provided some much-needed relief. However, since most daycares are not able to adjust nap times for each child individually, many children often struggle to take consistent naps at daycare (especially if your child is a sensitive sleeper).
Here are a few tips to manage naps when your child is at daycare:
1) First, always ask if there is flexibility! Some daycares may be more flexible than you think, so we recommend asking before you assume they aren't. Even if they have specific and designated nap times, you may be able to ask that your child be put down first or near the beginning if needed.
2) If they cannot accommodate a specific nap time and your child doesn't nap well, you likely need to move bedtime up in order to avoid an overtired child! It may be tempting to offer an afternoon catnap, such as on the drive home, but this could interfere with bedtime. An early bedtime is much more restorative than a short catnap.
3) Ask daycare to work with you if naps need to be capped. Sometimes older children need to have naps capped so it doesn't interfere with night sleep, and in most cases, daycares are willing to follow this request. If you’re not sure when to cap a nap, check out our post on why you should wake a sleeping baby (sometimes). Basically, you don’t want any nap to go past 3 hours, and you don’t want any nap to go so late that it will mess up bedtime.
4) Ask if you can bring your child's white noise machine and blackout shades to help them sleep better. Not all daycares use these, which can prevent children from taking adequate naps (especially sensitive sleepers). Many daycares keep the room semi-bright for safety reasons, but it’s still worth asking what you can do to help your child be in a healthy sleep environment. Even if daycare won’t allow any props like this, you can still communicate with them as to how your child falls asleep best.
5) Adjust your child's awake windows during the weekend. While it isn't ideal to have a different set of schedules during the week and weekend, you do want to prioritize sleep when possible. If your child struggles to take good naps at daycare because of the timing, you can adjust awake windows or even offer an extra nap over the weekend if needed.
While daycare often isn’t the most ideal sleep situation for your child, it also shouldn’t completely derail their sleep habits. Children who go to daycare are still able to sleep through the night and even get proper daytime sleep. Often, all it takes is a little communication with your child’s daycare provider!
For more tips, check out our Nap Training Guide.
Related:
How to get your child sleeping on a schedule
Five ways the pandemic could be affecting your child’s sleep