Sleep Training and Daycare
One of the biggest challenges you may face when you’re teaching your child those amazing independent sleep skills is leaving them in someone else’s care for the day. I may sound like a broken record sometimes, but truly consistency is key! So what can you do about the challenges daycare presents?
Combining sleep training and daycare can be tough, but the good news is that it is still absolutely achievable! Sending your child to daycare is not going to ruin their sleep as long as you take the time to communicate and work with your childcare provider. I’ve got some tips to help you find success and continue getting the rest your entire family needs!
First thing first, have you already selected your daycare provider? If not, keep reading! If so, skip down to the next section.
Choosing a daycare provider
When you are searching for a daycare provider, there are a couple of sleep-related things to keep in mind. None of these are considered a dealbreaker, but just something to consider as you are looking for your best fit:
Ask what their approach to naps is. Are the children put down at a specific time? Or do they allow for individual nap times? Are they required to be down for a certain length of time?
Ask to see where they sleep. Is the room bright and shared with the children? Or is it darkened with semi-private spaces?
Can you provide a white noise machine? It can be helpful to provide a noise machine to mimic a sleep environment that your baby is used to.
Are they capable of accommodating individual requests in regards to your baby’s naps? Ex: will they allow for a few minutes of crying, hold off on offering sleep props or rocking to sleep?
Communicating With Caregivers
Now that you have decided on a care provider, or if you already have your child with a daycare that you love, what can be done to keep everyone on the same page and working towards the same sleep skills?
Make sure you let them know how long you are comfortable with letting your little one fuss at sleep times. Most providers will default to a zero crying approach unless you let them know that it’s ok while your child is self soothing.
Ask them to avoid using sleep props if possible and be specific with what you consider a sleep prop! Ask if they can refrain from using anything that you aren’t looking to continue using or begin using for sleep (pacifier, rocking to sleep, feeding to sleep, etc.).
Be respectful of their limitations. Your childcare provider may be looking after many kids at once and they are often required to follow some state rules and regulations. Don’t be surprised if they can’t accommodate every request you throw their way. Watching multiple children at a time often means no white noise machines and no darkened rooms.
Above all, try to maintain open communication! Let your childcare provider know what you’ve been working on to help sleep issues and where you are at in the process. Remember, they want your baby to sleep well almost as much as you do! A well-rested child who goes down for naps without a lot of fuss and on schedule is a daycare provider’s dream come true.
Some Other Tips
Regardless of the specifics of your child’s situation with sleep at home vs away from home, here are a few tips that will definitely come in handy:
If you haven’t started sleep training yet, begin on a Friday night (or whatever day is the farthest away from your baby’s next day of daycare). The first few nights are usually a bit of a roller coaster ride so your baby and their schedule will be a little out of sorts for the first day or two.
Ideally you can get three or four nights under your belt before sending your baby to daycare. If there is another care provider who can help you out for a day or two, consider asking them to watch your baby that Monday and Tuesday so your child has a solid chunk of time to get used to their new sleeping arrangement at home.
Don’t worry about easing your baby into their new situation. Once you are ready to begin sending your child to daycare, start off with the same schedule you want to end up with. If they’ll be going every weekday, send them every weekday from the start. Don’t send for one day, then off the next day or two, and so on. They will adjust quicker and easier this way, trust me.
Babies are usually capable of distinguishing between different environments. They will be able to differentiate things that happen at daycare won’t necessarily happen at home as well, so if your daycare provider allows pacifiers or rocks them to sleep, don’t stress too much about it. Your child will still be able to understand that things are a little different when they are at home with you.
Having different schedules at home and at daycare is okay. It is not the end of the world if their nap schedule at daycare does not match with the one they have a home. It’s a bonus if you can manage to line them up that way, but it will not make or break your success.
If your baby begins falling asleep on the way home, try your best to keep them awake. Car naps can be bedtime sabotage! It’s better to put them to bed early vs have a catnap after 4 pm. If your child does fall asleep, wake them up when you get home and let them get some additional wake time before bed.
All in all, there is no reason why daycare and sleep training can’t work together. Just remind yourself that you and the daycare providers are allies! They want your child to be rested and happy, and they obviously want the parents to be happy as well. Sure, there will be days that are harder than others, but that’s just a natural part of raising a little one.
Clear communication, patience, respect, and acceptance that everything can’t be 100% tailored to your child will help you get through it. Stick to your bedtime routine, maintain a consistent schedule as much as possible, avoid using sleep props, and things will eventually fall into place!
