Navigating sleep at daycare

1. Communicate.

First and foremost, talk to the centre staff about your child’s sleep needs. How many naps do they have at home, and how do they go down? Letting the educators know if you co sleep or rock to sleep will help us support their sleep routine. 

If your child is a little older, let them know they’re going to Sagewood, and there will be a special, quiet naptime there. It’ll be different to sleeping at home, but they’re safe and can have more fun playing when they wake up. Washing your child’s bedding at home in your washing machine will also help your child as it will be a familiar scent to their bed at home. 

2. Sleep train.

If possible, and if you’re comfortable doing it, sleep-trained babies generally go down a lot easier at the centre or anywhere. If babies can fall asleep independently (for example, don’t need to be rocked or fed to sleep), they’ll go into a much deeper, restorative sleep at the centre. Plus, they usually fall asleep faster and sleep longer than their friends who might need some extra support. 

If your baby isn’t sleep trained, this is perfectly okay! Just be aware that they may not sleep well initially on their care days. 

3. Pack the essentials.

If your child has a special blanket, comforter, or toy, pop it in their bag so they can snuggle down at naptime. This security item will really help them feel safe in a new environment. Toddlers may like to pick their own special toy to take with them, while babies will need some familiarity with a comforter beforehand to bond with it. 

All bedding is supplied by us, but if your child prefers to sleep in a sleeping bag at home please ensure that you provide that on your care days. 

4. Trust your little one’s adaptability. 

Children are incredibly adaptable. At Sagewood, many of our babies sleep in pitch black rooms at home with white noise blasting, but drift off easily here in a brighter room with silence instead. It might take a few weeks, but eventually your baby or toddler will learn that they sleep differently at the centre than they do at home. Babies are pretty amazing!

5. Expect some hiccups. 

Just like adults trying something new, it takes practice to get it right. Your little one will likely have an adjustment period where they learn to sleep in a new way at the centre. It might mean that on their care days, they don’t sleep as long or have the ideal number of naps. They might also come home grumpy and overtired. This is normal and okay — an earlier bedtime will usually do the trick. 

We’re here, we’re listening.

If you’re thinking about enrolling at Sagewood, or are new with us, we’d love to chat with you about your child’s sleep needs. We’re to support you and your family, just let us know how we can help.