Day Care And Baby Sleep Tips
No matter what age you start sending your little one off to day care, 9 times out of 10 you’ll find that the change affects their sleeping habits. Some may sleep better from being tuckered out after a busy day. Others may find the change difficult to comprehend, causing stress and sleep issues. Here are a few of my best day care and baby sleep tips to help you and your little one settle into day care life, hopefully avoiding sleepless nights along the way.
Why does day care cause sleep issues?
Babies and young children are prone to fear when it comes to getting out of their comfort zone. Being at home with mum or dad has been all they’ve known for a long time. When the time comes to send them off to day care they may feel abandoned, sad, frustrated or scared. Granted, some love it and run headfirst at the challenge, but most are apprehensive until they realise it’s actually a lot of fun. Any sudden change in routine can cause a child’s sleep to be disrupted. Day care is a big change for little ones so, naturally, any sleeping skills they’ve learned may be all but forgotten in the excitement (or fear) of it all, especially when it comes to daytime naps.
Best day care and baby sleep tips
When daytime naps are out of sync, night time sleep skills are also neglected.
Here’s how to get ahead when it comes to naps and night time sleep during the day care introduction phase…
- Send them to day care with a familiar sleep aid to help them settle.
- Communicate your child’s self-sleeping skills with their day care teacher.
- Be prepared to be flexible with your child’s sleep as their current routine will likely change.
- Make an effort to spend time with your little one when they get home – they’ll be missing you through the day.
I hope these day care and baby sleep tips have helped to ease your mind! They should be a good start to preparing you for whatever sleep issues day care throws your way.
As always, sleep sweetly and deeply x