1. Communicate with Your Childcare Centre

First and foremost, talk to the daycare staff about your child’s sleep needs. How many naps do they have at home? Do they need to be rocked or fed to sleep? Sharing this information will help the daycare educators support your child’s sleep routine and keep it as consistent as possible.

For toddlers, let them know about their special naptime at daycare. You can mention that it’ll be different from home, but it’s a safe, fun environment for them to sleep in. Washing your child’s bedding at home in your washing machine will help bring a familiar scent to their nap at daycare.

2. Consider Sleep Training for Babies

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 for Naptime

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 in the Transition

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.