Top 5 tips to improve naps at daycare | A guide to daycare naps

If you are returning to work from maternity leave, here are 5 essential tips to help your child nap better at daycare as suggested by Certified Infant and Child Sleep Consultant, Samantha Krukerink.

For more information or advice, please contact Samantha to talk about your baby’s sleep and learn how you and your baby get the sleep you need.

1. Positive sleep associations

Pack things like their dummy, snuggly or comfort item and sleeping bag. These are positive sleep associations, that act as non verbal sleep cues to help them prepare for sleep and settle easier in new or different places.

2. Routine

By establishing a routine or regular nap pattern, your child knows when to expect sleep so that they feel more like settling to sleep, even in a different place. Speak with their teachers about when you offer naps at home so that they can try to work with this. If your daycare is able to offer a similar routine to what you have at home, this will make the transition easier for your child and easier for both of you when you have them at home.

3. Self settling skills

If you can work on your child learning to settle to sleep independently then this makes it easier for them to settle at daycare because they are not needing a lot of assistance or missing what they would usually have at home.

4. Talk to the teachers

Have a chat with the teachers about how you usually settle your wee one to sleep so that they know what your child needs. At the end of the day ask how their naps were so you know what to expect when you get home and can get them into bed a little earlier if their naps have been short. An early night can help to minimize issues with night time sleep if they are overtired from daycare.