Ease your baby or toddler into nursery/daycare – Sleep tips for a smooth transition

Has the time has come for your baby or toddler to start nursery? There will be a change in environment, new faces, and busier routines — all of which might affect their sleep. But there are definitely things you can do to make this shift as smooth and as gentle as possible for both them and for you.

Firstly, I’m sure that you’ve already found a nursery that aligns with your parenting style and your little one’s temperament.

I would recommend communicating with your nursery beforehand and finding out some essential information that can help ease your little one in.

It’s important to find out what the schedule at nursery looks like — whether all children are on a set sleep schedule, or whether they can accommodate individual sleep needs. This can be really helpful in terms of navigating your little one’s naps and making general sleep preparations at home too.

I would suggest that if your nursery is able to accommodate your child’s sleep needs, you don’t necessarily need to change their nap times. However, if all the children are on age-based set nap routines and timings, it’s important to find out what those timings are. That way, you can prepare for this in advance at home, and also, once your little one starts nursery, you’ll know whether you might need to adjust their bedtime a bit earlier or later, depending on how naps go.

You have two options if your nursery has set nap times:

1.         You can let your little one continue their usual nap times at home and just see how they get on with the nursery schedule.

2.         Alternatively, you can start transitioning your little one to the nursery nap timings at home a week or two in advance. You can do this gradually by making 10 to 15-minute incremental changes to their routine. This slow adjustment can help their body clock to adapt and reduce the shock of suddenly needing to nap at completely different times.

Many little ones often start nursery at 12 months old, when so many of you have to go back to work. The majority of 12-month-olds are still on a two-nap schedule, but many nurseries will move them immediately onto just one nap. This can be quite difficult for little ones to adjust to, especially if they’re not quite ready to drop down to one nap yet. It can also temporarily impact their night-time sleep.

Of course, there’s not much you can do about their naps at nursery, especially if they have set nap times based on age groups. However, on the days that your little one is at home, if they still need two naps, you can absolutely keep them on a two-nap routine and fade it out gradually over time when they’re ready.

You might also find that as they get closer to being ready to drop that morning nap, there will be days when they still need it and other days when they can manage without — and that’s completely normal.

Do find out from your child’s nursery whether they will be supporting your child to sleep in the same way you do at home. Of course, do bear in mind that little ones will naturally form new sleep associations with different caregivers.

For example, your little one might be used to being rocked or patted to sleep by you at home, but it may not be possible for nursery staff to follow exactly the same routine. However, please don’t worry. Children generally find their own rhythm with their caregivers, and nursery staff are usually very experienced at settling little ones to sleep in a gentle, personalised way.

Another point to consider is that if you usually wake your baby or toddler from their naps at home to protect later naps and bedtime, check whether your nursery can follow a similar approach. If they can’t, just be mindful that if your little one sleeps longer than they usually would, it might impact their bedtime slightly, and they may need a slightly later bedtime that evening.

I would also suggest finding out what the sleep environment at nursery is like. Nursery sleep settings will naturally be different from home. They may not have a pitch-black sleep environment; it might be noisy, and the sleeping arrangements will likely be different too.

If your little one is used to white noise at home, you could send in a portable white noise machine to help mask background noise, if your nursery allows it.

You could also send their sleeping bag if they use one, and their usual comforter if your child is over 12 months old, to provide that little bit of extra security and familiarity. Having a piece of home with them can really help as they adjust to the new environment.

Regarding the pitch-black environment, if your child is used to sleeping in a pitch-black room at home, please don’t worry too much. Realistically, nurseries won’t have a completely dark sleep environment because staff need to see and check on the children. But over time, children usually adjust very well to sleeping with more light and background noise.

If you’re worried that your little one isn’t going to sleep well at nursery because of environmental factors or because you’re not there to settle them, I honestly would try not to worry too much. Of course, it’s completely natural that in those early weeks of adjustment, there might be a little bit of sleep disruption — and that’s totally normal. But generally, after that, little ones do start to sleep well, and you will notice that.

Babies and toddlers are incredibly adaptable — and in fact, many little ones end up sleeping even better at nursery than they do at home, purely because of the level of stimulation, movement, and activity — which simply isn’t possible to match in our home settings.

Once your little one has started nursery, it’s even more important to have some daily one-to-one connection time with them before you start that bedtime routine — even if it’s just a few minutes. This will help to fill their cup emotionally.

Then it’s really important to have a predictable and calm wind-down routine at home, so that your little one can regulate after their busy day at nursery.

You want to also have a consistent bedtime routine that might look like a bath, books, cuddles, and then tucking them into bed. This will give them a sense of security and help to protect that night time sleep, even if daytime sleep is a little disrupted.

I would also try not to rush the bedtime routine, even if it’s getting later than you would like. Little ones can sense when we are rushing, so it’s important to take your time and really connect with them during this special part of the day.

So I really hope these tips help ease your little one into nursery or daycare. Please do get in touch for any additional support.

Speak soon

Rina x