Starting kindy is often a time of transition, change and adjustment for both young children and their parents. Things that you might have just gotten the swing of at home can be a concern when your little ones are in someone else’s care, and sleep is one that seems to trouble a lot of us.

Cubby Care teachers understand the worry, but rest assured, they have years of experience in helping children get the good, restful naps they need every day. The fact is that our children always surprise us by adapting quicker than we anticipate!

As a concerned and caring parent, you might be wondering how you can help make the transition to daycare a smooth one for everyone involved. While this process will vary from family to family depending on the age of the child and so on, there are definitely some tried-and-true things that any parent can do to encourage their wee one to nap well in daycare, in conjunction with the strategies our teachers already use. If you’re wondering where to start, read on to find out our top tips to assisting your child with their sleep at kindy.

1. Provide Items of Comfort

Sending your kids to kindy with some items that remind them of mum and dad or their own home can make a huge difference to their quality of rest. It’s always a good idea to make sure you have a spare set of any sleep aids your child uses for just this purpose. We recommend the following items as excellent sleep associations:

• A blanket.
• A soft toy they might sleep with at home.
• A dummy (if your child uses one).

2. Communicate With Our Teachers

If you know your child is a particularly problem sleeper, there’s no issue in communicating this with our Cubby Care teachers. In fact, we welcome this knowledge and be willing to use the information you provided to help your little one settle more happily.

Stay in touch with us, and feel free to ask how things are going with their sleep at kindy. How long your child napped for; how long they took to settle; what assistance they required in order to go to sleep and anything else that might be relevant. We’re here to help!

3. Accept That Change Takes Time

It’s really common for children to require a bit more assistance going to sleep at kindy than they do at home.

You might hear things that worry you, like that your child has shorter naps at kindy than at home; but not to worry too much if they do. Often the excitement means they want to get up and play rather than missing out on all the fun! Sometimes it could be the reverse – that your child sleeps for longer at kindy, worn out from all the interaction and stimulation of the morning. All of these things are completely normal for a young child transitioning into a new environment.

Finally, try not to worry too much about these changes. If your child is content and happy, then you can let go and accept that their routine may vary somewhat on days when they are at kindy.