Daycare can be a wonderful way for your child to learn and grow while you're away at work, but a child that is not well rested will not have the best experience. A child needs more sleep than you may think, with toddlers requiring between 11-14 hours each night. Bedtime may be a fight, but late nights and early rises can be a recipe for disaster at daycare. Here are some tips for helping your child get enough sleep.
Set Rules For Screen Time
As tempting as it may be to put your child in front of the TV before bed, it could actually be doing more harm than good. For children between 2 and 5 years old, it is recommended that they do not have any more than 1 hour of screen time each night. When it comes to sleeping, that blue light that emits from the TV can cause a child to be more awake than usual, which causes troubles falling asleep when they watch TV right before bed.
The programming your child watches may be educational, but it is a good idea to turn off screens an hour prior to bedtime. This includes reading eBooks from a tablet right before bed as well. Give them some downtime from screens before they need to sleep, and you'll find that your child will fall asleep after.
Adjust Bedtime As Needed
There will be days where your child doesn't take a nap during the day while at daycare, and chances are that they will be more tired that day than they normally are. Check in with your daycare provider to find out if your child napped. If not, consider moving bedtime a little bit earlier that night to compensate for it.
You may want to stick to a consistent bedtime, but skipping a name means that your child needs more sleep than usual that day to make up for it.
Keep Naps Consistent With Daycare
Try to keep your kids on the same napping schedule at home and at daycare. The weekends may be filled with activities, but shifting nap forward by a couple hours on Saturday and Sunday could cause issues when they go to nap at daycare on Monday.
These are just a few ways that you can help ensure your child gets enough sleep while attending daycare. Reach out to your care provider for more helpful tips that they may have. For more information, contact establishments like Carousel Of Learning Pre-School & Nursery.
