You don’t have to have school-aged kids at home to enjoy the back-to-school season! But we here at The Baby Sleep Site® know that back-to-school season can be tough – if you have older kids, you have to work on reeling in your summertime schedule and get more serious with bedtime and morning wake-time, for example.
And many of our moms of babies and toddlers tell us that fall is the season when daycare schedules shift – babies “graduate” to different rooms as they get older, and that can translate into different nap schedules. Sometimes, that’s just fine – but often, it’s very challenging! Generally, we find that daycares tend to decrease naps a bit faster than we usually recommend (for instance, most 12 months olds are placed in the toddler room, and are only given one afternoon nap, but we usually recommend that parents try to hold on to two naps until 15-18 months of age). And the timing of daycare naps is very fixed – not starting nap time early if your little one woke up earlier than usual!
So, what to do? You can’t change the daycare schedule, usually – so how can you make the new daycare schedule work for your baby or toddler without sacrificing sleep?
We’ve got two tips designed to help you do just that. Keep reading, and get the details you need to keep the new daycare schedule from creating sleepless nights and missed naps in your house!
2 Tips For Making Tough Daycare Nap Schedules Work
- Calculate how much wake time the daycare’s nap schedule demands, and then compare that with how much you know your baby or toddler can tolerate. In our experience, daycares often expect a bit more wake-time from babies and toddlers than is age-appropriate. This is not always true, of course – but we see this happen quite a bit with clients. For instance, if the daycare schedule leaves 5 hours of wake-time between morning drop-off and the afternoon nap, but your baby can only manage 4 in the morning, then you’ll need to accommodate for that by changing bedtime, or re-arranging other parts of your daytime schedule.
- Try to prepare your baby for the new daycare schedule early. If you know that daycare will soon change your baby or toddler’s daytime nap schedule, try to get a head-start. Begin slowly moving towards the daycare schedule at home. Gradually shift nap times until they match the daycare’s schedule. This can help to gradually acclimate your baby to what’s coming, and might help ward off overtiredness.
Want even more daycare scheduling help? Check out our VIP members-only article, 5 MORE Tips For Making Tough Daycare Nap Schedules Work, for extra do-it-yourself scheduling and sleep coaching tips.
Personalized Schedule Help That Works – Guaranteed!
Remember to take heart. Any tough daycare scheduling you have to endure will be a short-lived trial! Your baby or toddler will eventually adjust to the daycare schedule just fine. 🙂 Until then, though, if you’re going crazy trying to make the daycare schedule work for your little one, you could always consider connecting with one of our caring and compassionate sleep consultants! They will create a custom schedule that will work for your whole family – and for your daycare provider.
Browse our list of consultation package options here.
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Have you faced daycare schedule challenges and now you have tips? Share them with us and your fellow parents!
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For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3 Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night.
If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 45 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style.
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If you are tired of wading through stacks of baby sleep books that just aren't working, if you are beyond exhausted and just can't solve your child's sleep problems on your own...then personalized sleep consulting is for you. We have been around since 2008 and invite you to tap into 10+ years of experience. Our team of expert consultants will create a Personalized Sleep Plan® just for your family and then support you through every step of implementing your plan. We encourage you to consider our personalized, one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultation packages if you want to see real, meaningful results now. Your consultation package also includes ample follow-up help, designed to help you troubleshoot problems and tweak your plan as needed.
For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3 Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night.
If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 45 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style.
For those persistent toddler sleep struggles, check out The 5 Step System to Help Your Toddler Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your toddler sleep through the night and enjoy a better daytime schedule.
Or, join our VIP Members Area packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! As a VIP member, you'll also enjoy a weekly chat with an expert sleep consultant. And the best part - members receive 20% off all sleep consultation services!
Debbie Greenlee says
It’s really too bad that we have to adjust our babies to what is easier for daycare centers. My grandson is in one run by a children’s hospital in a big city. I was surprised to learn of their lack of concern for the babies. I picked up my grandson one day when everyone was napping. The music was so loud I could not hear the daycare worker. I asked her to turn it down, she did. She said it was loud so the other room could hear it. !!!!!
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Debbie – Thanks for writing to us about your grandson! I’m sorry to hear that the music is so loud at your grand baby’s daycare! And it sounds like they might not be very flexible in regards to schedules too? I’m glad you asked about the loud music and that they turned it down for you! It never hurts to ask, and perhaps they’d put another stereo in the other room if you suggested it? We find that often, when asked for special accommodations, a daycare will try and help, but we’ve also heard about families leaving daycares in hopes of finding one that is a better fit. I hope that your grandson’s will continue to listen to your family’s concerns and perhaps implement some things that will help! Good luck!
Debbie Greenlee says
Why do daycares drop the morning nap for one year olds? Is it healthy?
Danielle says
Hi Debbie,
Thank you for your comment! I suspect daycares schedule naps because it makes it easier for them to plan their days and schedule their employees, but no, it’s not great for the younger babies. Most babies will take at least two naps until 15-18 months-old, and switching to one nap too early can cause overtiredness, fussiness, early waking, night waking, and other issues. I hope this helps!
Debbie Greenlee says
thank you
Maryclaire Connors says
Hi, my son is 7 months and has been in day care for 1 month. He started about 4 weeks ago. He loves being with other babies but he’s gotten sick (cold, ear infection, and now a cough)…these two things: starting day care and being sick have completely thrown him off. He was a great sleeper (7:30 pm to 5:00 am most nights, without a wake up), but they haven’t really been following our schedule and he has been waking up 2-5 times a night…we are really not sure what to do. He’s actually switching to a different day care in two weeks-it’s a lot smaller and just has a better feeling. Would a consultation be worth it to us? Would you be able to offer solutions? Thanks!
Neosha says
@Maryclaire – Thank you for reading and for sharing with us. Day care can most certainly bring out illnesses and sleep disturbances especially as babies get accustomed to the change and if your care provider runs into issues sticking close to your son’s sleep schedule. We often and regularly work families through daycare sleep challenges and would love the opportunity to work with your family as well. You can even consider setting up a free, 15-min evaluation to speak with one of our senior sleep consultants so she can help you decide if you “need” more expert sleep support. You can set your evaluation up here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/personalized-baby-sleep-evaluation/ Hang in there, Maryclaire!
Emily DeJeu says
@ Liz — sounds like you want to shift her morning wake-time to later, so that the later nap time will work better, right? We actually have a book that’s all about that – it’s called Shift Your Child’s Schedule. It’s available to Baby Sleep Site members. Have you considered becoming a member? It’s a budget-friendly option, and it gives you access to a ton of resources, including the Shifting Schedules e-book (members can actually download and print out a copy for free 🙂
You can see more details about membership here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/diy/
Thanks for checking in again, Liz!! 🙂
Liz Dunn says
Hi there Emily. I wanted to check in. My lo started MMO program this week and naps have been a little off this week. I don’t know maybe if the 18 month regression, teeth or a new schedule is taking its toll which I’m sure has a lot to do with it. She’s still sleeping through the night. Roughly she’s been waking between 6:45-7 am napping around 12:45-1:45 and then down around 6:30-6:45 but she’s tired when she wakes. I’m nit really sure what to do. I keep trying to push her schedule back but it doesn’t seem to be working. 🙁
Emily DeJeu says
@ Emily – thanks for the update! It sounds to me like you have a pretty good system going, actually – your twins sound like they are managing pretty well with the daycare schedule, and while the morning mini-nap at home isn’t ideal, it doesn’t sound like it’s throwing off the rest of the daytime schedule.
You should do what you think is best, of course, but if I were you, I would probably keep things as they are, and trust that as the twins grown, they will no doubt stop needing that morning cat nap.
Hope this helps, Emily – thanks again for commenting! 🙂
Emily says
Thanks for responding! They are pretty happy on daycare days–they have been sleeping there from about 1:30-3:45. They are a little tired when they get home around 4:30. It doesn’t throw off bedtime too much, we still put them down at 6:30-6:45 and they chat until maybe 7, then sleep fine. I think daycare is just more exciting than home! I just wish they would do just one nap a day at home…if I don’t let them do their 20-minute morning snooze at home, they’re asleep in their high chairs at lunch time, 11:15.
Emily says
I was glad to see this, as I am having a problem with my 18-month-old twins’ daycare schedule. Drop-off is at 7:30 and naptime isn’t until 1:00. They sleep at night from 6:30pm until 5:30am; husband & I wake up at 5:30 and they just don’t sleep thru it. They are at daycare MWF and home the in-between days. At home they take a 30-minute snooze around 9am and a nap around 1pm…I just can’t get them to only one nap a day at home. Where to even start?
Emily DeJeu says
@Emily (what a lovely name!! 😉 — this is truly tough. Sounds like they are making up for a little lost sleep with that 9 a.m. snooze on the off days. Let me ask – does the one nap at daycare seem to be throwing them off, in terms of their disposition? Are they extra cranky or anything when you get them home? Is it messing with bedtime at all?
Rachael says
We’ve been fortunate enough to find providers up to this point (2.5 yrs) that could accommodate our desired schedule and sleeping arrangement (pitch dark, sound machine) for our daughter. Recently we’ve switched her to a pre-school full-time where the conditions are very different (natural light coming thru the window at nap time, no sound machine). Thankfully the nap schedule is within the range of her ‘norm’. And she sleeps at home 7p-7a.
What should my expectations for pre-school sleep be now with these changes?
She has been napping at pre-school only about 1 hr (normally 2 hrs at home) – and it has been two weeks. There have just been 2-3 days where she slept 1.5+ hrs.
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Rachael – Thanks for writing to us! It’s great to hear that you have been able to find daycare that was so accommodating! Hopefully the transition to napping at preschool goes as well! It’s great that she is already sleeping for 1+ hour! You may want to give your daughter a little more time to adjust, and you may want to do bedtime just a little early on days where she naps only one hour. She may lengthen those naps more regularly as she adjusts to the new school! Good luck!!
Liz Dunn says
My 17 month lo is starting a MMO program in a month and I’ve been trying to work with her on shifting her nap schedule back. She usually gets up at 6:30 naps around 11:30-1 and bed at 6:30. Her program is 9:30-12:30. So she will nap when she gets home. What is a realistic bedtime and wake time that I need to move her to? With her napping that late in the afternoon I’m afraid she won’t be going to bed till late. Just curious what I should be expecting. And what sort of schedule I need to move her too. Thanks!
Emily DeJeu says
@Liz – That’s a great idea that you’re trying to shift your schedule before your daughter starts her MMO program! Have you started putting her down at the time you think she’ll be napping during the MMO program? If so, what have you discovered so far? It might take a few days of trial and error to find what works for her (and you) to see if she can still keep her 6:30 bedtime if she’s napping later in the day, or if that is not enough awake time for her to fall asleep at her normal time. Also, keep in mind that most toddlers adjust to the new schedule after a little while. And don’t forget to enjoy your time when she’s in MMO! I hope that helps, and thanks for commenting!
Frannie says
My little girl is a great sleeper, in no small part to this website 🙂 I do have a question, as she is getting older- she will be three in October.
At her daycare, she still mostly naps every day. Nap length can be between 1-2 hours. On days (at home and school) when she doesn’t nap, she sleeps from 7-7, almost like clockwork.
I’m wondering how to tweak her schedule on days she does nap. She usually sleeps from 1-2 or 1-3 and then bedtime is really tough for her to settle, sometimes taking her until 9:30 to drift off, even though lights out is at 8 pm. Then I usually have to wake her at 7, and she will nap at school, for 1-2 hours. Then it’s a late bedtime again… should we just try to cut the naps totally? We’ve tried waking her after an hour- this doesn’t always lead to an earlier bedtime. Her sleep just seems longer and she seems more rested after a “no nap” day. Any advice?
Emily DeJeu says
@Frannie – Those nap transitions can be so tricky! If you’ve already tried limiting her naps to an hour, and it’s still resulting in her not getting to sleep at a decent time, then she may be ready to transition to no naps. If daycare still requires her to nap as part of their daily schedule, it may mean moving bedtime later to give her ample wake time. As her parent, you’d know your daughter best to know if she’s ready to make the transition to no naps, but this article may help you decide, and also provides some tips to make the transition smoother: https://www.babysleepsite.com/toddlers/toddler-done-napping-3-signs/ Good luck, and thanks for sharing!