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| Helping children rest well
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Under Quality Area 2 of the National Quality Standard Children's Health and Safety early childhood education and care providers are required to ensure child's comfort is provided for and there are appropriate opportunities to meet each child's need for sleep, rest and relaxation.
To this end many providers have centre policies on rest and sleep which they maintain and communicate to parents. Despite this, disagreements between parents and providers with regard to sleep and rest are common with many parents requesting that their children be kept up during the day to ensure they sleep at night. However, most providers would be reluctant to keep sleepy children up and as far as the NQS is concerned ensuring children can sleep when they need to is as important as offering them healthy food and safe play environments.
How much sleep do kids need?
Children's sleep and rest needs vary, just as their food intake varies, however as a general guideline most kids fall within the following ranges:
New born 1-4 weeks
• 16 hours
Infant 4 weeks – 12 weeks
• daytime: 4 to 7 hours
• night time: 8 to 11 hours
Baby 6-9 months
• daytime: 3 hours
• night time: 11 hours
Toddler 12 months
• daytime: 2 hours, 30 minutes
• night time: 11 hours
Pre-schooler 2-3 years
• daytime: 45 mins-1 hour, 30 minutes
• night time: 11- 12 hours
Pre-schooler 4+ years
• night time: 11 hours, 30 minutes
(Source NHS Sleep Guidelines)
Getting the children to sleep is the challenge! As you will be aware, sleep environments in early childhood settings are very different to those in the home; they are likely to be noisier and brighter and naps may happen at different times to the schedules of children when they are home.
For some kids this won't be a problem, they'll just drop off as soon as you pull the mattress out, for others these factors will be major and the disruption of one resistant child can make it trickier to get the rest of the group to quiet down.
What can providers do to help children feel more at home during nap time?
- Try and think of sleep and nap routines as part of a child's individual curriculum. All children have individual sleep requirements and you will have most success if you try and work within those parameters.
- Providers should discuss an infant or toddlers sleep patterns with a parent before they start care. When you understand how and when a child sleeps at home you can use that information to plan when they will sleep in care.
- Brainstorm ways to adapt your rooms to help children feel at home during nap times. A baby used to a noisy sleep environment might sleep better in a bustling class room setting while busy toddlers may benefit from a peaceful quiet environment free from noise and stimulation.
- Encourage families to provide a familiar item from home if it assists the child to sleep. Special blankets or soft toys may help young babies and toddlers feel connected with home and more peaceful. Toys should only be used for babies 12 months and older.
- Share sleep information with families during drop off times. Parents will benefit from the information you give them and you may benefit from their experience at home.
Successful rest times depend on these five things:
Meeting each child's individual needs for sleep
Each child's sleep habits are individual and may depend on their temperament. Some babies are easy going and adapt to new situations quickly while others need a routine that is the same every day.
Infants and very young toddlers sleep at many different times of the day, so it may not work well to have a set naptime for the whole group. Older toddlers are usually ready to follow a nap schedule around the time when they settle on a single nap after lunch. Use the child's signals to plan the day for that child. Let babies and toddlers set their own schedules as much as possible.
Since not all children will nap at the same time, make a safe place in your child care space that you can supervise easily. It is good if the children know that they can rest anytime they are feeling tired. While some older pre-schoolers will ask to rest, most often the children will need you to suggest a rest time. Truly tired children will be able to sleep even if the area is a little noisy.
Set up a good daily schedule
Successful rest times depend on setting up a busy daily schedule. A good daily schedule has time for active indoor/outdoor play. Sufficient exercise and stimulation will help all children to eat and rest better.
Make a smooth transition to rest time
For older toddlers and pre-schoolers, rest time most often follows lunchtime. Moving from the lunch table to rest time can be a difficult transition. Since children finish eating at different times, the children who finish first should be given something to do while the others finish eating to avoid disruption. Toddlers can be asked to clear their place, wipe the table, and wash their faces and hands.
Choose a quiet activity like reading or puzzles to help children stay calm after the meal. It is much harder to calm the children if they race away from the table and run around the room than it is to maintain the post-lunch lull.
Turn the lights down low and play some soft music as children are finishing lunch. This signals that it is time for rest.
Plan where rest will take place
When deciding where to have children rest, keep the following in mind:
- Children who are likely to try and talk to each other and play should be physically separated.
- Try and ensure children sleep in the same place each day this will increase a child's sense of calm and may help him/her drop off more quickly.
Creating a calm mood for sleeping and quiet time
Children relax most easily if rest time is similar to their experiences at home. An important question to ask parents is how their child likes to fall asleep. Allow children to bring special items from home if they are part of the sleep routine. Children should be allowed to use these when they need them in child care and should not be asked to share them.
The educator's role during rest time is very important, to the best of their ability and capacity carers should try and match what happens at home for each child. Here are some ideas that help.
- Find out how a child is treated at home. Rocking, patting, back rubs, or simply leaving him/her on his/her own are some of the many ways that adults help children go to sleep.
- Let the children who do not sleep quietly select a book to take with them to rest.
- Model a calm, relaxing, and restful mood so the children will pick up the mood from you.
Waking up
When rest time is over, try and make this a careful transition as some children wake up cranky after napping. Let the children take their time waking up, and move the children who are already awake away from the ones who are still sleeping. Keep the lights low as you wake the children so that the environment is calm and peaceful.
Information to share with parents
Many parents of children with sleep 'issues' are amazed when their toddler sleeps in a child care setting. If parents come to you with questions or issues about their child's sleeping patterns at home you may be a helpful source of reassurance.
- Acknowledge how hard it is to have a child who doesn't sleep and how exhausting it is for everyone. Remind parents that sleep deprivation is hard for everyone.
- When parents ask about night time waking explain that there is no one strategy that works for every family and steer them to community services such as Tresillian.
- Help parents understand that it is important to be consistent in responding to night waking. When parents do the same thing every night the baby will have a better idea of what is expected.
- Ask about the family bedtime routine and explain that many babies and toddlers manage better with a well-established bedtime routine.
- Some babies and toddlers lose sleep if they are experiencing stress. Ask the parents to think about any changes in environment or family situation which could be causing their child anxiety.
- White noise helps some young babies to drop off, a vacuum cleaner, running tap or even a CD of white noise.
Source: The Culture of Sleep and Child Care by Head Start the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Centre.
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