How To Get Your Daycare Kids to Nap in 3 Easy Steps

When I first opened up my home daycare I had to figure out how to get multiple children to nap well in the same room.  This was challenging at first but once I discovered the secret of a Sound Machine it was much easier!  Sound machines are also called sleep machines or white noise machines.  They have a variety of different settings that play soothing sounds such as lapping waves or the soft patter of rain drops in the forest.  Sound machines are a very effective way to help a child fall asleep and stay asleep.

The first step is to begin with a tired child who is ready to nap.  Make sure they are not over tired.  When you put them in their bed turn on the sound machine and allow them to fall asleep with the sound machine playing.  Place the sound machine in a safe spot near the child (outside the crib on a shelf) but close enough that the sound dominates the child’s auditory environment.

It will only take a few days for the child’s senses to form an association between the sound and their body relaxing into sleep.  Once the association has formed, they will fall asleep in a shorter amount of time.

The second step is to keep the sound machine on for the duration of their nap. The soothing noise of the sound machine will block out any other noises that may awaken the child prematurely from their nap.  The child’s internal sensory system will focus on the white noise and stay in a relaxed state until the body naturally wakes up rested.

I’ve used two different sound machines on different white noise settings in the same room with a toddler and a baby.  The system worked wonderfully! You can set the sound machine to turn off after a designated time for an older child’s nap. The discovery of the sound machine has made my life as a child care provider much easier at nap time.

May all your children slip into slumber with smiles on their faces.