Naps two hours at home, won't sleep at all at daycare

ochre_puzzle_537912 Oct 2026

Daughter is 2. At home she naps after lunch for close to two hours, dark room, same song, no drama. At daycare she apparently lies on her mat and watches the ceiling fan the whole rest time, and by the time I pick her up at 6 she's a puddle. Last week she fell asleep in the car at 6:30 and then was up till 11. I don't want daycare making a big deal of it with her, they've been decent so far. Thinking of sending her own small pillow and the cotton sheet she uses at home. Has that worked for anyone, or does it just confuse things?

2 comments

cedar_kettle_186712 Oct 2026
our younger one did exactly this at around 2.5. sent her own sheet in a cloth bag with her name on it, daycare was fine about it. took a couple of weeks before she'd drop off there without fuss. no magic just the familiar smell
- ochre_compass_660013 Oct 2026
  The sheet helped us too, years ago now. The other thing that mattered was the routine just before. At home we sang the same two songs, at daycare it was lights off and silence, so she didn't connect the two. Ask what they do at rest time and copy a bit of it at home, or the other way round.
cedar_pigeon_742212 Oct 2026
We're not at this stage yet (11 months), but the grandmother and our caregiver already have different views on whether he should nap in the cradle or on someone's lap. Reading these for later. Did your daycare say how they usually handle the children who don't sleep, or is that left to the parents?