A parent whose child is in day care is presented with a host of additional considerations and decisions. A choice of facility may be as easy as the service provided in-house by your company or as difficult as trying to decide among a dozen or more caregivers ranging from a mom working out of her home to a large chain operation. The answer is highly personal to you and your needs. You should question and investigate each candidate fully and completely before you entrust your baby to a third party.

As far as sleeping and daily routine goes, get a full rundown of the caregiver's schedule and see how it fits into your philosophy and goals. The time of arrival and pickup is crucial, not only to your baby's needs, but also to yours. How much time do you want to spend with your baby? If you pick up your baby after work, is there sufficient time in the evening for some quality time? If not, will you consider shifting your wakeup schedule and that of your baby to early morning so that you can spend an hour or two together before the workday begins?

Don't fight a day care center's schedule or routine. Work with it and fit it into yours. It is the only practical thing to do. Any good day care center operates on sound principles and follows accepted childrearing techniques. That means that an appropriate sleep routine should be employed as a matter of course. If your day care center's routine differs significantly from what you know and believe is right for your child, find a different one.

If your child is old enough to realize she is being left with someone other than you, she may initially react to the separation in ways that disrupt sleep. Separation anxiety may cause sleeplessness, night terrors, and nightmares. Use the methods already discussed to cope with these problems, and the problems should subside quickly.