As Covid-19 restrictions lifted and nurseries welcomed back children, practitioners were faced with reimplementing and adapting routines for babies and toddlers.
For many children born pre-pandemic who were used to attending an early years setting, their normal routines were lost during lockdown. One consequence was disrupted sleep, commonly impacting their behaviour.
In an Italian study of parents of pre-schoolers, mothers reported a ‘general worsening of sleep quality and distortion of time’ for both them and their children, as well as increased emotional symptoms and self-regulation difficulties in their children.
PREDICTABILITY
At Thrive Childcare and Education, staff worked with parents to introduce more predictable nap and sleep times as they found some children’s routines became more flexible during lockdown.
‘We know that children learn best if they are well rested, have plenty of opportunities for fresh air, exploratory play and of course good nutritious meals and lots of drinking water,’ says early years quality improvement manager Heather Henessey, who works across the group’s Scottish sites.
‘Families found that if we made children’s routines for naps and meals similar across nursery and home, children were less tired in the day and were better able to access opportunities for play and learning. Children also knew what to expect and were able to anticipate transitions throughout their day. This meant that the transition back into nursery settings was easier for children to adapt to; among other things, children learn through practising and repetition and gain a sense of safety and security from predictable routines. Parents have told us that having their children settle well into nursery has really supported them when returning to work.’
The nursery group also worked with families on earlier bedtimes.
‘We found that some pre-school children had quite flexible bedtimes during lockdown,’ explains Heather, who says there were instances where both parents were remote working and setting up a ‘tag team’ system – with one parent waking up very early and working until lunchtime, while the other looked after their children, and then swapping roles in the afternoon.
Grandir, which operates 56 nurseries in the UK, says that since the pandemic, it has received requests from parents about using digital devices to help their children sleep or to entertain them.
The group’s UK head of early years and education, Teresa Brooke, explains, ‘We’ve had requests from parents for their child to watch an iPad as part of their sleep routine as that is what they have been doing at home, which our nurseries don’t accommodate.
‘Parents have also asked if we have Alexa in the settings to read their child a bedtime story.
‘We had one instance where a child found an object in one of the settings that resembled an Alexa speaker and proceeded to carry it round and talk to it.
‘What we’ve found is that some children are now used to the instant gratification you get from electronic devices, but we obviously know that children learn best through play and explain this to parents.’
WHEN TO ADAPT?
According to educational and child psychologist Dr Abigail Miranda, head of early years and prevention at the Anna Freud Centre, routines are especially important for children.
‘Routines make us feel safe and are helpful for a child as they can’t self-regulate,’ she says. ‘If a child has too much flexibility, such as being able to watch a tablet for hours on end, it can lead to behaviours that are hard to manage as they might not have eaten on time or slept, for instance.’
However, she warns that very rigid routines can also have an adverse effect.
‘Routines were helpful in the pandemic as they provided parents with control. However, sticking to strict routines can be detrimental as they are hard to sustain, which can cause parents a lot of stress and lead to children pushing the boundaries as they want some independence.
‘Regimented routines are also a risk factor for a child to be more anxious. When these children go to nursery, they are likely to face changes, including staff being off sick, which could disrupt any routine,’ says Dr Miranda, who claims that the pandemic not only had a greater impact on lower socio-economic families and ethnic minorities, but also on people who are more predisposed to anxiety.
Nursery World heard from first-time parents of a one-year-old who had introduced a very complex home routine, which included putting their child in a sleeping bag and spraying a lavender sleep mist before every nap time. The parents had their child during lockdown, experienced little face-to-face support from healthcare professionals and the routine they implemented provided them with an element of control. The child had experienced little social interaction with others and had not visited places such as soft play due to the parents’ concerns about the virus.
ADAPTING ROUTINES
Due to Covid anxieties, another parent, whose child attends a setting run by Thrive Childcare and Education, has stopped going into the setting for handover, so staff have had to make adaptations.
Heather at the nursery group explains, ‘We have one parent who calls the nursery before dropping off or picking up so a member of the team can bring the child to mum to allow her to collect from a safe space outside the nursery.
‘The nursery is based within a complex and is only accessible via lifts. As this is an individual case, we can accommodate the parent’s needs, but we are working with her to try and alleviate her anxieties.’
According to Teresa at Grandir, as a result of changes to routines, children’s behaviour has been impacted.
‘Pre-Covid, children were used to their parents dropping them off on a set day, at certain times and knowing who was collecting them, but now with a lot of companies continuing with hybrid working, that has changed. Parents are in and out a lot more, so children don’t know what to expect. During the height of Covid, schools had to stick to their routine, but nurseries could do what they wanted to match parents’ needs.’
Case study: Adapting routines in partnership
One family whose two children attended Cullompton pre-school in Devon before Covid continued to keep both their children at home after restrictions lifted as they were anxious and concerned about the virus.
The children were achieving well academically, but as a result of the change to their normal routine, not seeing anyone outside their immediate family and barely leaving the house, the boys’ development was impacted.
Mum Jessica Groover says, ‘Me and my husband thought it would be best while I was pregnant to keep Teddy and Archie (left) at home for nine months as we were scared of the health risks for myself and our unborn child. When it came for them to return to a setting, both boys lacked confidence and struggled socially.’
To help support the family, the setting was in regular contact with them while their children did not attend, and, since the younger boy returned to the pre-school last September, have been working on getting him ready for school.
Cullompton pre-school’s manager, Amelia Joyner, says, ‘I kept in touch with mum over the telephone. We shared lots of home-learning ideas suited for the boys and posted lots of activities on our social media too for families to try.
‘Teddy had already missed a lot of pre-school. Prior to Covid-19, there was a level of health anxiety in the home.
‘We were already considering an assessment for Teddy as mum was so worried about him being autistic. Sadly, we did not have enough evidence to support a referral due to not seeing him enough, so we felt disappointed we could not support mum more.’
Joyner says that because of Covid, Teddy did not have a transition into school, which had a negative impact on him, meaning he struggled to move into Foundation class. The pre-school referred the family to the local children’s centre for support at home.
The younger sibling, Archie, was able to return to the pre-school in September 2021, but Amelia says he really struggled emotionally and missed being at home. To help, the pre-school worked closely with mum and supported both boys with one-to-one sessions, building friendship bubbles and helping them with their speech.
‘Jess has been amazing, adapting to the situation and dealing with her own anxiety,’ says Joyner. ‘As a result, Archie has experienced a “normal” transition and is now ready to move to school.’
FURTHER INFORMATION
The interplay between mothers’ and children behavioral and psychological factors during COVID-19: an Italian study
