The simple answer is that the beds are a different size and require a sheet that fits that size. But the true answer is much broader. The childcare industry has many regulations put in place by governments to protect the health and safety of your child while they are in care. One of these regulations is that a child must not sleep directly on the bed.

So why can’t we just send anything for our children to lie on?

Having sheets that correctly fit the beds has many benefits.

Firstly, your child can learn to put the sheets on the beds themselves. Many parents may be thinking but why can’t the teachers do it. Well the art of making a bed can help your child’s physical as well as mental development. Practicing co-ordination and fine motor skills is an important lesson at this age. It can be a difficult task when they first start but as the year progresses most children learn this skill. This teaches children that it takes time to learn new skills and gives them the confidence to try new ones. Having correctly fitted sheets aids this development. They need to learn to identify which is the bottom sheet and how to put it on the bed. This sometimes requires them to put the elastic across the corners around the bed’s legs.

Secondly, the time it takes to put the sheets on all the beds could be better used by the teachers. We all want the teachers to be spending their time teaching our children, this is an easy way to help free up their time while teaching your child a new skill.

Thirdly we all hate losing items at childcare. Having a bag and small sheet that your child can put on and off the beds as well as put them into the bag themselves helps your child keep them together. We also help in this area by providing a wide range of colours and patterns so that you and your child can easily identify them.