Sound and overstimulation in the childcare centre: causes and solutions
A daycare centre is a place where children play, explore, and learn. Sound is a natural part of that. Children talk to each other, laugh, sing, and move around the space. That creates a lively and cosy atmosphere. Nevertheless, the noise level in a daycare centre sometimes becomes so high that it affects the well-being of children and staff.
Birgit Brinks
Especially when many sounds are present at the same time, children are constantly receiving stimuli. Their brains process all that information simultaneously. This requires energy and can lead to restlessness and overstimulation. Employees also experience the effects of a noisy environment. Listening, responding, and communicating all day demands more effort when there is a lot of background noise.
That is why attention to a healthy sound environment is important. More peace within the group contributes to a pleasant atmosphere in which children can develop better and staff can work comfortably.
Why are young children more sensitive to stimuli?
Young children process a huge amount of new impressions every day. They learn new words, develop social skills, and discover the world around them. Their brains are in full development and respond strongly to stimuli from the environment.
Sound is one of those stimuli. When a room contains a lot of background noise, children must constantly listen, filter, and process. This requires extra energy. The more sound present, the greater the load on stimulus processing.
Not every child reacts in the same way. Some children seem to be less affected by a busy environment, while others become tired more quickly or have difficulty maintaining their focus. Especially children who are sensitive to stimuli experience discomfort more readily from a high noise level.
The relationship between sound and overstimulation
Overstimulation occurs when children have to process more information than they are able to handle at that moment. Sound often plays a greater role in this than many people think.
In a busy group room, children are constantly receiving auditory stimuli. They hear other children talking, toys making sounds, music, and conversations of staff. All these sounds demand the attention of the brain.
When these stimuli accumulate during the day, restlessness occurs more quickly. Children find it harder to concentrate, become distracted more easily, or react more emotionally than usual. Some children withdraw, while others display more hyperactive behaviour.
A calm environment helps children process information more effectively and allows space for recovery moments throughout the day.
How can you recognise that sound is affecting the group?
Recognising noise disturbance is not always straightforward. Often, a situation gradually develops in which a high noise level is considered normal.
Signals that may indicate Excessive Noise are:
- Children who keep speaking louder
- Much restlessness during activities
- Difficulty concentrating
- Faster irritable behaviour
- Tiredness at the end of the day
- Children who regularly withdraw
- A constantly noisy atmosphere in the group
The longer children are in such an environment, the greater the chance that noise affects their well-being.
Employees also experience stress due to noise
A great deal of attention rightly goes to the well-being of children, but staff also spend many hours each day in the same space.
A constant flow of noise requires a lot of concentration. Staff must hold conversations, supervise activities, monitor, and at the same time respond to the needs of different children. In a noisy environment, this noticeably consumes more energy.
Additionally, employees often unconsciously raise their voice to remain understandable. This not only leads to extra strain on the voice but also results in increased fatigue at the end of the working day.
Lighter noise contributes to increased working comfort, more rest, and a more pleasant working environment.
Which situations cause a lot of noise in the group?
Some moments of the day naturally bring more noise than others.
For example, consider:
- the bringing- and hanging moments
- joint eating moments
- free play
- group activities
- transitional moments between activities
- playing in large groups
- multi-purpose rooms where different activities take place simultaneously
During these moments, many sounds come together. Without sufficient rest periods, this can lead to increased strain on children and staff.
How do you create more calm within the group?
Completely preventing sound is neither desirable nor necessary. A daycare centre is allowed to be a lively place. The aim is to find a healthy balance between activity and rest.
Create quiet zones
Children benefit from places where they can retreat for a moment. A quiet reading corner or a sheltered play area helps to experience fewer stimuli.
Build in sufficient moments of rest
Calm activities between busy play moments give children the chance to process stimuli. This creates more balance throughout the day.
Limit unnecessary sound sources
Sometimes background music, toys, or devices cause unnecessary noise. By consciously looking at these sources, a greater sense of calm is often immediately created.
Ensure good acoustics
In addition to pedagogical measures, the space itself also plays an important role. When sound lingers for a long time, the total noise level increases. Children often respond to this by talking louder themselves.
A good acoustics help sound to be absorbed more quickly and create a calmer environment in the space. As a result, children and staff understand each other better and the group feels less pressured.
Would you like to learn more about structural solutions? Then read more about the improvement of acoustics in a daycare centre.
More Peace Begins With a Healthy Sound Environment
Sound is part of a daycare centre. Children need space to play, explore, and have fun. However, the amount of noise makes a big difference in how children and staff experience a space.
Too much noise leads more quickly to over-stimulation, fatigue, and stress. A quiet acoustic environment supports children's sensory processing, contributes to their well-being, and creates more calm within the group.
By consciously paying attention to sound and the layout of the space, an environment is created where children feel comfortable and staff can perform their work with greater comfort.
Want to know how to reduce noise disturbance? Then check out our page about improving acoustics in a daycare centre and discover which solutions suit your location.
FAQ
How do you reduce noise and echo in a daycare centre?
You reduce echo by combining hard surfaces with soft materials that absorb sound. This prevents sound from lingering. Here's how to tackle it:
- Hang acoustic panels on walls and ceilings
- Place rugs in play corners
- Use curtains and soft furniture
- Work with smaller play corners instead of one large space
Tip: start with ceilings and large empty walls. These often give you the greatest effect.
What are the best acoustic solutions for a daycare centre?
The best solutions combine ease of use, safety, and effectiveness. For example, choose:
- Acoustic ceiling panels: reduce echo throughout the space
- Wall panels: capture sound where a lot of noise occurs
- Free-standing panels or partitions: divide the space and limit noise
- Soft furnishings: sofas, cushions and play mats dampen sound
What is acoustics?
Acoustics are different for everyone. This is because everyone experiences sound differently. The characteristics of the sound in a space determine how you perceive that sound. Someone who is used to spaces with a lot of reverberation often finds a similar space pleasant and may describe the acoustics as good. Someone who is accustomed to spaces with little reverberation might find that same space uncomfortable and may describe the acoustics as poor. You might experience the acoustics as good, while someone else might find it less pleasant. In short: acoustics are your personal perception of sound in spaces and environments, and that perception varies from person to person.
What is sound?
To understand what acoustics means, it is important that you first know what sound is. Sound is a vibration that travels through a medium, such as air, water or metal. You perceive sound with your hearing. Your ear is especially tuned to sound that travels through the air. How does sound occur? To produce sound, you need a source. This source causes the air to vibrate with enough energy. Through that vibration, the air pressure changes locally:
- Air particles compress together (higher pressure)
- Then they move apart again (lower pressure)
This alternation creates pressure waves. These waves travel through the air and reach your ear. That’s how you hear sound.
What Is Sound Absorption?
Sound absorption means that a material absorbs sound waves instead of reflecting them back. An absorbing material removes the energy from the sound wave. As a result, echo and reverberation are reduced, and a space sounds quieter and clearer. Materials such as felt, wool, acoustic foams, and acoustic panels have an open structure. Sound waves penetrate and weaken within them. This causes the sound to return less loudly into the space. This has several advantages:
- Better speech intelligibility: conversations sound clearer and people need to speak less loudly.
- More concentration: there is less distraction from background noise, making it easier to maintain focus.
- Higher productivity: in quiet spaces, people work faster and make fewer mistakes.
- Less fatigue: a room with less echo feels calmer. Your brain has less effort to filter sound. This prevents listening fatigue.
In short: sound absorption provides more calm, clarity, and comfort in any space.
What is reverberation?
Reverberation occurs when sound waves reflect off hard surfaces and repeatedly re-enter the space. This is also known as echo. You hear the sound lingering longer, which increases noise in the room and makes voices less clear. By reducing reverberation, the sound becomes quieter and voices are easier to understand.
