Most babies would happily spend their first months eating and sleeping wherever and whenever they please. But throw two working parents and 9-5 day care into the mix and that kind of flexibility goes out the window. Children (and their parents) have to adapt, whether they like it or not. The good news: Though working moms and dads are often reluctant to disrupt an infant or toddler's comfortable at-home routine, kids are more malleable than you'd think.

"Children thrive on routine, but that doesn't mean a schedule has to be carried out with military precision," says Charles Schaefer, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey, and author of "Winning Bedtime Battles." "The key events of the day — meals and bedtime — set children's biological clocks, but even some variation in these won't throw off their sleep cycles." Here, how to put your child on a schedule that works for all of you.

Don't be afraid to occasionally alter your child's routine. Just do it gradually. Most day care centers require children to take a two-hour nap starting at noon. But you don't have to follow that schedule religiously when your child's at home — especially if it's not convenient for you. "There is a lot of research that shows that young children have the capacity to follow one routine at home and another with their peer group," says Mon Cochran, Ph.D., professor of human development at Cornell University. You can compensate for one change by making other, more-gradual changes, say, by adjusting mealtime and bedtime by 10 minutes every Saturday.

Don't let your child dictate your schedule. It's tempting to think that your child will let you know when he's tired or hungry. But children "don't always know what's right for them," says Dr. Schaefer. "Sometimes, they'll resist sleep even when they need it."

Don't confine your child's naps to his bed. Although children generally love to sleep at the same time every day, they don't need to sleep in the same place every day. So if you don't want to be cooped up during your toddler's two-hour nap, put him in his stroller with his favorite blanket or toy and take him on the road. It's likely that he'll sleep, if he's tired enough. "We make sure to keep Molly very busy and active in the morning," says Esther Siskind, an environmental planner for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. "Then after lunch, we take her out, she sleeps, and we get to do all our errands for two hours."