Infants must be acclimated to safe sleep before starting group care. If you're unsure what safe sleep looks like, please visit Safe Sleep Section of the parent resources.
Infants MUST be able to sleep flat on their backs in an empty crib. They may have a pacifier, but nothing can be attached (absolutely no wub-a-nubs). The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that Infants not be swaddled after 8 weeks (AAP Swaddling position link). However, current licensing guidelines do allow for an infant to be swaddled through 3 months of age. I have a strict no swaddling policy in my child care home, regardless of the childs age. In group care, it is not always possible to rock or hold a baby until they fall asleep. You can help your baby learn to fall asleep on their own by rocking them until they are very tired but still awake and then placing them flat on their back in a crib. |
If your child is exclusively breastfed at home, feedings can be a great source of stress and frustration for both your baby and your provider. You can eliminate this issue by ensuring that your baby is easily taking bottles at home before they begin child care. It is absolutely NEVER acceptable to drop off an infant at child care that has never had a bottle. Infants may not take a bottle from mom, so dad or other family members may have to help acclimate the child to the bottle at home.
|
Children older than 7 months may experience anxiety in regard to a new environment or even separation anxiety. You can help by speaking positively to your child about their new school, reading books about child care, and having your child visit in advance. If you or your child are very anxious, I'm happy to meet your child at your house before their first day of child care. This creates a meeting in a space where the child is comfortable and familiar with their surroundings and can sometimes relieve a lot of anxiety.
Have a morning routine for drop off, make it brief, and stick to it. Oftentimes a child's upset disappears within moments of parents leaving. Don't be caught off guard if your child cries upon seeing you at pick up. They have waited all day to see you and this is a natural release of emotion. Some will tell you to send an item from home to ease your child's discomfort,. from my experience, this helps only momentarily and causes an abundance of issues once the item is laid down and another child picks it up. For this reason, please do not send items from home. You may send a blanket for children over 12 months and they can use it for nap time only. The blanket will be laundered before use and must stay at daycare. |
Sleep is important for all age groups. Once your child is an older infant, toddler, or preschooler in group care they must have established sleep skills. The ability to lay down and put themselves to sleep is crucial in group care, particularly in mixed age environments when there may be infants who are awake and being fed when older children are ready for nap. Children who lack sleep skills are likely to face expulsion due to constant diruptions of the rest time of the rest of the group. If you teach sleep as an infant your child will most likely naturally transition into easy sleep as a toddler and beyond. The later you wait to teach a child to fall asleep on their own, the more difficult it will be and the longer it will take.
|
At the age of 1, I am required to have your child on the same eating schedule as the other children. They will eat what and when the rest of the group does. By 12 months, they should also have transitioned away from a bottle and to a cup (bottles will NOT be used here after 13 months of age). You can help be having your child sit with you at the dinner table and introducing a cup as early as 6 months (just for familiarity). As the child becomes more confident with the cup, the need for a bottle will slowly diminish.
You can help your child communicate their wishes at the table by teaching them the baby signs for more and all done. |