As I prepared the Module 6 and Week 28 eCourse Lesson for the member of the Family Home Child Care Empowerment Club, I was inspired to share some of the tips with you!
The topic of week 28 eCourse Lesson was: How to provide a healthy & Safe environment for infant/toddlers. The tips were provided in the form of a health & safety checklist, because I believe that the best way to improve your childcare program is through self assessment.
Today I am going to share 5 steps to Providing High Quality & Safe Infant/Toddler Care:
1. Maintain Ratio. Be sure that there is no more than four infant/toddlers to a care giver. It can be quite demanding for one caregiver to care for too many infant/toddlers. Moreover, infant/toddlers need lots of loving care and it is almost impossible for one caregiver to meet the needs of more than four infant/toddlers at any given time. ** In some cases, it is recommended that the ratios are 1-t0-3.
2. Be Alert of the Health/Safety Needs of the Children. For example: It is important that you or your staff know who feels well and who does not. Are the children adequately supervised? Know where the adventurous toddlers are, at all times,etc. Being aware of the health & safety needs of the children is a vital part of providing quality infant/toddler care.
3. Smoke Free Home or Center. You can almost assume that caregivers will be considerate and not smoke around children, however, it is very important that parents know that you have a smoke free facility!
I suggest that you post a SMOKE FREE ZONE sign. Cigarette smoke is very toxic to a child. Moreover, if you have smokers on staff, it is also a good idea to require that they wash their hands after smoking. Furthermore, if your staff member(s) smell like smoke after a break; require that they change their clothes, before handling the infants/toddlers.
Home Providers: Require that family members smoke outdoors during the hours of childcare.
4. Post the number to Poison Control. You may have already removed all medications and cleaning supplies out of the reach of the children. However, what if a parent fails to tell you that there is medication in a diaper bag and a toddler gets a hold of it? That’s right…you will need to call Poison control right away!
So be sure to post your local poison control number near your phone. Here is the national number to poison control: 1-800-222-1222. ***Moreover, check diaper bags daily for medication,etc.
5. Small Toys Can Be a Choking Hazard!! If a small toy can fit through the opening of a toilet tissue tube, than it is a choking hazard for an infant/toddler. Be sure that toys that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter are kept out of the reach of young children (preferably under the age of 3).
Infant/toddler learn about their world by putting things in their mouth and this is why you must be mindful of the toys that are within the reach of infant/toddlers.
In summary, I hope that you have found this blog post to be helpful to you. Most importantly, My hope is that you create a High Quality and Safe place for infant/toddlers.