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Infant Daily Program & Caregivers

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The staff members responsible for the care of the infants shall plan and implement a program of activities suitable to the age levels and abilities of the infants under care. Provisions for outdoor play shall be available according to the infants’ stage of development. Staff members will be assigned to have primary responsibility for each group of infants in care during each staff daily shift to assure continuity of care. Parents/guardians will be kept informed of the primary caregivers assigned to their infants. The Center shall assure that any necessary information regarding an infant’s care is exchanged between child care staff members and between staff members and parents.

Each infant shall be allowed to safely and comfortably sit, crawl, toddle, walk, and play according to the infant’s stage of development in a designated space apart from the sleeping area each day. Each infant shall be removed from the crib, swing, infant seat, or other equipment throughout the day for individual attention. Each infant shall be removed from his/her crib for all feedings and be held or fed sitting up for bottle feedings.

Infants shall be cared for in a safe manner. Infants shall not be placed in the cribs with bibs or any items which could pose a strangulation or suffocation risk. Infants shall be placed in their cribs for sleeping, and shall not be allowed to sleep in car seats, swings, or other equipment. If a medical condition exists where a child needs to sleep in equipment other than a crib, written permission shall be obtained from a licensed physician. Infants shall be placed on their backs to sleep unless the child’s licensed physician provides a written request to do otherwise on the Sleep Position Waiver form.

Parents/guardians shall provide the staff with detailed information on feeding schedules and sleeping schedules for their infant. A log is maintained for each infant so that parents can be kept informed of what is happening throughout the day with their infant. Parents/guardians will be given a daily report for their child which details the child’s food intake, sleeping patterns, times and results of diaper changes, and information about daily activities.

In the infant program, the children are on individual feeding and sleeping schedules as determined by the parent and teacher. Activities such as stories, songs, large muscle play, etc. are planned to be done individually and in small groups. As the infants develop, they are gradually introduced to group activities so that by the time they are 18 months of age, they will be ready to be promoted to the toddler group. Provisions for outdoor play shall be available according to the infants’ stages of development.

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