Primary Caregiving for Infants

Primary caregiving is the assigning of one caregiver to primarily provide the care for one small group of children.  In this system for operating an infant program, the director, the infant teachers, and the parents all understand which staff member has primary responsibility for each child. 

Of course, primary caregiving in a center-based program cannot be exclusive.  The classroom is staffed by more than one person for a reason and the other staff in that room are responsible for contributing to the care of each child in the room.  Because most programs are open for more than 8 hours per day and your staff can’t work more than 8 hours per day on a regular basis, and because they need lunch breaks, the children will obviously be in the care of someone else at some point during the day.  Or, even if the primary caregiver is in the classroom, but is busy caring for another child, another member of the caregiving team will need to step in to help.  The primary caregiver is just that, primary, but not exclusive.  This individual will provide the majority of the care for the child and, therefore, the majority of the communication with the parent.  This person will also work with other staff members to help them understand the needs of each child in their care when they cannot be with them.

Primary caregiving has a few important benefits; all centered around relationships.  The primary relationship is the relationship between the caregiver and the infant.  The caregiver, while assisting with other children, spends most of their work days focused on just a few children, really getting to know them; feeding them, diapering them, playing with them, consoling them.  The children learn to trust this person to care for them.  This relationship allows the child to be more comfortable in the child care environment and allows the caregiver to better respond to, and even anticipate, the needs of each child.  Better understanding the child helps the caregiver to develop a stronger relationship with the parent.

Parents, especially parents of infants, can have a difficult time entrusting their beloved child to the care of someone else.  If parents know, and have a positive relationship with the individual assigned to be primarily responsible for their children’s care, it is much easier to leave their child with that person.  The parent can learn to trust that the caregiver has their child’s best interest at heart and will keep them apprised of their child’s care and development.

Make sure that the Infant Teachers you hire have the appropriate skills, education and experience that they need to be able to be a member of a primary caregiving team.  If you don’t already have a Job Description for your Infant Teachers (or Infant Teachers’ Aides), check ours out at: http://www.daycaretools.com/DaycareProducts.aspx#Personnel

Misty

Safe Infant Sleep

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) conducted a study of primary infant nighttime caregivers from 1992 – 2010 to help understand infant care practices.  The good news from their recently released report is that use of potentially unsafe bedding decreased by more than 30% during that time.  The bad news is that nearly 55% of infants in this country still sleep with bedding that increases the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Since the 1992 recommendation that infants be put to sleep on their backs, deaths from SIDS in the U.S. has decreased by 50%.  However, since 2000, infant deaths due to accidental suffocation have nearly doubled. 

The NIH’s Safe to Sleep campaign recommends that infants sleep alone, on their backs, on a firm sleep surface covered by a fitted sheet, with no sheets or blankets over them.  Soft objects, including toys, crib bumpers, quilts, comforters, sheepskins, pillows, and loose bedding should not be present in an infant’s sleep area.  Even with this information, caregivers participating in the survey cited mixed information as a major factor in their choice of bedding for their children.  In opposition to NIH recommendations, magazines and advertisements often show infants in cribs with potentially unsafe bedding items.  Additionally, family and friends give baby gifts of quilts or bumper pads and the new parent feels obligated to use these items.

For parents who are concerned about keeping their infant warm at night, the Safe to Sleep campaign recommends keeping the room at a comfortable temperature and dressing the infant in an appropriate-weight one-piece sleeper. 

Since professional child care providers are well-versed in these recommendations and because these recommendations have been widely publicized, it’s easy to assume that all parents are familiar with and follow the recommendations.  Research shows differently.  Please make sure that all parents in your program understand these recommendations and why they are so vitally important to follow.

Misty

New Play Yard Safety Requirements

Play yards, also known as pack-n-plays, are convenient places for children to nap at home, while traveling, and in child care homes.  However, children have been injured or killed by poorly constructed or improperly assembled products that have collapsed during use.  

As of last Thursday (February 28), new safety standards for play yards went into effect.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission now requires all manufacturers and importers of play yards to ensure that the play yards include:

• A stability test to prevent the play yard from tipping over.
• Latch and lock mechanisms to keep the play yard from folding on a child when it's in use.
• Entrapment tests for attachments so a child's head does not get trapped while a bassinet or other accessory is attached.
• Floor strength tests to ensure structural integrity and to prevent children from getting trapped by the play yard floor.
• Minimum side height requirements to prevent children from getting out of the play yard on their own.
• A test to prevent play yards whose top rails fold downward from using a hinge that creates a V- or diamond shape when folded to prevent head or neck entrapment. http://www.cpsc.gov/onsafety/2013/02/play-yards-new-safety-rule-to-take-effect/

The CPSC initially considered a provision to address steps to prevent improper assembly of play yards, but decided to not include it in the requirements at this time.  But, in the interest of child safety, we all need to ensure that we read the assembly instructions carefully and assemble the product correctly. 

In addition to the new requirements, the CPSC also reminds parents and caregivers to keep the play yard bare.  Just like any other sleeping areas for infants, pillows, stuffed animals, sleep positioning devices, and thick blankets create suffocation hazards and should be avoided.  For more information, check out the CPSC article at:  http://www.cpsc.gov/onsafety/2012/09/safe-sleep-bedding-pillows-safety-and-more/

Misty

By the way, if you are attending the California AEYC Conference next week, look for us.  We will be in the Exhibitor's Hall and will also be presenting a workshop on Strategic Planning on Thursday.  Stop by and say "hi". 

Music Education for Infants

We've all heard the benefits of music education for children--academic achievement, memory, discipline, confidence, stress relief, etc.  I don't think there is anyone who argues these benefits.  There is even research to indicate that simply listening to certain types of music can help children relax and organize their thoughts.

While previous research has demonstrated a positive impact of music education on children preschool age and above, there has not been much study on infants.  Recent research from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, examined the effect of music instruction on infants.  They provided two types of classes for parents and their infants aged 6 months to 12 months.  One class was passive, in which "Baby Einstein" cd's were played while the infants participated in various play activities; art, blocks, books, balls, and stacking cups.  Parents were given a different "Baby Einstein" cd each week to play at home for their infants.  The second class was active, in which the parents and their infants were engaged in movement activities, singing, and playing percussion instruments.  The participants were encouraged to learn a variety of lullabies and action songs.  Parents were given a cd containing songs learned in the class and asked to play it for their infants at home.

At the end of the 6 months of weekly training, the infants in the active classes showed earlier and more advanced brain responses than the infants in the passive classes showed.  Additionally, the infants in the active class demonstrated advanced social development including less distress, more smiling and laughing, and easier soothability.

Keep those music and movement activities coming.  Not only are they fun, but they help develop those children's brains!

Trainor, L. J., Marie, C., Gerry, D., Whiskin, E., & Unrau, A. (2012). Becoming musically enculturated: Effects of music classes for infants on brain and behavior. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1252,129-138. http://www.psychology.mcmaster.ca/ljt/publications.htm

Misty