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Baby Proofing -- What You Should Look for in your Infant's Child Care Facility
from: Maxx Family LifeInfant daycare has become a huge business since a lot of working parents must return to work their maternity leave expires, and certified providers are often the sole alternative for parents who don't have family or friends who can help with their childcare. Therefore, when selecting your infant's daycare supplier, you'll need to pay special care to the facility's arrangements.
Baby proofing should be at the top of your priorities. Here's a list of important matters look for at your infant's child care facility:
Make sure Household Cleaners are under lock and key? They should be placed far away from any area that little hands can find them and get into something harmful.
Are Pets Out of Sight? Regardless of your daycare provider's insistance that her dog is sweetheart who wouldn't hurt a flee, pets should be kept away from the kids, in fact, they should be kept completely out of sight. Gates are okay, but remember that small hands can easily stick a finger through the mesh, and a playful dog could see this as an invitation to play.
Check around the facility to see if baby proofing gadgets available at the local mega mart to see if they're in one piece and used. If they're not installed properly, they won't keep doors and gates securely locked, or the toilet seat lowered. If you use a home daycare provider and there's a pool, determine if doors leading to the outside have an alarm, and that the pool itself is gated and the gate locked.
Do a survey of the toys the daycare facility provides. Are they age appropriate for infants? Do they have detachable pieces an infant could choke on? Also, are there broken pieces that create sharp edges that might cut your infant?
While you're at the daycare center or in-home provider's home, don't be afraid to get down on your hands and knees and have a look around. At that point you're at eye-level with what your baby will see. Are there any apparent hazards such as marbles, coins, nails, pins, or larger items such as pillows and blankets.
Are lamp cords rolled up or taped down?
Are knives and forks put away securely?
Does your daycare facility of in-home provider practice the "back to sleep" method to prevent SIDS? If you see infants who are sleeping on their tummies or on their sides, the odds are pretty good that the supervision is inadequate. In fact, while at the start of the "back to sleep" campaign side-sleeping was considered to be adequate. However, recent years have seen this idea reversed, and alternatively it was discovered that the only safe way of sleeping for an infant is on his or her back.
Of course, there's more to baby proofing than basic safety concerns. Another very important aspect of keeping your precious infant safe is security. Are there adequate security procedures in place that will ensure that only you and the people to whom you give permission will be able to pick up your child? Perhaps this kind of security could take the form of a signing in and signing out procedure.
Other safety issues to consider are the insistence of the daycare provider that all children be properly immunized before being allowed to attend daycare at that location, as well as a well-defined illness policy. Infants are very susceptible to communicable diseases, and a well-defined as well as properly followed sickness policy will ensure that only well children will attend the daycare, while those who are most likely suffering from a contagious illness will be kept at home.
Even the best run daycare center may miss an opportunity to be even safer. Don't hesitate to point out weaknesses and be sure to give specific instances in which you observed such a problem. Then keep an eye out for the problem to be corrected. If it takes too long or doesn't happen at all, you might want to move on to a different provider.
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