Infants & Toddlers
Beautiful Bebes
Our Teachers are dedicated to providing quality and consistent care for our infants. They provide a loving and nurturing environment and have been hand-selected for their genuine love for babies, and their experience in caring for them. To ensure a smooth transition from your home to our program and back home again the teacher will communicate with you on an individual basis. Our ratio in this room is 1-teacher/ 5 children.
All infants are on individual schedules as dictated by each child’s parents and physician.
Infant teachers are required to follow the individual schedule for feeding, napping, and diapering. As changes occur in the infant’s schedule, parents are required to provide those changes in writing.
Ages and Stages assessments are completed regularly by teachers and parents to determine individual goals and activities specific to each child. An Individualized Developmental Curriculum for Infants is used that implements activities appropriate for each stage of an infant’s ability level.
Care Schedule
Prior to admission, the school Director/Caregiver meets with the parent(s) to document information that will aid our staff in providing care similar to the routine provided at home by the child’s parents, including:
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schedule of meals and feeding
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types of food introduced and timetable for introducing new foods
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diapering procedures
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sleep and nap schedule
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child’s form of communicating, being comforted, etc.
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development and health history
Every 3 months, parents, and staff discuss the child’s development and routines. Any revisions are noted by the parent.
Non-walking and mobile infants have their own designated space. The teachers are permitted to take children on “visits” to other areas of the center as long as they can be properly supervised and are only exposed to equipment and materials suitable for their age.
Daily Program
Children are allowed to form and follow their own pattern of awake and asleep periods.
Activities involving play are emphasized as they provide learning and growth opportunities.
Each child at FMCP will receive individual physical contact/attention including being held, rocked, read to, talked to, sung to, and taken on walks. Routines of bedtimes, feedings, diapering and toileting are used as opportunities for language development, social, emotional, physical, and cognitive learning experiences.
While a non-walking child is awake, the teacher will change the child’s position and location periodically.
Mobile children will be given opportunities each day to move freely through their area.
A variety of safe toys and objects are provided to encourage mobility, hand-eye coordination, thinking, and small motor development, etc. All toys are sanitized after individual children play and chew on them, using a mild solution of bleach and water. Infants and toddlers are allowed to go outdoors, except in extreme weather conditions.
Feeding
Each infant is fed according to his/her own feeding schedule.
Food/formula brought from home is labeled with child’s name, dated, and refrigerated if necessary.
FMCP provides Gerber Good Start formula, wipes, and diaper cream for all infants as well as Gerber packaged foods, rice cereal, and solid foods for those developmentally ready to eat.
When formula is discontinued, FMCP provides Grade A vitamin D milk for children over one year of age. Grade A vitamin D whole milk will be provided for children less than one year of age when recommended by the child’s physician, and a physician note is provided.
Leftover milk/formula is discarded after each feeding and bottles are washed thoroughly for the next use.
Children who are not able to hold their own bottle are held when fed. FMCP does not allow bottles to be propped under any circumstances.
When formula is prepared by the school, we’re required to follow manufacturer’s directed use and disposal as per the expiration period.
Infants too young to sit in a booster seat for feeding are placed in an infant seat. Wide-based highchairs with safety straps are provided for those children developmentally able to sit on their own.
Infants and toddlers are encouraged to experiment with self-feeding using their hands and spoons. Cups, spoons, etc. are scaled to the size and developmental level of children.
FMCP, provides a variety of nourishing foods for the children on table food including cereal, vegetables, fruits, eggs and meat according to the child’s developmental level and the parents’ feeding schedule. No child is forced to eat.
It is extremely important to make us aware of any allergies your child may have.
Diapering and Toileting Procedures
Wet and soiled diapers and clothes are changed promptly.
Each child is required to have a few extra sets of clothes to be used when clothes become wet or soiled.
Each child is changed/checked every two hours on our changing mats that are made of a smooth non-porous surface. They are cleaned first with a soap and water solution then with a bleach water solution before and after each use.
Diapers and creams will need to be provided by the parents. Soiled diapers and the worn gloves are placed in a plastic-lined covered container. Soiled diapers are removed from containers as needed, or at least daily. Containers are washed and disinfected each day.
Soiled clothing is placed in a plastic bag and sent home with the parent at the end of the day.
All childcare staff involved in diapering are required to wash their hands with soap and running water before and after each diapering or assist with toileting. Gloves are required to be worn during the diapering or toileting procedure.
Any application of powders, lotions, etc., requested, and provided by the parents must be accompanied by our permission slip as to exact application and time. Each slip will be posted in the cupboard by the child’s diapers.
Each infant or toddler room at FMCP has a sink with hot and cold running water available at all times.
Each child’s hands are washed with a disposable diaper wipe or in the sink at each diaper change, regardless if the child was wet or soiled.
