Infant Care in a Day Care Setting

Caring for an infant can be challenging, particularly in a day care setting, however if done properly, having an infant in a day care that is properly equipped to handle them can positively impact your baby’s experience.

With the state of the economy, more and more families are forced to have homes with two working parents, which means that children are being put into day care environments at younger ages and even for longer time during the day. If you are among those families who have been forced to place your infant in a day care setting, it doesn’t have to be as scary or challenging as it seems. Things to consider when choosing a good day care environment for your infant are group size of the day care, the quality of the actual physical environment of the day care facility and how the needs are going to be met for each individual infant.

·         Group Size:  Infants thrive better in a calm environment, it’s true, but each infant reacts differently in different environments. Keeping this in mind, a large group of infants can create chaos and confusion and an unhappy baby – even if there are enough adults to adequately care for all of them. Many infants in a group creates a louder noise level which further leads to confusion and chaos. To have a pleasant experience for all involved, choose a day care facility with six infants or less.

·         Environment: As with the group size, the environment of your day care center can mean the difference between an enriching experience and a miserable one. The environment should be comfortable and encourage interaction between the adult caregivers and the infants as well as for the parents to visit with the children at the end of the day.

·         Meeting the Needs:  Meeting the needs of each infant is directly related to the size of the group of infants in the day care. Smaller groups allow for more intimate care, more flexibility for sleeping, eating and playing schedules and allows for children with special needs to receive the attention they need when they need it.

Caring for children, especially in a group setting like day care, is a profession. Choose your day care facility wisely based on the needs of your family and their ability to meet those needs.

Sunglasses and Eye Health

In the summertime, it’s second-nature to apply tons of sunscreen on our children to protect their skin from the harmful effects of the sun. But many times, as much attention as we give to their skin, we often overlook another area that can be damaged by the sun – their eyes.

 We put sunglasses on to shield our eyes and our children should have the same protection. This protects them now and also helps to prevent them from developing common eye problems later on in life. Keep in mind that UV rays are radiation and radiation is damaging to the eyes just as much as it can damage anything else. Here is just a partial list of those common eye problems that you should be aware of:

·         Over-exposure to the sun’s UV radiation can cause the cells of the eye – inside and out – to divide abnormally. This abnormal division can cause tumors – both malignant and benign.

·         “Surfer’s Eye” is common in coastal regions and is caused by sun exposure. This affects the cornea which can affect your ability to focus clearly.

·         Overexposure to the sun also effects the lens of the eye as well as the retina which can lead to macular degeneration and cataracts later on.

A good rule of thumb to help protect your children’s eyes is to put sunglasses on them if they are going to spend any extended amount of time in the sun. It’s never too early to start this practice. You’ll want to use standard tinted glasses not the colored lenses that are popular with kids.

If you have younger children who are having a hard time wearing the sunglasses, a large hat with a wide brim or visor is the next best thing. You can also try attaching an elastic band to the sunglasses to help hold them in place.

Sunglasses, sunscreen and your children should be a common routine in the summer!

Helping Your Child Get Ready for the First Day of Kindergarten

We’ve given birth and nurtured our children and watched them begin to grow into wonderful little people in awe of the world and all their surroundings. Now it’s time to prepare for them for the first big step in their lives – preparing for the first day of kindergarten.

Getting ready is probably the most difficult part. You have likely already been working to instill good, healthy habits into your child’s life but it’s even more important as they prepare to enter school to instill healthy habits like getting enough sleep – at least 10-12 hours per night and eating right – a healthy breakfast and lunch will help your child get through the day.

Once your child is in school on a full-time basis, it’s common to think that after school activities are all part of the process. We want our children to be well-rounded and involved and in our quest for making this happen, we tend to get our children wrapped up in many after school activities. Children can become as burnt out as adults can so it’s important to fight the urge to let them get involved with everything and keep these after school activities to a minimum.

The next step in helping your child adjust to school is to help them foster independence. Allowing your child (within reason of course) to pick their outfit and dress themselves will help give them both independence and confidence. Keep in mind that this doesn’t include tying their shoes. It is not uncommon for children not to learn to tie their shoes until their kindergarten year.

You also want to address things like making sure your child understands the importance of putting away things when they are done using or playing with them, putting the lids back on paints and markers and putting the crayons back in the box when they are finished.

Finally, make sure you have the “potty” talk before your child heads off to the classroom. Make sure they are able to take care of themselves after using the potty and don’t forget to stress the importance of washing their hands when they are finished.

Talking over these few tips will help your child be better prepared for their school day – take the time to make it a positive one! 

Crafts for Remembering Summer Vacations

Summer vacation is always a fun time for you and your family. Why not hold onto those memories a little longer and make them last a lifetime with a few simple crafts to capture those memories.

One simple idea is a “beautiful places” key chain. With just a few simple items, you can create a key chain keepsake.

You’ll need a few metal caps, pictures of the places you visited, a key chain accessory, duct tape, glue and yarn. Carefully cut the picture to fit the shape and size of the caps you are using and glue them to the inside of the cap. Cut pieces of yarn to match the number of caps you’ve made. Cut a small piece of duct tape and attach the yarn to the back of the cap. Cut a longer piece of yarn and pull it through the loop you’ve just attached to the back of your cap and knot it. Do this for all of the caps but be sure to leave enough space into between the caps.

Attach your keychain accessory to the end and you’re all finished.  

Another fun summer vacation project is a travel timeline. This can actually be done during the trip itself and will not only make the trip more enjoyable but will also limit the number of times you hear “Are we there yet??” All you need for this craft is a line of string or yarn, a hole punch, some drawing paper, crayons, colored pencils or markers and a few paper clips. See? No mess! Before you leave for your trip, install the string in your car like a clothes line. Have your child or children draw pictures or write short stories about each milestone of the trip. When they are finished, hang on the string with a paper clip. A good first picture to start with is of your own vehicle with everyone inside smiling and excited for the trip!

Finally, try an easy treasure chest. Get a box with a lid and long sheet of paper folded accordion-style. Glue the first sheet of the paper into the lid and the last sheet into the bottom of the box. On each page, glue or draw a picture from summer vacation and then tuck it neatly away in the box to be enjoyed through the years.

Time-Saving Tips for Parents

Life itself is an unpredictable ride – but when you add children and the craziness of their schedules to the mix, it becomes even crazier. It’s no wonder that as parents we sometimes feel there is never enough time in the day to get everything done. It’s impossible to completely avoid chaos – and really, would you want to? But with a few of time-saving tips like the ones below, you can begin to make the most of your time.

·         Watch closely how you spend your time. Most of us spend more time on things every day that can either wait or really don’t need done at all.

·         Prioritize. The key to getting and staying organized is all about making and keeping priorities. Schedule more important tasks to be done and let the rest carry over until you have more time.

·         Multitask. Every parent has to master the art of multitasking. Use downtime like naps, doctor appointments or school time to get jobs done that are difficult to focus on when caring for your children.

·         Be prepared. With babies especially it’s important to be prepared. Keep a packed diaper bag in the car at all times to avoid having to carry extra baggage when you leave home.

·         Baskets, not diamonds, are a girl’s best friend. Baskets are a great way to store toys, video games and books in your children’s playroom or bedrooms.

·         Prepare for meals ahead of time. When you are making dinner, double or triple your recipe and freeze the extras for future meals. You’d be surprised just how much time this alone will save you!

These are just a few tips that can help parent’s lead less chaotic lives, spend less time on working and more time on more important things – spending time with our kids.

Baby Safety Tips For The Home

Bringing home a new baby is an exciting and magical event for any family. Preparing your home in advance for the big day helps parents to proactively provide built in safety for the new addition to the family.

There are a range of different baby safety products on the market today that can make Mom and Dad’s life a lot easier. However, there are also some simple and very traditional types of safety practices that will keep your infant out of harm’s way.

Before your baby is up and about crawling and playing look at each room of the home. General safety issues that can be put in place include:

• Baby safe latches on all drawers and cabinets in kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and storage areas to prevent injury if baby pulls the drawers or cabinets open or gets into the stored contents.
• Check all electrical cords and remove any that dangle or hang down. Cover all electrical outlets with spring loaded covers that automatically close when the cord is removed.
• Roll all cords for blinds or drapes up to well above the height that a crawling baby, toddler or infant can reach.
• Have a new crib and mattress for the baby that is designed to prevent the baby from getting hands or limbs lodged between the posts. The mattress should fit correctly in the crib and extend to the frame on all sides.
• Limit items in and around the crib and ensure any mobiles or hanging items on the crib are safe and secure and approved for use for a baby.
• Always have the correctly sized, approved car safety seat for your baby and do not travel with the baby in a vehicle when the child is not secured in the baby car seat.
• Avoid using any types of room freshening or air treatment products in the nursery or the home as an infant may be extremely sensitive to these products.

Last, and perhaps most importantly, never leave your baby unattended unless they are in a safe, secure location such as their crib. This ensures that the baby can’t get into anything that is potentially dangerous in the few seconds you step away.

Tips and Tricks for Camping with Small Children

Camping with small children – even infants and toddlers doesn’t have to be the nightmarish experience you might think it would be. After all – you haven’t lived until you warmed a bottle over a campfire at 3:00 am! If camping is something you enjoy doing then there’s no reason that you shouldn’t enjoy it even when your children are small – with a few changes to accommodate your young family.

Obviously, the younger your children the more “stuff” you will need to bring along to make the trip enjoyable. You’ll be taking your car with you to the campsite so you have the luxury of making the car as full as you need without having to worry about the extra luggage. Keep in mind that no matter how much you pack, you will likely forget something or even run short so try to pick a campground with at least a convenience store nearby.

Another thing to consider is the trip itself. You know better than anyone how long your child will remain happy on a car ride – if necessary, choose a campground closer to home to keep everyone happy along the way. You also want to make sure that you can get to your campsite before dark in order to set up everything you need and can find everything easily.

If you have a crawler or young one just learning to walk, you’ll want to make sure you have a pack ‘n’ play that can be used for a crib and a play pen and let your baby move around while you’re setting up camp or hanging around the campfire.

You may also want to choose a campsite with flushing toilets and potable running water if you are in the potty-training phase. You can also decide to rent a cabin – there are plenty of kid-friendly campgrounds that can help you plan.

Camping with your young children can be very enjoyable with these few little tips. And don’t forget to keep your children on their same eating and sleeping schedules as much as possible – doing so will keep everyone in their happy place!