Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is, according to the national Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Resource Center, “the sudden death of an infant under 1 year of age which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history” (Willinger et al., 1991:681).

Sometimes called “crib death”, SIDS is sudden, silent, and occurs during sleep. Since most daycare programs and preschools involve naptime, daycare providers and preschool teachers must be aware of SIDS, SIDS risk, and what they can do to prevent SIDS.

SIDS is the leading cause of death in children between one month and one year of age.  In addition, most SIDS deaths happen when babies are between 2 months and 4 months of age.

Is SIDS Caused by Vaccinations?

The Immunization Safety Review Committee which is established by the Institute of Medicine evaluated the evidence of possible causal associations between immunizations that are given in the first year of life and SIDS. These immunizations include Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular Pertussis (DTaP) vaccine, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine, Hepatitis B (HepB) vaccine, Inacticated Polio vaccine (IPV), and Pneumococus vaccine (PCV).

The Committee concluded that there is no evidence of a causal relationship between these vaccines and sudden infant death syndrome, sudden unexpected death in infancy, or neonatal death. (more…)

As a child day care center owner, your first order of duty is to keep the children in your care safe. Within the scope of child safety, your daycare business must consider which foods are potentially dangerous to small children. Toddlers are at risk for choking and severe allergic reactions caused by food. Daycare providers must select foods that are healthy and safe for toddlers and avoid those that present potential choking hazards.

Be careful or avoid the following types of hazardous foods for toddlers:

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