Each daycare business has its own individual policies and procedures. However, all daycare providers must issue standard childcare authorization forms in order to protect the children in their care as well as their daycare employees.  Daycare authorization forms keep the children in your care safe and limit your liability as a daycare provider. There are a few simple authorization forms that all daycares must implement:

Childcare Pick-up Authorization: Each parent or guardian must complete and sign a childcare authorization form for each child in your care. This form lists the names of all persons authorized to pick up the child. It details the name of the adult(s), their date of birth, their relationship to the child, and their contact information (address and home, work, and cell phone number). The form should also include a statement that says “Under no circumstances will my child be released to anyone other than the individuals named above, without prior written authorization”.

Field Trip or Activity Permission Slips: The field trip or activity authorization form, gives the children in your care permission to leave the facility or participate in a special activity that is outside of the normal daily routine. The field trip consent form should contain the location of the activity, the date and time of the activity, the mode of transportation involved (walking, car, bus etc.).  The field trip consent form should be signed by the daycare provider and the parent or guardian. It should also include a statement similar to: “I understand that the center will take every precaution and care to insure my child’s safety. Adults who will provide proper supervision and will exercise every precaution to avoid accidents, in accordance with the state licensing regulations will accompany visiting groups”.
(more…)

One duty of a daycare provider is to keep children safe and minimize their risk of health and safety hazards.

There are five important potential safety hazards for children in daycare and preschool. These hazards include:

Infections
Injuries
Hygiene concerns
Physical abuse and
Emotional/psychological abuse.

To minimize the risk of hazards in the daycare setting, Dr. Charles Shubin, Director of Pediatrics for Mercy FamilyCare, a division of Family Health Centers of Baltimore, suggests the following: (more…)

Nearly 25 percent of children ages 2 through 5 are classified as obese or overweight. Is your childcare center taking measures to prevent overweight and obesity or is it adding to the problem?  The Commission to Prevent Childhood Obesity recent released a list of 14 recommendations to prevent childhood obesity.

As a childcare provider, one of your duties is to be aware of the issues that affect young children, including obesity. An interview with Wendy M. Miller, MD, Medical Director, Beaumont Weight Control Center, provides some guidelines to help child care professionals understand the difference between overweight and obese:

OwnADaycare: What is the difference between overweight and obese?

Dr. Miller: Overweight in children is often associated with a body mass index (BMI) that is above the 85^th percentile and less than the 95^th percentile on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) BMI-for-age chart (for ages 2 to 20 years old).  However, BMI is a screening tool and not a diagnostic tool (see question #2).  The term “at risk for overweight” has also been used for those falling within the 85^th to 95^th percentiles.

Obesity in children is often associated with a BMI that is at or above the 95^th percentile on the CDC BMI-for-age chart (for ages 2 to 20 years old).  The term “overweight” has also been used to describe those above the 95^th percentile.

OwnADaycare: How can a daycare provider determine if a child is overweight or obese?

Dr. Miller: There are different ways to assess whether a child is at a healthy weight.  Calculating and plotting your child’s BMI on the CDC BMI-for-age chart will let you know whether your child is above the cut-points of the 85^th or 95^th percentiles.  The CDC web site has a “Child and Teen BMI Calculator” that will calculate BMI, give you the corresponding BMI percentile, and let you know whether this is a healthy weight.  The calculator is available at http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/. (more…)

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…)

One of the most important duties for those with jobs in childcare is to protect the health, safety and wellness of children in your care. Immunizations make daycare centers and preschools a healthy place to learn and grow.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, vaccines help keeping children safe by protecting communities by helping to protect children who are not able to be vaccinated or who do not respond to vaccines, protecting individual children who are vaccinated against dangerous diseases, and by slowing down or stopping disease outbreaks.

Check with your preschool or daycare center and follow state requirements, as they vary. In most states, preschool children must have: (more…)