Childcare Infant Room Ratio
Hi! I am new to this forum. I would like to start a discussion on how/why is the ratio of an infant room 1 adult to 4"!" infants in the state of WA. Oregon is 1 adult to 2 infants. Does anyone have an explanation of why WA has this ridiculous ratio? Who has happily, and successfully taken care of 4 infants by themselves? I find that I am basically caring for them ie. diapering/feeding/moving them around all day, and do not get the opportunity to interact with them for the educational goals that I have set individually for them. Anyone else have opinions on this? I'd also like to know who set this ratio, and have they been in an infant room by them self with 4 babies?
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Ca is the same as long as the 4 infants are the ONLY children in care.
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Idaho has a 1:5 infant ratio. I had no problems having 5 infants myself. It was busy but I still had time to interact with everyone.
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Alabama has a 1 to 5 infant ratio,:eek: we have our ratio lower than the state required
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What educational goals do you have for an infant?
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I did it a long time ago in a center, it was fine, and fun, for me personally. (Wash. state.)
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I happily and successfully take care of 4 infants. Have for over 24 years. It comes very easily to me. I have time to read, study and do preschool with the oldest during morning nap. I currently have 5 kids 1 year and under and a preschooler. Just another day at the office. likethis
I think 6 total is a silly low ratio. Lowering ratios will only make childcare even more expensive and elusive. |
I have been tossing around the idea of opening a center for a year now. Ohio's ratio for infants is 1:5 or 2:12. I have wondered if that's realistic.
I guess 2-4 month olds still sleep a lot and 9-12 months can usually hold their own bottle and can play independently. I think if you have them in a good routine, or as close to one as possible for that age, it would be doable. |
TN has one adult to four infants PLUS three kids over 24 months in licensed family daycare. In centers, it's 1:4 for infants; 12 mos. to 30 mos. is 1:6.
I agree that you'll spend most of your time with basic care, and that's too bad, but I can't imagine how a center could pay their employees and keep their facility running with a 1:2 ratio. You simply couldn't charge enough to do that, unless you had a ton of older kids with a higher ratio and only a few infants enrolled. Constant one-on-one care is available to the wealthy who can hire a nanny. That's the sad truth. But a program with several kids per teacher can still be excellent if the resources and training and parental support are there. |
It's 1 to 4 in my state as well. I find it's not that bad. I'm currently in the older infant room (12-18ish mo.) of my center, but I've helped out in the younger infant room. Sometimes a baby has to wait for a bottle for a minute if someone else has a poopsplosion, but generally it's pretty doable.
Lower ratios mean higher rates and I can't imagine parents paying more for infant care than they currently do. Here it's already equivalent to a mortgage payment (not that I see any of that but that's a whole different topic). |
1:4 here as well...I wish it was 1:5, because 5 is my sweet spot in terms of ability to provide care and financial motivation for me. The way I interact with infants is mostly during basic care opportunities. For example, I'm singing to them while I change their diaper. I'm making eye contact and speaking with them as I feed them their bottle. I will do tummy time and lay in front of all of them so I'm their focus and they're looking up at me and we talk and manipulate toys. Educational goals for a baby need to be realistic. My biggest goals for them are full bellies, clean bottoms, and really good sleep. :)
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Originally Posted by mommyneedsadayoff: This is above and beyond tracking developmental milestones. It can be time consuming and cumbersome but is part of the QRIS program for ALL ages. Goals and how we meet them are also required to be discussed with parents twice yearly. |
Originally Posted by Blackcat31: Example: "When parents or friends arrive in the classroom, encourage infants to wave to them. Wave your hand and repeat, "Bye Bye" several times. You could also gently hold the infants hand and make waving motions." One daily goal met in 10 seconds, 7 to go. likethis |
Originally Posted by Cat Herder: Otherwise, having to write down exactly what an infant is gaining by looking in the mirror is easy. Silly but pretty easy overall. Sometimes I think the hardest part is dealing with the headache from rolling my eyes at the whole "idea" :ouch::lol: |
Originally Posted by Blackcat31: I guess the post irritated me in the "I can't do it so you should not be allowed to either" way. To limit my income because someone else finds it difficult rubs me the wrong way. This field is hard enough to earn a living in with the "daycare is too expensive" mindset. Adding this one in too makes it near impossible. I don't want socialized daycare to become the norm. |
Originally Posted by Cat Herder: My immediate thought was something along the lines of "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." type thought.... For some 4, 6, 8 is easy....I find the less kids in attendance the harder. I also think routine is key. If someone is struggling meeting their work requirements, I think talking to the director or employer is probably going to be more productive than getting the state to change ratios. Especially in a state that has pretty middle of the road ratios as it is. |
Originally Posted by Blackcat31: |
Originally Posted by mommyneedsadayoff: I've been asked a boat load of developmental questions lately by two DCM's. One is a a nurse practitioner and the other a child protective services worker. :ouch::cool: |
Originally Posted by Blackcat31: It's more of a lack of time with their child therefore they don't really "know" their child type thing but your comment made me think of them right away. |
In NY we allowed having no more than 2 infants (here it is kids under 2!!! yo) for an adult. I can handle more than 2 but I may not.
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Originally Posted by Cat Herder: |
Originally Posted by Ariana: |
Originally Posted by Cat Herder: |
Originally Posted by hwichlaz: |
:hug:
Originally Posted by Cat Herder: |
I do with infants:
-light tissue massage -introduce different parts of a human body during every diaper changing by touching and name it (nose, mouth, ears, chicks... ) -By using puppets I introduce different kinds of animals and the sounds they make. -introduce some bright colors (red, yellow, orange) -singing to them action songs and show all movements. -teach them to be gentle -teach them ASL. As a result, they can communicate before they can speak. I do not do any circle time or organizing activities for infants under 1yo. Just a few seconds here and a minute there with each kid during the day. After 1yo they join our morning circle time for 5-10 minutes my infants for now: 8mo, 1yo, 1.1yo, 1.4yo, 1.6yo, 1.6yo. All of them started when they were 3mo |
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