View Single Post
Blackcat31 08:35 AM 10-02-2017
Originally Posted by kjbent5:
Hello everyone. I am a newly opened (within the past year). I currently have in my care a 5 year old, a 1 1/2 year old, a 7 month old, and a 5 month old. The 1 1/2 year old and 5 month old just started a month ago. I was hoping to get some advice on my situation.

I own a small home in Texas and am trying to work with the space I have available in my home. When I got licensed a year ago, I had turned one of my son's bedrooms into the "daycare" room. I did this because my living room is very small and does not allow much space to play at all. I have one hallway leading from my living room/kitchen and each room is accessed by that hallway. When I got inspected, my inspector never said anything about having a separate playroom. Over the summer I had older kids and no infants so I had no problem being able to hear them if they were in the room playing.

My setup is still the same with the addition of the two portable cribs that I keep in my living room for the babies. My problem is now that I have the 1 1/2 year old, is it ok to let her and the the 5 year old play in the daycare room while I am in the living room with the infants? What I have been doing for the month she has been here is bring out different buckets of toys into the living room each day...bringing blocks one day, animals, stacking/nesting cups, etc another day. But since my living room is so small, she is getting too wound up and bored.

This is what the minimum standards for Texas says for supervision of toddlers:
Supervising children at all times means the primary caregiver or substitute caregiver and assistant caregivers are accountable for each child’s care. This includes responsibility for the ongoing activity of each child, appropriate visual and/or auditory awareness, physical proximity, and knowledge of activity requirements and each child’s needs. The caregiver must intervene when necessary to ensure children’s safety. In deciding how closely to supervise children, the caregiver must take into account:
(1) Ages of the children;
(2) Individual differences and abilities;
(3) Layout of the home and play area; and
(4) Neighborhood circumstances, hazards, and risks.
Minimum Standards for Child-Care Homes
§747.1503.
You would be meeting your state's minimum requirements for supervision but I personally would not leave a 5 yr old and a 1.5 yr old alone in any play area that I could not see directly into.

That age span is far too wide for my comfort.

However, as I've said you would not be breaking any licensing rules but it's definitely not ideal and not what I would consider best practice. (My 2 cents...)
Reply