tulip1969 04:52 PM 04-05-2011
I have been filling out my huge packet of questions to register my daycare and I am stuck on one last question. Guess I don't know exactly what they are looking for. Thought I would ask some of you smart ladies to help me.
Question: How will you meet the needs of the infants while providing supervision for the other age groups?
Sounds like an easy question but my brain is fried. Help?
cheerfuldom 05:04 PM 04-05-2011
I have 5 month old all the way up to 3.5 year old right now. In a nutshell, all the children are on a routine that allows me the "windows" of time to bottle feed and attend to the infants while the olders are occupied or napping. Its all about the routine here. If I can't get an infant on some sort of predictable pattern during the day, then I can't help them because it is not possible to be at one child's beck and call all day. Thankfully, both of my infants have families that appreciate the idea of a routine and they are on board with consistency at home. I have had a few that were "on demand" type parenting styles and this clashed greatly with our environment.
nannyde 05:44 PM 04-05-2011
Originally Posted by tulip1969:
I have been filling out my huge packet of questions to register my daycare and I am stuck on one last question. Guess I don't know exactly what they are looking for. Thought I would ask some of you smart ladies to help me.
Question: How will you meet the needs of the infants while providing supervision for the other age groups?
Sounds like an easy question but my brain is fried. Help?
Wow that's a loaded question. It assumes infants care would somehow interfere with supervision of the older kids.
IMHO infants are by far the easiest of the age groups. School aged children are markedly harder to care for and supervise than infants.
My answer would be: Infant care is easily managed while supervising children of other ages. I accomplish this by having adequate space, age appropriate equiment, plentiful toys, and multiples of supplies available to easily meet the minute to minute needs of all age groups. All of the children are on a group care schedule that infants adapt to within weeks of attending the day care. Within that schedule is plenty of opportunity to meet all of the children's individual needs.
heyhun77 07:12 PM 04-05-2011
I think that they are wanting to know you have a game plan for balancing he needs of an infant who feeds and naps pretty much on demand along with the needs of older children. What the other ladies have posted sounds good.
One strategy I have is to keep a "baby is fussy" kit accessable with things to keep the older kids busy in the event that the infant needs more of my attention. I'm never out of the room with the other kids but they are focused on something "new" so I can better focus on the infant.
The current infant I have has us using the "fussy" kit about once or twice a day. Oh how I wish he was easier.