Large Group and Schoolage Childcare Licensing

Large Group and SchoolAge ChildCare Licensing

POLICYSTATEMENT:Alternative Nappingfor Infants 12 to 15 months

ChildCareLicensingStandards606CMR7.11(13)(e)(2)SleepRestandQuietActivitiesrequiresthat“Programsservinginfantsmustnapinfantsinanindividualcrib, portacrib,playpenorbassinet.”ChildCareLicensingStandards606CMR7.02Definitionsdefinesaninfantas“achildwhoisunder15monthsofage”.Althoughthisregulationrequiresthatinfantsneedtonapinacrib,portacribplaypenorbassinet,thefollowingcriteriawillbeacceptedforolder infants(from 12 to 15 months)to rest on acot ora mat.

Background

• LargeGroupandSchoolAgeProgramslicensedtoserveinfantsandtoddlershave,inpractice,usedtheperiodfrom12monthsto15monthsasatransitiontime.Duringthistime,stafffocusonhelpingolderinfantsdevelopandpracticeskillsneededfortheinfant’stransitionintoatoddlerclassroom.Infantswhomayhaveusedahighchairnowhavethephysicaldevelopmenttositonasmallchairatatablewhenhavingsnacksandothermeals.Infantswhowereplacedinacrib,portacrib,playpenorbassinetfornapsbegin to makethe transition to usinga mat orcot for resttime.

• Infantswhoareenrolledinamixedinfant/toddlerroommayfeelthattheyarenotparticipating innormalclassroomactivitiesifthey arepreventedfrommoving toamatorcotoncetheyhavereachedtheageof12months.Forexample,anolderinfantmayfeelisolatedsleepinginacribawayfromtheotherchildrenintheroom.Inthiscase,staffaswellastheparentsmaydeemitdevelopmentallyappropriateforthischildtosleeponamatwithhis/her friends.

• Achild’ssizeanddevelopmentallevelmayleadtoasituationwhereitismoredangeroustohaveachildsleepinacribratherthanontheflooronamatoronacot.Itisnotunusualforanolderinfanttoattempttoclimboutofacribespeciallyifalloftheother childrenare ona mat or cot.

• Manyoftheinstitutionalsizedcribsarenotdesignedforolderinfantsasthesecribstendto be smaller.Anolder infant mayfeelcramped and uncomfortable in oneof these cribs.

• Cribsinclassroomstakeupprogramspacewhichisanimportantconsideration.Thisisespeciallysignificantinamixedinfant/toddlerclassroomwheretheaddedspacetakenupbythecribscanbe an important addition to classroomactivities.

The followingcriteria shouldbe used byprograms:

• Theindividualneedsofthechildhavebeenconsideredinmakingthedecisionandithasbeendeterminedthattheinfantisdevelopmentallyreadytomakethemovetoacotormat.
• Thereare no medical reasons thatwouldconflictwith movingthe infant toa mat or cot.
• Parentshavebeenincludedinthedecisiontochangethechild’ssleepingenvironmentandhave shared in thediscussion aboutwhether ornot to movethe infant to a mat or cot.
• Evacuationprocedureshavebeenreviewedandupdatedifnecessarytoensurethatallinfantsnappingoncots or matscan besafelyevacuatedwithoutdelay.
• Evacuationdrillshavebeenpracticedwithoutthecribssothatstaffandchildrenarefamiliar with the new routineto be followed in thecase ofanemergency.

Thisprocedure of moving olderinfantstoamatorcotwillnotbeallowedinmulti-ageclassroomssincethesafety ofthenappinginfantmaybejeopardizedby theolderchildrenintheclassroom.Also,thisprocedurewillnotbeallowedtocontinueifareviewoftheinjuryreportformsshowsanincreaseinthenumberofinjuriesinvolvingolderinfantswhohavebeenplacedon a mat or cotforresttime.