Picking Quality Childcare for Your Child

      A great resource for parents of young children, the Quality Rating System is virtually unknown to many. QRS certification for a daycare, home daycare or school-age programs means that that center has gone above and beyond state standards for their program. The more effort they’ve put into enhancing the safety and educational quality of their center the more stars they will receive from QRS.

 

     Although it’s hard to find the data, I’ve read that at least 22 states participate in the system including Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. If you are interested in learning more about the program type “Quality Rating System” and your state in your favorite search engine and if your state has a program, it should pop up.

 

     In Illinois, information can be found at inccrra.org. Inccrra stands for Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. Once you’ve found the website, click on the words “Quality Rating System” on the right side of the page. Then click on the “Quality Rating System” tab and pick “QRS star providers” from the drop down menu. This will provide you with a list of daycares and home daycares, and how many stars they have.

 

     Once you’ve picked a center, visit them and judge for yourself. While a star rating scale is great, nothing substitutes your best judgment for what’s best for your little one.

Infant Swings in Daycares and at Home

     While attending a meeting through work recently the subject of infant swings came up.  At our daycare center we utilize swings for comforting babies, but we are only allowed to keep the baby in it for 20 minutes.  If the baby falls asleep in the swing we are required to move him to his crib unless we have a doctor note to let the baby sleep sitting up due to acid reflux or other stomach issues. 

     The infant specialist from the local YWCA, who was our speaker, told us we should only utilize the swings for three minutes at a time.  She stated that babies don’t like the swing.  She suggested we swing our heads back and forth and see how we liked it.  My mouth dropped open.  Now, this is my personal opinion, but that is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.  As an adult, swinging makes me nauseous, but as a child I could swing all day. 

     According to “Why Use Infant Swings”, swinging imitates movement in the womb and this is why babies often fall asleep in the swing.  Our YWCA speaker suggested that babies fall asleep when swinging, especially if they’ve been crying, because of the “Primitive Withdrawal” defense mechanism.  The babies are under so much stress from the swing that they just fall asleep.  I’ve worked with babies for years and I don’t think I’ve ever personally seen this mechanism happen.

     According to LiveStrong.com “Why Babies Cry Before Sleeping”, “Because your baby cannot yet communicate with you verbally, crying serves as a method of communication… However, crying is not a perfect communication tool because your baby may be letting you know he is either tired, ill, frustrated, hungry or full. Babies cry before sleeping for the very same reason---to signal to you a change in behavior.”  “Is it Ok for a Baby to Sleep in the Swing” states that 30 minutes is a good amount of time to let a baby sleep in a swing.  Our state’s Department of Children and Family Services requires babies are to be moved every 30 minutes unless asleep in their crib. 

     In my opinion, swings are great baby care tools when used with supervision and safety in mind.  Yes, babies can be injured when using swings.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission is working on new safety rules for infant swings including requiring swings to have a five point harness system.  I think that is a great idea.  In a daycare setting, as it should be in a home, babies should have proper supervision and the use of an infant swing can be a great help in keeping baby happy.

Sources:

Jennifer Burger, Why Use Infant Swings, eHow.com

What Are Defense Mechanisms Anyway?  Psych Cents

Rachel Nelson, Why Babies Cry Before Sleeping, LiveStrong.com

Erin Carson, Is it Ok for a Baby to Sleep in the Swing, LiveStrong.com

CPSC On Safety Blog

Stolen from Facebook