Child Safety

Child safety is extremely important in your child care center. Parents want to know their child is being well taken care of and is in a safe environment. Whether you currently work in a child care center or are thinking about opening one, there are some strict guidelines you need to follow to ensure child safety. Let’s go through some now.

First of all, let’s discuss child to staff ratio. When it comes to infants, there should be no more than three infants for every employee. There should be no more than four two-year olds for every employee and no more than seven three year olds for every employee. This child to staff ratio should be strictly followed to ensure proper care is given for every child in your center.

Make sure that all play areas and sleeping areas are extremely safe. Carefully inspect the toys in your classroom to make sure there aren’t any sharp toys or ones small enough for children to swallow. The same thing goes for nap time. Children shouldn’t take any toys to nap time and should sleep with strictly a pillow and blanket. Also, make sure you regularly clean your toys to stop bacteria from spreading.

The diaper changing area needs to be separate from where the children typically play. All perishable foods need to be kept refrigerated, cleaning supplies and toxic materials need to be kept in a locked cabinet, emergency numbers must be posted in a visible location for all employees to see and a first aid-kit needs to be easily accessible. It’s important that your electric outlets have protective covers on them and all windows have guards. Smoke alarms and fire extinguishers need to be in every classroom. Your center needs to have a gate surrounding all outside play areas and all play equipment needs to have a soft surface to protect the children if they fall.

Safe and positive experiences at a young age are are extremely important for a child’s development. Keep that in the back of your mind while in your center. We want child care centers to be a safe and positive experience for all children. As child care providers, it’s our duty to ensure our children are being properly cared for. Please don’t lose track of these child safety guidelines – they will ensure every child that comes into your center has a positive experience.

There’s always more to learn! Check out some videos on How to Start a Home Daycare and Tips for Acing Your Child Care Online Courses!