Infant
Infants are children that have not yet reached
the toddler years. For simplicity's sake we will say that infants are
children 11 months old and younger. They require extra attention with
everything and need a lot of one on one time with the attendant. It is important
that they feel secure and their immediate needs are met promptly - diapers and
food. Your infant nursery can be developed around
this premise.
To begin make sure your attendants know the
basics. And to cover every topic and make sure that no assumptions are
floating around we suggest that you have an annual meeting that all attendants
need to attend. Review never hurt anybody, so make sure it is light
hearted and most people don't mind stopping in for an hour or so. Topics
to cover are listed in part below. Depending on your children's needs and abilities
you should add to this list:
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Basic Diapering
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Basic Feeding
-
How to give baby a bottle
-
Sanitation of toys and diapering areas
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Basic Infant First-Aid
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How to hold a baby
-
Reasons for additional neck support
-
Developmental mile marks (sitting up,
smiling, etc...)
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Appropriate infant toys
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How to talk to baby
-
How to make baby stop crying
-
Things that stimulate baby (good to know if
they need to sleep or play)
-
How to make transition from parent to nursery
easier
-
What babies like
-
Diaper rash (what it is and what to do)
-
Illness
-
Security
There are several other areas that can be added
to this list and may need to be. Carefully consider what you have seen in
your nursery and have a goal in mind to make it better. Add topics that
interest attendants as well as repeating basics. If they all insist they
know everything let them demonstrate as you come to each item.
The point of this is to remind us and wipe away
incorrect methods that we have assumed are correct. Most people learn
childcare from their parents and truth is - no one knows if there is a better
way unless they examine this once in a while.
A good way to make sure you include all the basic
information is to use a video tape to train. Always do initial training
for anyone and everyone, whether they are a non-paid volunteer or a hired attendant.
There are always new ideas floating around and ways to make childcare easier and
more fun. These videos are an asset and clue you into changing methods,
too!
Gospel Light has a video that costs
~$19.00. A good investment to cover all your bases, including basic, developmental,
and social needs of infants and toddlers. You can use this one video to
train all your nursery workers. It is 45 minutes long, is very
informative, and shows several baby basics.
"Everybody knows
they should be doing something for nursery training, but nursery caregivers are
hard to get together. In nursery work, you add people all year long and can't do
formal training each time. This video training seminar will help with training
for caregivers and also recruitment by leaders. The seminar will cover the
overall purpose and description of a quality nursery and explain how to
accomplish this. Topics to be covered include "why we have curriculum and
how to use it"; basic training for nursery workers; and guidelines for
maintaining a safe and clean nursery.
Author
Bio: Wes and
Sheryl Haystead have been involved in the local church children's ministries for
more than 25 years. Wes is well-known as an authority on children and is the
creator of many teaching resources and books, including The 3.ooo-Year-Old Guide
to Parenting, 5 Habits of Happy Families and Teaching Your Child About God.
Sheryl teaches Sunday School and has served as Nursery Coordinator for her
church. She has written Sunday School and Vacation Bible School curriculum as
well as a variety of teaching resources. The Haysteads live in Southern
California with their two children."
Retail Price: 19.99
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