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:

• Basic Diapering

• Basic Feeding

• How to give baby a bottle

• Sanitation of toys and diapering areas

• Basic Infant First-Aid

• How to hold a baby 

• Reasons for additional neck support

• Developmental mile marks (sitting up, smiling, etc...)

• Appropriate infant toys

• 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