Safe Sleeping
Please review A Childcare Provider's Guide to Safe Sleep (click to download), published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This document has important information on avoiding Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Children are at the greatest SIDS risk from 1 month to 1 year, and SIDS is most common in kids 2-4 months old.
Please discuss the "back to sleep" guidelines with the parents.
The safest sleeping position for a child is on his/her back, not on the baby's stomach or side.
Don't worry if the baby rolls onto her stomach by herself during the night. This ability usually starts at 4-7 months.
SAFETY TIPS
Place baby on her back on a firm mattress in a crib or bassinet (do NOT use an adult bed or even a child bed).
Do NOT use bumper pads in cribs. There should be no loose space at the edges of crib mattress.
Remove fluffy blankets, stuffed toys and pillows from crib (don’t even put quilted blanket under baby).
Avoid mother-child bed sharing; also avoid infants sharing bed with other infants. Place crib in parent's room if possible.
Maintain room temperature above 68 degrees (don’t overheat the baby).
Provide a smoke-free environment.
Kids who use pacifiers may have fewer SIDS cases. This has not been proven but an association has been found.
Kids who sleep on their backs may get a "flat head" where the skull meets mattress. To avoid this, parents and nanny should do more “tummy time” play with child (both parents on stomach) while she is awake during the day.