Infant & Toddler Care Designed for Your Child’s Specific Needs
The Briar Patch Child Care Centre has licensed infant and toddler daycare centres with the capacity to care for 20 children. This group is broken into 2 programs: the infant centre cares for 12 children aged 3 months to approximately 2 years of age and the toddler centre cares for 8 children between the ages of 2 and 3.
We encourage parents to follow a gradual entry procedure when entering your child into the daycare. This helps the child adjust to the centre. It also allows the child time to become familiar with a new environment, and new people with the security of his/her parents nearby. Would you like to schedule a guided tour of our facility? Our staff looks forward to meeting you and your child.
Parent Involvement Encouraged to Ease Transition
After your registration is complete we would ask that you plan to spend some time in the centre until your child has begun to establish a comfortable, trusting relationship with the staff. This may take some time, depending upon your child’s needs. Keep in mind that all children are different and may adjust differently. If you yourself are unable to orient your child, perhaps another friend or family member can assist your child in adjusting to the centre.
You may find during the first few days that he/she may feel more comfortable if they have a special toy to bring along to ease the tension. We also encourage something soft to cuddle with at naptime like a favourite blanket or plush toy. After he/she feels more comfortable, we would ask that personal toys be left at home to prevent them from being lost or broken at the centre.
Infants
The daily schedule is flexible in order to accommodate the individual needs of each child. Each infant will create their own schedule for eating, diapering and sleeping. Both the parents and the staff, to ensure consistent care, are required to fill out intake forms. Parents are required to fill out a form for their child upon arriving in the morning; staff use these intake forms as a guideline for feeding, diapering and sleeping times. As infants become more mobile, they will have the opportunity to participate in toddler activities and to be eventually integrated into the toddler program at approximately 18-24 months.
Toddlers
The toddlers will have a more set routine that is still somewhat flexible to ready them for the programming of the 3-5 centre. This program’s schedule will incorporate circle/story/music time, outdoor play or walks and a regular nap/rest time. Small children get tired, especially in a stimulating environment. The length of sleep will depend on the individual child’s needs. If you are noticing a change in your child’s sleep patterns in the evening (not tired at usual bed time or too tired to eat dinner) please let centre staff know so we can try to adjust your child’s sleep schedule accordingly.
We Assist You with Toilet Training
When you feel your child is ready for toilet training, we ask that you begin this teaching at home during a weekend or vacation. We will follow through and encourage your child while in our care. Toilet training will be done in a relaxed manner with the cooperation of the family. We require that the child must be showing signs of readiness. If we notice that your child is ready, centre staff will approach you and ask if you are willing to begin the process.
