But young infants must be attended to carefully. A safe and secure environment is essential to their development. And because of their vulnerability and relative helplessness, you must be prepared to attend to each infant individually. As the infants’ increasing motor skills lead them into new areas, you must also anticipate new hazards that may arise. This new baby on the go demands a new level of vigilance along with a new schedule, different equipment and modified activities. Is it worth the trouble? Financial Benefits For many providers the arrival of an infant means an increase in income. At last year’s Save the Children conference in Atlanta, Rose Mary Cumberland led a session on "Why Every Home Needs and Infant." "Each provider may choose to do it differently. The infants in my care require more of my time and attention, so I charge more," she explained. "But toddlers they go through my equipment faster, which means a bigger overhead for me. So I charge more for infants initially, but I keep the rate the same as the child gets older. I think of it as my raise." A participant at the conference commented that "in most places the parent is prepared to pay more for infants because that seems to be, especially in commercialized centers, the rule of thumb. They have to have a higher staff ratio in the infant rooms. And most parents will be prepared for higher rates, although some may expect a sibling discount." Other fee structures may work better. It is ultimately up to you. More Equipment Adding an infant also means adding to your equipment. You need cribs, playpens, swings, highchairs, and infant seats along with age-appropriate toys and safety supplies like gates and cabinet locks. If you only plan to care for one infant for a limited time, it might be a good idea to have parents provide the necessary equipment, to be returned when the infant grows out of it. But if you plan to care for infants in the future, you will want to consider making the investment yourself. For more information on age-appropriate equipment consult Holly McDonough- Abunassar’s book, Making Home-Based Child Care Work For You. Encouraging Active Play Although you should have infant equipment like swings, bouncy chairs, and exersaucers to give you the breaks you need, it is important to encourage active play as well. Infants begin all learning through physical movement, taste, touch, smell, sight, and sound. By moving their arms, hands, legs, and other body parts, by touching and being touched, infants develop an awareness of their bodies and their ability to move and interact with their environment. By using their mouths to explore, hands to reach and grasp, and their whole bodies to roll over and sit up, they master the necessary skills needed for developmental stages that follow. According to research done by Stephen Porges, Ph.D. of the University of Maryland, "opportunities to be active are vitally important for the development of motor competence and awareness of an infant’s own body and person; the development of his sensory motor intelligence; the ability to perform physical and mental initiative; and the feelings of mastery and successfulness." A baby confined to a swing for hours is developmentally confined as well. For maximum development, experts recommend keeping infants confined for no more than 20 minutes at a time. To encourage the healthy physical and motor development, a provider should give infants a safe opportunity to practice these new skills—which means baby-proofing. The more you baby-proof, the less you’ll have to say "No, no!" and limit their exploration. Therefore, you need to consider whether you can juggle the baby’s need for closely-watched free time with older children’s activities. Here are some ideas for getting infants involved: 1. Circle time can include infants. Use a swing, bouncy chair, or if they can sit independently, place them in the circle. Help them clap. Give felt pieces to feel or instruments to play (make sure they don’t contain small pieces or toxic paint). 2. When painting, give the baby a fresh clean paintbrush to explore. Or if using finger paints, try letting the infants use pudding and gelatin instead of paint. They will love the mess! 3. Teach the baby about different faces. Tell the older children to stand in front of the infant while you call out "silly" face or "scared" face or "angry" face. The infant will get a kick out of it. Take pictures and hang them up to show the children how funny they look. Temperament You also need to gauge how well you can handle the baby’s emotional needs. Unfortunately, you cannot choose the temperament of the baby any more than it can choose to be in your care. Each infant is a unique individual who has already developed likes and dislikes before coming to your care. You may have the kind of baby you find easy to understand, sympathize with and handle, or the kind of baby who needs constant handling that does not come naturally to you. You are also a unique individual with years of complex experience behind you. If the ways of handling infants that come naturally to you happen to suit the baby, then the interaction between you will be comparatively smooth and easy from the beginning. But if these things do not match, you and the baby will have to do much more adjusting to each other. You have to be able to accept the infant for what he is today, but keep an open mind: he may be something quite different next month or next year. All these things play a part in how the new infant will react to you and the new world at day care. Responding It may take time to learn what the infant is trying to communicate through crying. But establishing a personal relationship and secure attachment early will benefit both you and the infant. The infant will begin to feel comfortable with the kinds of cuddling, stroking, talking, and playing you provide. And you will be able to settle him quickly, allowing you to attend to other children. Since infants can’t use words to communicate their moods, preferences, or needs, they send many signals. Among the cues and clues they send are sounds, movement, facial expressions and how they make (or avoid) eye contact. When you try to read these signals and respond with sensitivity, you are helping to form a healthy, secure attachment. The infant will begin to trust that when she smiles, someone will smile back; that when she’s hungry, someone will feed her; and when she’s upset, someone will comfort her. All the baby learns when there is no response from you or others is that her needs are not being met. The baby whose needs are met consistently and warmly develops a sense of basic trust of the world. Studies have found that babies with parents ( or caregivers) who are responsive to their crying in the first six months actually cry less from six to twelve months, compared with babies whose parents were less responsive. Yet even if you are putting out every last effort to meet the baby’s needs, he may still choose to cry. It also doesn’t mean you must respond to every peep. If a baby is not very distressed when trying to go to sleep, often she can learn to calm down if given the chance—which is an important skill. If you were to rush in at the first sound of her cries, you might only stimulate her more and postpone her return to sleep. However, Althea Solter, Ph.D., and contributing expert writer to www.parenthood.com advises, "If you are not sure, it’s better in the first year to err on the side of being more responsive." |
When the
parents of a cherished two-year-old ask you to care for their newborn infant, are you
prepared to answer? Your days have been running smoothly because the toddlers in your care
are more or less independent. You enjoy providing "pre-school-type" activities
and you are always on the go. You know, however, that you have the patience, gentleness,
and nurturing nature required to work well with children of any age, including babies. 
For
further information on infant care and infant activities consult the following resource
guide or check