Purpose

To ensure that children are supervised and monitored in the sleep room.

Policy

Every Child that who is younger than 12 months is placed for sleep in a manner consistent with the requirements of the document entitled “Joint Statement in Safe Sleep: Preventing Sudden Infant Death in Canada, Published by the Public Health Agency of Canada. 

Areas of this policy pertains to all children however a substantial amount of the policy is directly written to highlight areas that are written for all children under 12 months unless the infants physician recommends otherwise in writing.

Procedure

1. Each child will be assigned to individual cribs or cot (for older children). Infants, toddlers, and preschool crib/ cot arrangements will be outlined on a “sleep map” that includes the lay out of the sleep room and location of the cribs and infant’s name that occupies that crib.

1. Each child’s sleeping preference will be posted in the classroom beside the sleep map that outlines the child’s sleep preferences.

1. Sleep Room monitoring system for the infant room will be located on a white board in a visible spot which clearly identifies the children that are in the sleep area. Sleep room monitoring system for the toddler and preschool room will be located on an attendance which clearly identifies the children that are in the sleep area.

1. Infants, less than one (1) year age, will always be placed on their backs to sleep.

5. When infants can easily turn from their stomachs to their backs and from their backs to their stomachs, they shall be initially placed on their backs, but shall be allowed to adopt whatever positions they prefer for sleep.

1. No loose bedding, comforters, pillows, bumper pads, or any object that can increase the risk of entrapment, suffocation or strangulation will be used.

1. Blankets are prohibited for children less than 12 months of age. 

1. Fitted sleep wear that is designed to keep an infant warm without the possible hazard of covering the head or face during sleep/nap time is recommended for children 0 – 12 months of age (i.e., sleep sack, sleepers)

1. Infants that fall asleep in chairs, strollers etc., or arrive in car seats are to be transferred to his/her crib.

1. Sleeping infants/older children shall have a supervised sleep period. The educator shall be positioned where he or she can hear and see the infant or older child. Educators shall physically check on all infants or older children regardless of age every 30 minutes during rest and sleeping.

1. Equipment such as a sound machine, that may interfere with the educator’s ability to see or hear a child who may be distressed, is prohibited.

1. Steps will be taken to keep infants from overheating by regulating the room temperature, avoiding excess bedding, and not over-dressing or over-wrapping the infant. Infants should be dressed appropriately for the environment, with no more than one (1) layer more than an adult would wear to be comfortable in that environment. Educators will conduct physical checks of the infant to ensure the infant is not overheated or distressed.

1. The lighting in the room must allow the caregiver/teacher to see each sleeping child’s/infants face, to view the colour of the sleeping child’s/infants skin, and to check on the infant’s breathing and placement of the pacifier (if used).

1. All employee, students and volunteers will review these procedures prior to working in the infant room or any room that children sleep in.

Safe Sleep Environment

1. Room temperature will be kept at no less than 68°F and no more than 85°F when measured two feet from the floor. Infants are supervised to ensure they are not overheated or chilled.

1. Infants' heads and face will not be covered during sleep. Infants' cribs will not have blankets or bedding hanging on the slides of the crib.

1. Toys and stuffed animals will be removed from the crib when the infant is sleeping. When indicated in writing by the parents, pacifiers will be allowed in infants’ cribs while they sleep. The pacifier cannot have cords or attaching mechanisms.

1. Only an individually assigned safety-approved cribs, firm mattress and tight-fitting sheet will be used for infant resting or sleeping.

1. Only one infant may occupy a crib at one time: unless emergency situations involving evacuation of the infants.

1. Electronic sleep monitoring devices that monitor all cribs are not permitted to be utilized within the centre.

1. All parents/guardians of infants shall be informed of; and given the centre written Safe Sleep Policy and Procedures at time of enrolment and any time deemed appropriate (transition to another room), or at parental request.

1. Parents are made aware that this is a requirement of the Child Care Early Years Act and as operators we are required to adhere to this policy as outlined in the CCEYA 2014 O.Reg.126/16, s 23.

1. Parents of all children will be verbally informed of any significant changes in sleep pattern or behaviour during sleep; and will result in adjustments to the manner in which the child is supervised during sleep and includes details regarding the performance of direct visual checks, including how frequently direct visual checks will be performed and how direct visual checks will be documented.

1. To promote healthy development, infants who are not mobile, and who are awake will be given supervised “tummy time” for exercise and for play.

Monitoring Rest /Sleep periods

All sleep area’s that have children sleeping are monitored every 30 minutes. When performing visual checks the staff are to go to the side of the sleeping child’s crib or cot and look for signs or distress such as change in skin colour, change in breathing, signs of overheating and react as required. All infant, toddler and preschool monitoring checks are recorded on the “Sleep Monitoring Form.” This form will identify the time the visual checks have been completed, and the number of children sleeping at the time of the check on each sleeping child in the sleep room.

Any children showing significant changes in sleep patterns, behaviour during sleep will be recorded in the daily correspondence with the parents, and in the classroom day book.

The Supervisor is responsible to monitor and ensure compliance of this policy on a weekly basis.

The Program Manager is responsible to review, minimally on a bi-monthly period.