Child Care Information Booklet: Routines, Nutrition, Infection Control, Attachment Theory, and More

This Child Care Information Booklet covers individual differences of babies’ and toddlers routines, possible signs of stress, distress or pain, dietary requirements, food safety guidelines, serving and preparation of meals, oral health, infection control, safe and unsafe practices, emotional, social, physical, and language development, attachment theory, sudden infant death syndrome, Australian policies and procedures, and more.

CHILD CARE
Information Booklet

Individual differences of babies’ and toddlers routines
including needs for rest and sleep/rest patterns

Possible signs of stress, distress
or pain in babies and toddlers
◦ Change in the habits of eating and regular sleep.
◦ Increase in frequency of crying and tantrums
◦ Change in the bowel movements
◦ Physical ailments like stomachaches and headaches

◦ Fears and nightmares during the bed time
◦ Change in the emotions
◦ Coughs, anxious tics and body movements
◦ Frequently relying on the habits of thumb sucking and hair chewing
◦ Change in the emotions

Dietary requirements and nutritional
needs of babies and toddlers
For First Six months
◦ Human milk only1. 6th Month
Onwards
1. Irwin Benuck, "A Pediatric Practice’S Journey To Provide Care To “Healthy Babies And Children”" (2015) 44(3) Pediatric Annals.

Food safety guidelines
Guidelines for food purchasing
◦ Choose pasteurized milk 100% juices
◦ Buy only inspected meats
◦ Neither buy nor use the foods packed in cans that are bulging
or leaking.

Guidelines for food storage
o Put away the frozen or cold foods right after purchasing
o Rinse the vegetables and fruits before their use. Even prewashed and prepackaged foods such
as lettuce, carrots and spinach could still carry harmful bacteria and therefore, they need to be
washed.
o Store the foods in the covered containers in refrigerators
o Place thermometers in visible location in the refrigerators or freezers, and check the
temperature often
o Make sure that the temperature of the refrigerator in between 32 to 40 degree F2.
o Keep the freezing temperature at 0 degree Fahrenheit or less.
o Clean the freezer, refrigerators, dry food storage containers and areas frequently
o Store cleaning supplies in different cupboards than the one with foods
2. "Where To Manage Late Preterm Babies? A Look At Whether Late Preterm Babies Fit Proposed ‘Transitional Care’ Criteria For Ward-Based Care"
(2017) 53 Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health

Serving meals to the children
o Serve foods on bowls or plate or napkin instead of directly serving them on the table
o Use large spoons or tongs
o Store the leftovers immediately right after the meal
o Discard the food wastes in the covered garbage

Preparation of meals for the Children
o Wash hands frequently with the water and soap during the preparation of food
o Wash the work counters and the surfaces both before and after the use
o Use separate cutting boards and utensils for preparing baby foods3
o Do not change the diapers of the babies in place of food preparation and storage
o Do not allow pets in the kitchen place
o Always wash and sanitize the openers after their use
3. Lucarelli, Jennifer, "Super Baby Food: Your Complete Guide To What, When, And How To Feed Your Baby And Toddler" (2014)
46(5) Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior

Recommendations for oral health
◦Infants should receive an oral health risk assessment from their primary health care provider by
six months of age.
◦Parents should develop a dental home for the infants by 12 months of age.
◦Prevent the children from getting the habit of thumb sucking
◦Choose the give the babies and toddlers tooth-friendly snacks
◦Tooth brushing is necessary for the babies after the month of six.
◦Begin cleaning teeth as early as there is the sign of tooth appearing

Guidelines for infection control
◦ Immunization of the babies and toddlers
◦ Immunization and screening of the staffs surrounded by the child
◦ Hand washing and use of gloves
◦ Cleaning and disinfections
◦ Separation of the child nappies from that of the older children
◦ Antibiotics in case of clinical infections
◦ Proper vaccines on time

Information on general safe and unsafe
practices when working with babies
1. Car Seat
- It is the law!
2. Vaccines
- Prevent infections, viruses and diseases
3. Put the cleaners, plants, small toys and medicines out of reach of the babies and toddlers in
order to prevent chocking and poisoning hazard.
4. If the child eats less than sic to eight times a day, call the doctor
5. If there is an excessive yellow caste on the skin call for a doctor
6. Proper sanitation5
7. Keep small toys out of their reach
8. Keep electronic devices out of their reach
4. Antonaccio, Valentina, Ana I. Balsa and Alejandro Cid, "Positive Parenting: Babies And Toddlers Group-Based Parental Interventions" [2018] SSRN
Electronic Journal

Information on the emotional, social, physical
and language development of babies and
toddlers
Socio-emotional development of child
5. Chen, Yu-ping et al, "Movement Planning Reflects Skill Level And Age Changes In Toddlers" (2010) 81(6) Child Development

Speech and language development of child
6. Albarran, A. and Reich, S. (2013). Using Baby Books to Increase New Mothers' Self-Efficacy and Improve Toddler Language Development. Infant and Child Development,
23(4), pp.374-387.

Physical development of child

Attachment theory
What is attachment?
“Attachment is a bond which ties the mother and the
baby together. It emerges out of evolution. It is
developed in order to protect the human being from
predators, it is central to our survival and what we are
beginning to realize now is that it is also central to
our well-being”

◦ According to this theory, one can have attachment with more than one
figure
◦ The greatest predictor of the secure attachments is caregiver sensitivity
◦ Emotional regulation
◦ The nature of attachment influences the later social behavior of the
individuals
◦ The nature of attachment type predictor of the emotional responses. For
ex- securing the child is more likely to be mindful and expressive of the
emotions of others.
◦ The early insecure attachments is linked with the later psychopathology.

Sudden infant death syndrome
Tips

Brain development in babies and toddlers

Australian policies and procedures
◦ United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child (1959).
◦ National Quality Framework for Education and Care Services in Australia
◦ Early Childhood Australia Code of Ethics (2006)
◦ Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the Victorian Early Years Learning and
Development Framework (VEYLDF)
◦ Education & Care Services National Law Act (2010).
◦ Education & Care Services National Regulations (2011)
◦ Greater Shepparton City Council Municipal Early Years Plan (2009-2013).

References
◦ Irwin Benuck, "A Pediatric Practice’S Journey To Provide Care To “Healthy Babies And Children”"
(2015) 44(3) Pediatric Annals.
◦ "Where To Manage Late Preterm Babies? A Look At Whether Late Preterm Babies Fit Proposed
‘Transitional Care’ Criteria For Ward-Based Care" (2017) 53 Journal of Paediatrics and Child
Health
◦ Lucarelli, Jennifer, "Super Baby Food: Your Complete Guide To What, When, And How To Feed
Your Baby And Toddler" (2014) 46(5) Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
◦ Albarran, A. and Reich, S. (2013). Using Baby Books to Increase New Mothers' Self-Efficacy and
Improve Toddler Language Development. Infant and Child Development, 23(4), pp.374-387.
◦ Chen, Yu-ping et al, "Movement Planning Reflects Skill Level And Age Changes In Toddlers"
(2010) 81(6) Child Development
◦ Antonaccio, Valentina, Ana I. Balsa and Alejandro Cid, "Positive Parenting: Babies And Toddlers
Group-Based Parental Interventions" [2018] SSRN Electronic Journal

Thank You