POLICY FOR PARENTS OF DOLNA

1. The center welcomes parent participation in the activities or operations of the center should discuss their interest with the center supervisor, who in turn cans advice them of what opportunities are available.

2. Parents of enrolled children may visit our center at any time; however respect the caregiver's opinion if it will disrupt the peace of the daycare. Caregiver will be available by phone unless it is outdoor time and only one caregiver is present.

3. There is a complaints and suggestions book kept in the creche. In case of any dissatisfaction please enter it into the book. It will be looked and discussed in the monthly parents meeting. Please refrain from being angry with the creche staff in front of the children. This makes it very difficult for the creche staff to have co-operation from the children during planned activities, or dispute between children.

4. On the last Friday of the month between 4.45 and 5.15 there will be a creche parents meeting. This is to address any issues that arise during the month. One creche staff, the creche co-coordinator and a creche committee member will be present.

5. A timetable has been developed so that infants and children have an enriching and learning environment at the creche. Please co-operate with the creche staff in adhering to the timetable. Weather and status of the child will be considered for the age appropriate activities.

6. Parents please feel free to discuss your unhappiness in any regard do not feel it will be used against your child. Remember we strive to improve our services. We wish the children to feel safe and happy to come to the creche and as they get older to be engaged in constructive activities while their parents are at work.

7. In order that children reach their milestones, they will not be carried around unless they are in the settling down period or need to be pacified. Extra attention will be provided to new comers so that they feel comfortable.

8. Use of pacifiers is strictly prohibited.

9. The feeding bottles should be sterilized at home. The number of bottles should match the number of feeds.

10. Parents should provide safe drinking water, milk and lunch. Snack will be made in the creche and given to the children in the afternoon.

11. Request to staff to collect items from individuals home or to buy food in the canteen or to accompany child to canteen will be strongly discouraged. Rare instances of help if urgently required will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

12. No physical or verbal abusive punishment is allowed in the creche. Parents are requested to encourage their children to listen to simple instructions given by the creche staff. Most issues will be dealt with affection and/or redirection to other activities.

13. The creche activities for the day/week and snack menu will be posted on the soft board located on the kitchen door.

14. We have Ms. Meena Sivaram who has a masters in child development, runs several child care centers in the city (eg at Biocon, Infosys) and is a mother herself coming to the creche 6 days a month. She is training both our staff and our creche coordinator. She will be available to meet with parents in the creche to address the individual needs of the child. The current rules and fee structure have all been developed by her with some modifications to suit Dolna.

FOOD

1. Food except the snack is to be given by the parents. It will be heated if requested and fed to the children.

2. The forks and spoons will be provided by the creche.

3. Any food allergies have to be informed to the caregiver. If a food has never been given to the child do inform the caregiver. (Particularly egg and groundnuts)

4. The caregiver will feed babies and Toddlers with a clean spoon. However, if the toddler wishes to eat by him/herself it will be encouraged. In general children above the age of two will be asked to feed themselves most of the time. Unless the parent explicitly states otherwise children will be allowed to self-regulate their food intake.

5. Vegetarian food only please.

CLOTHING

1. Simple, comfortable, weather appropriate clothes. Not too many clasps and zips.

2. There should be adequate number of diapers and bibs. These will be rinsed out and left out to dry before being given back to the parents. Please bear in mind that these maybe wet.

3. The shoes should be slip on canvas. No tie up shoes please unless the children can handle it.

4. Jewelry is best avoided.

5. Specific linens should be provided by the parents e.g. a favourite blanket that the child will not sleep without

MEDICATION

1. Clear instructions need to be given for proper administration of the prescribed drug if dose is required during the day.

2. If a child develops fever during the day, parents will be informed and the child will be given a dose of paracetemol if acceptable to the parents.

3. If a child has any cuts or bruises first aid will be given. The parents will be informed.

4. In case of more serious problems the children will be taken to see Dr. Prasad or Dr. Chandralekha if they are on campus at that time.

TOYS

1. No toys from home are allowed unless the child cannot stay without it. Looking after children is an enormous responsibility; let the caregivers not worry about the toys. If such items are sent please do not hold the creche staff responsible for damage.

2. It applies to the books.

PICK UP AND DROP

1. The belongings of each child need to be checked by the parents at the end of the day. Baskets will be kept on the creche wall but in case of missing items please inform the staff as soon as possible.

2. Leave clear instructions if you are traveling during the day and leave your contact number. (Particularly helpful for any emergency that occurs like sudden spotting of chicken pox)

3. Please brush the children.s teeth give them breakfast and then bring them to the creche. Avoid late nights during the week.

ILLNESS

1. If the child is suffering from an infectious disease like chicken pox or conjunctivitis do not send the child to the day care.

2. If the child is prone to wheezing please inform the caregiver the kind of attention to be given and demonstrate the use of an inhaler.

3. If the child has a cold the center will use tissues for wiping the running nose.

Please note that frequency of colds may seem often however your doctor will tell you that even if the child is at home it may happen. Children below five years are prone to colds.

4. If your child has a fever over 100 F, 1-2 vomiting episodes or diarrhea, chicken pox or conjunctivitis please DO NOT send the child to the creche. If the child becomes sick in the creche with above the parent will be informed and has to pick the child up in 2 hours time. The child should come back to the creche only if he/she is symptom free for 24 hours. This is to ensure that other children in the creche especially infants are not exposed to illness that will affect them more seriously than an older child.

HOLIDAYS

1. The center will match the holidays with the NCBS holidays except on Saturdays when the creche will work part day. Creche Hours: M-F 8.30-6.30. Sat: 8.30-4.30. One Saturday/month there will be a field trip. On going efforts are directed towards bringing a person on campus once/twice a week between 4.30-5.30 who will engage the older children in some sport/music/art.

FEES

1. Please pick up the enrolment forms from Ashok Rao in administration and fill in the information.

2. The monthly fee will be directly deducted from the pay upon handing over authorization to Ashok Rao. If you do not receive your pay through NCBS, you will have to provide a cheque to Ashok Rao on the last day of the month.

3. If you want to discontinue for some time no fee concession will be given. You may discontinue and then rejoin which will entail giving the material fee again as a new user.

GUIDELINES FOR CAREGIVERS:

DRESS CODE FOR CAREGIVERS

1. Presentable cotton clothes, hair to be plaited or made into a bun.

2. Very essential jewelry, no long ear rings and glass bangles. (Glass bangles tend to break and may hurt the children hence best avoided)

3. Dupattas need to be pinned up neatly as also the saree pallu for ease in working.

4. Light make up allowed, no long nails as it may hurt the children.

5. No footwear allowed indoor.

6. The caregivers need to freshen up after attending to the children.s needs.

7. The caregivers need to use mediker regularly as we can prevent lice in children.s hair.

8. No flowers please as it falls all around the floor and babies tend to put in their mouths.

9. Personal telephone calls should be made and received only when necessary. Working hours is not a time to chat with friends and family.

10. Taking a bath can be done only after working hours. After taking a bath the bathroom should be left clean and dry.

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE CAREGIVERS

1. Always remember children are God.s gift and they have just come into being they are very much dependent on us. They still have numerous years to learn social skills and appropriate behavior.

2. Nurture them with all the love possible be patient and pleasant. Avoid using foul language as children are very quick to imitate and unlearning is always more difficult than learning.

3. Do not sit and chat with each other while at work.

4. Distribute work evenly so there is not confusion and resentment.

5. Maintain the children.s daily report sheet as well as their file of artwork and other activities.

6. Be truthful and honest as we are role models for the children; sharing your difficulties in disciplining children with the supervisor.

7. Beating and pinching is strictly prohibited and we have zero tolerance for it the caregiver will be removed from work.

8. Child should not be left unattended except when sleeping. Even then periodically check on an infant younger than 1 year of age.

9. Do not carry the child clasping one arm as it may dislocate the arm.

10. No French leave allowed as children find it difficult to build rapport with a new caregiver.

11. The toilet floor needs to be maintained impeccably. Take turns to do it. Make sure it is dry at all times so that young children when the run into the bathroom do not slip on the floor.

12. When the child soils the clothes who ever are near the child needs to be responsible for cleaning.

13. Always follow the daily plan put up on the soft board. Children have short attention spans so change the activities every half an hour. Quicker change in activities may be needed for younger children.

14. No child to be left on the potty for more than twenty minutes.

15. Sleeping in the afternoon not allowed.

16. Children's lunch to precede staff's lunch.

17. Be courteous to the parents listen to their instructions.

18. Do not engage in activity money generating or otherwise while at work. (Sari fall stitching etc).

19. No entertaining visitors.

20. The day care needs to be swept and moped as many times as required as otherwise ants may trouble the children. Also dust all surfaces and remove cobwebs

21. Do not compare the children, as each is unique and will be gifted in one area or other.

22. Keep appreciating the children as often as possible for each small task.

23. Remember some days children are cranky for no apparent reason as they are not able to articulate what is troubling them.

24. While arranging or re arranging the furniture keep the children's safety in mind. Keep sharp objects out of reach of children.

25. Toys and linen need to be washed every week. Curtains need to be washed once a month. Keep a book and enter into it when the toys, linen and curtains were washed.

PLAY

Play is essential for children to learn and grow. What do kids learn while they play? Watch them as they

Figure out how things work

Pick up new words and ideas

Build strong muscles they can control

Use their imagination

Solve problems

Learn to cooperate with others

Remember Safety first, safe toys for young children are:

Well-made (with no sharp parts or splinters and do not pinch)

Painted with non-toxic, lead free painted

Easily cleaned

Not electric or battery operated

Checked frequently for safety

Kept out of reach of younger children

GUIDLINES FOR PLAY EQUIPMENT

Out door

1. Jungle Gym Children from the age of one and a half start enjoying the older ones manage to climb high and swing on it.

2. See-Saw only with constant supervision children tend to get hurt unsupervised.

3. Slide: Children have lot of fun. It has to be placed in a shady place otherwise in summer it tends to get heated up and burn the children's bottom. Ok Play brand indoor slide made of moulded plastic is nice.

4. Sand pit: The sand needs to be finely sieved, as there may be small pebbles that may be put into mouths by the small children. The caretaker has to add water only then the children can make any shape. Lots of mugs and beach set needs to be kept in the sandpit.

5. Balls: All kinds those are not hard.

6. Swing: Only if the children are above three years as if there is an accidental fall they will hurt their head.

7. A small wooden house: Children love to enter small spaces and have imaginary parties.

8. Rope Ladder: Boys particularly enjoy it 3.5 years and onwards.

Hand on toys

Hand's on toys such as rattles, squeeze toys, balls, puzzles, beads, and board or card games build eye hand coordination, encourage ideas about how things work and foster cooperation and problem solving.

Books and Recordings

Books and Recordings are sources of joy for children and adults. Choose some to build on children.s interests such as animals, or silly words, children who are read to in their early years usually become better readers.

Books that could be considered subject to budgetary constraints.

1. Dorling Kindersley (Picture books)

2. Scholastic (cost effective)

3. Lamaze

4. Time Life

5. Lotus learning

6. Happy world

7. Lady bird series(available in book stores) are excellent lap books

8. Children's book trust of India (very cost effective books)

ART MATERIALS:

Foster creativity and build skills that lead to reading, writing and seeing beauty in life. Infants who can grasp a marker will delight in the motion of scrubbing. Kids enjoy the doing and are not concerned out the end result. The mess is half the fun.

Art Materials:-

1. Paints

2. Small aprons

3. One easel board

4. Stencils (available at Sutradhar)

5. Paint Brushes

6. Crayons

7. Markers

8. Chalk

9. White board, eraser

CONSTRUCTION ITEMS

Such as blocks, building sets, and woodworking supplies are excellent sources and number ideas. They contribute to muscle strength and coordination too.

Few Toys are as durable as hardwood blocks.

1. Building blocks

2. Concept toys like:

a. Number rods

b. Buttoning frames

c. Lacing shoe

d. Peg Board

e. Big beads

(Available with the Montessori play equipment markets; can give the name)

EXPERIMENTAL MATERIALS:

Such as sand, water day, and musical instruments are ideal learning tools because children have so much control over them-they relish their feel and sound.

1. Inflatable water pool. Children love to splash in water tub. Constant supervision needed.

2. Play dough-can be ordered from Dutch Touch as it is non-toxic. The ones available in the market smell of petrol.

3. Xylophone, ghunghroo etc, can be bought.

SLEEPING SCHEDULE

1. For babies under one year only their body clock will be followed

2. For toddlers between the ages of 18 months to 2.5 years gradually the mid-morning nap will be discontinued

3. On parent.s request if some child is hyperactive and can do without the afternoon nap it will be considered.

4. Please inform the favored sleep posture of the child. Some sleep on their tummy some on their back. Some will sleep only if patted, when sung to or rocked.

TOILET TRAINING

1. Toilet training, we stress is a process and is usually complete only when the child independently is able to hold on till he/she gets to the bathroom. Perfectly toilet trained babies are known to regress temporarily do not attribute it to the negligence of the caregiver.

2. Potties will be provided by the center however if parents want to get their own they are welcome to do so.

3. The older children will be encouraged to use the western commode with a seat reducer.

4. Children will be periodically taken to the toilet (Every 1.5 to 2 hours). The child will not be ridiculed for failure in this area. Toilet visits will be built into the daily schedule for young children. Older children will be encouraged to use the toilet before leaving the creche for outdoor activities or field trips.

5. Consult Meena who has a masters in child development and many years of experience in developing successful interactions with children and their parents.

EDUCATIONAL INPUTS

In the recent years a lot of importance has been rightly placed on early childhood stimulation. Every effort will be made to provide the children a rich environment with carefully chosen educational toys, books and music. Every child will be provided a warm and secure environment and plenty of attention from a caring adult. Personalized schedules and tender interactions throughout the day encourage them to learn develop and grow in their unique way.