Nursery

General Information

The nursery is open to children ages 2 months to 2 years, at which time they will go to the 2 year old Sunday school. We also offer childcare for members who are engaged in church activities such as Bible studies, choir rehearsals and other church-wide activities. All members and visitors are invited to visit the nursery to see if it is a comfortable fit for both the parent and child. If you choose to use the nursery, we ask that you volunteer to work with the staff at least once every 5 to 6 weeks during one church service. You do not have to be a parent of a child in the nursery to volunteer.

* All groups/programs/activities that have been approved by Faith may have childcare provided for children up to the age of 10, by filling out a request form in the office.

Our staff takes the care of your children very seriously. Therefore, we need your full cooperation in understanding and complying with our nursery standards. Our goal is for all staff to be well trained and C.P.R. certified. All Nursery employees are cleared through a background check.

Registration

A nursery registration form needs to be completed for each child. Basic information about the child along with a photo (which will be taken with a digital camera when they visit) will be included. For the safety and security of the children, we use pagers in the nursery so we can contact parents anywhere in our building. Because the parent must be able to be paged for emergency or other reasons, it is imperative that you stay on the church premises while your children are in the nursery.

Child Drop-Off

Sign your child in on the attendance sheet.


Take a pager and write the pager # on the attendance sheet.


Take a sticky label and put your child’s name & pager # on it and place the label on your child’s diaper bag.


For safety reasons, we ask that you drop the child off at the door. Simply wave a quick good-bye and leave. It is normal for little ones to cry when leaving a parent. This does not last long. Our staff will immediately try to create interest in a toy or activity and give assurance that you will return. If a child cries for a period of 15 minutes, we will page you.


Please label all items in diaper bag. (ex: sippy cup, bottles, baby wipes container, etc.)

Child Pick-Up

Sign your child out on the attendance sheet and return pager.


Parents do not need to come into the nursery. Please wait in line to eliminate congestion at the door as well as for the safety of the children.


Children will be released only to the parents unless prior written permission has been given to the Nursery staff or volunteer to release the child to another adult. The nursery attendants will ask for a photo i.d. to verify identification of any adult they do not know.

What to Bring

When packing a diaper bag for your child, please include the following items:

Two disposable diapers.


Pacifier or other items should your child need it for security.


Labeled bottles/cups of milk, formula, juice or water.


Children should not bring toys, books or other items from home.

Snacks/Feeding

Infants will be fed milk, formula or juice when provided by parents in plastic bottles. Nursing mothers may use the nursery to nurse as well.


A snack may be served to the children during the time they are in our care, such as animal crackers, cheerios, gold fish or pretzels.


If your child has a food allergy, please mark their nametag, “food allergy” and you may then provide a snack for your child. Please refrain from bringing any peanut product (i.e. peanut butter crackers or peanuts) due to other children who have allergies.

Illness/Medication

For the protection of your child and other children, parents are asked not to bring a child who appears ill.


If your child has a fever, vomits or has diarrhea while in the nursery, the parent will be paged immediately.


If the child has a virus, common cold (yellow/green discharge from nose), sore throat, cold, flu, upset stomach, pink eye, etc., please wait 24 hours after symptoms have disappeared before bringing them into the nursery.


A rash must have a doctor’s note.


Neither staff nor volunteers shall give medication to any child.

Environment

The nursery will be inspected to ensure children’s safety.


No glass containers are allowed in the room at any time.


Toys and activities shall be provided that are appropriate to the age of the children present.


Toys will be cleaned and disinfected before and after childcare.


Gloves (latex) will be worn when changing diapers and the changing pad will be disinfected after each diaper change.


Hygiene practices that keep our equipment, toys, mats, etc., clean and sanitary are implemented.


Adult/child ratios: newborn – 2 years / 2 adults – 10 children

Behavior

If the following conditions occur, you will be paged and asked to remove your child from the nursery at that time for the safety and welfare of the other children:

Discipline behavior problem that has not been resolved within 3 time-outs.


Crying that continues past 15 minutes.


Biting or hitting another child.


For any injury incurred during a nursery stay. An accident report will be filled out by the nursery staff and a copy given to the parent.


A discipline problem that needs to be addressed.

Lost and Found

Lost and found items are retained in the nursery for one week and then moved to the church lost and found area.

We thank you for your cooperation. Please familiarize yourself with these rules and standards. They have been designed to keep your children as happy, healthy and safe as possible. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Debbie Guthmiller, Nursery Coordinator at (214) 513-8966.