One important component of infant safe sleep requirements is to always place babies on their backs to sleep. Putting infants to sleep on their backs has been shown to significantly reduce the chance of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). However, babies need to balance the time spent on their backs with time on their stomachs, to strengthen their core and neck muscles and to avoid flat spots on their heads. This is where tummy time comes in. It’s critical for anyone caring for an infant, from parents to childcare providers, to know about and practice safe tummy time. 

Reality Alert: An experienced childcare worker often used nap time as an opportunity to prepare for arts and crafts activities later in the day. Most of the art supplies had been stored on the top shelf of a closet which the employee was unable to reach without assistance.

In the News: An unvented clothes dryer was the cause of a fire that killed three young children, one just three months old, in an unlicensed daycare, authorities said. The retired teacher who ran the daycare eventually died after pulling other children out of her burning home.

Reality Alert: A healthy and athletic 20-year-old assistant teacher learned firsthand how important proper lifting technique is in a childcare setting. After struggling through lower back pain for several days, the woman scheduled an appointment with a chiropractor.

In the News: A childcare center experienced a severe outbreak of E. coli that resulted in 11 of 45 children becoming extremely ill. A parent unknowingly sent an infected child to daycare where they spread the disease to several other children.

Boy Severely Burned in Bathtub: A young boy was severely scalded on the lower half of his body after a caregiver placed him in a bath filled with scalding tap water. The boy was attending an in-home daycare when he had an accident that required cleaning and changing him.

Suffocation at Daycare: An 18-month-old girl suffocated at a childcare center after becoming entangled by a cord hanging from a set of window blinds. The child was left unattended, and when she crawled towards the blinds her head become trapped in the cords.

Reality Alert: A one-year-old child suffered a skull fracture after falling from a changing table. The child rolled off the changing table onto the floor while another child unexpectedly diverted the childcare provider’s attention.

Reality Alert: A childcare center employee fell and severely injured her shoulder when she attempted to step over a baby gate. The employee indicated later that she thought that she needed to quickly attend to an upset child on the other side of the gate.

In the News: An infant boy was found dead in a sport utility vehicle outside a west side daycare center, apparently left unattended by an employee of the center who picked him up, police and relatives said. The temperature was 81 degrees at 4 p.m. when a 911 caller reported that the baby, identified by family members as a 4-month-old, was found in a Dodge Durango outside the day care.