Infant Sleep/Infant Equipment 620-01-95-05

(Revised 10/1/16 ML #3480)

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All cribs must be approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. All cribs are required to have a date of manufacture on the crib, usually under the mattress. If the crib was manufactured before June 28, 2011 the crib may not be in compliance and the provider must show proof of compliance with 16CFR 1219 or 1220. Proof of compliance must come from the manufacturer of the crib. Any crib manufactured after June 28, 2011 will meet compliance standards.

 

An infant may not sleep in any equipment other than an approved crib or portable crib, unless the parent has supplied the provider with a note from a medical provider instructing otherwise. Portable cribs may be a play pen or pack-and-play type of equipment approved by the manufacturer for infant sleep through twelve months of age. Montessori floor beds are allowed in infant rooms in child care facilities where a staff person is directly supervising the infants at all times. Bassinets and other types of equipment designed for very young infants are not allowable, except that child care facilities that have been utilizing bassinets in infant rooms for non-mobile infants prior to December 1, 2014 may continue to utilize them in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

 

Infants that are sleeping in a room are required to be visually checked regularly and also have a monitor in the room with sleeping infants unless a staff member is in the room with the infants while the infants are sleeping. The monitor can be a visual or auditory monitor however vital monitors are not allowed.

 

Mattresses and manufacturer’s pads and sheets are to fit properly. Mattress/manufacturer’s pad must maintain shape, lay flat, and meet all four corners of the crib or portable crib’s frame. The provider shall ensure that sheets are changed whenever they become soiled or wet, when used by different infants, and at least weekly.

 

The provider shall ensure that there is a minimum of two feet of space between cribs or portable cribs to minimize the transmission of illness. In infant rooms with non-mobile infants, the cribs or portable cribs may be lined up end-to-end with a solid barrier between the ends, and a 2 feet space between aisles. In infant rooms where the infants are mobile, there must be a two feet aisle all around the crib or portable crib.

 

Providers and staff members shall always initially place infants on their backs to sleep. The crib may not contain soft bedding or other suffocation hazards.

 

If swaddling an infant it must be discontinued once an infant becomes mobile.

 

“Mobile” is defined as when an infant shows signs of rolling. Signs of rolling: gaining more control over arms and legs; having more head control; rolling from side to side etc.

 

A child may not be placed on a waterbed unless the child has attained both a developmental and chronological age of thirty-six months.

Children may not be confined to car seats, swings, bouncy chairs, rock n play, or other equipment for extended periods of time. It is recommended that infants spend no more than 20 minutes at a time confined to infant equipment. Research indicates that when an infant is not allowed adequate time to crawl, stretch, roll, or move freely, the infant’s brain development and motor skills may be delayed.