Bona Vista's Child Care Solutions

Do you have a child or children in your care with an IEP who are having a CCC and the parents have invited you to be part of the committee that is talking about the LEA and the LRE for the child and all of a sudden you just want to say “WAIT! What are you saying?”

The world of education can quickly become full of acronyms and letters that sometimes need to be deciphered. The following are some of high occurrence acronyms.


ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act
ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
ASD - Autism Spectrum Disorder
EI - Early Intervention (First Steps)
ESL - English as a Second Language
FAPE - Free, appropriate, public education
IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
IDEA-Part C - Programs for infants and toddlers with special needs
IEP - Individualized Education Program
IFSP - Individualized Family Service Plan
LD - Learning Disability
LEA - Local Education Agency (local school district)
LRE - Least Restrictive Environment
OT - Occupational Therapy
PDD - Pervasive Development Disorder
PBS - Positive Behavior Supports
PLOP - Present Levels Of Performance
PT - Physical Therapy
SLP - Speech Language Pathologist
SPD - Sensory Processing Disorder
TOR - Teacher Of Record

Hopefully as you are reviewing any IEPs or IFSPs of the children in your care, you will now be able to decipher some of the alphabet soup that you may see.

In child care we are supposed to be the experts in helping soothe the fussiest most challenging babies. Even the greatest infant teacher will from time to time come across a baby who is difficult and seems impossible to soothe. When this happens there can be a mix of emotions from guilt to frustration to anger. It is easy to blame the parents, “this baby is spoiled” or to blame yourself, “I don’t know what I am doing I must be stupid”. The blame game is never helpful in fixing a situation so here are some tips and techniques to keep in mind to help you problem solve with the babies family how to soothe the fussiest baby.

1. Make sure you have run through your basics- food, diaper, calm period to rest etc.
2. Strip the baby down and make sure nothing is irritating her skin. Remember for a sensitive baby socks that are too tight can cause a day of crying.
3. Find out what works at home. Does mom use a cradleboard? Do they have a special CD that plays? How does the family hold the baby? All of this matters. Compare it to how you relax. We all have specific things that we do to calm ourselves down and what works for me might not be at all what works for you. Just because I like a cup of hot tea and a jazz CD does not make that the only way to calm down. This is true for children too. Take some time and have a conversation where you listen to the parents share what they do to calm the baby at home. Who knows maybe it is a combination of rap music and fan that works wonders at home. Do not judge parents, just listen and keep an open mind.
4. Try to adapt techniques used at home to the child care setting. This often takes creativity since there are more complications in a child care setting (i.e. other children playing laughing and even hollering), but you can adapt almost anything with a little creativity.
5. Do not expect miracles. Especially when babies are new to care, everything is different. Smells, sounds, temperatures, and you are all new. All that change is scary so expect some crying. Even if a child has been in your care for some time, as children go through different developmental stages crying at change is normal. As you make your adaptations, give each adaptation at least a week, preferably more, to work before changing anything else. Nothing works instantly and patience is essential when working with young children.
6. Ask for help. If you have tried to adapt and use different techniques and it is not working, call your mentor or infant toddler specialist and ask for help. Also keep in mind that there can be medical reasons for a child to cry. If the baby is crying and is inconsolable both at home and school, you should keep a log of the times the baby cries and what you have done to soothe. This log can be helpful for the child’s family to take to the pediatrician to talk about what else could be causing the crying.

Try not to be too hard on yourself or on parents. Babies cry for a reason. They are not spoiled nor are they out to get you. By working patiently with the family you should be able to help soothe most of those babies through even the roughest patches.

For more information on helping out parents click here

When thinking about helping babies sleep always remember Safe Sleeping guidelines check out this article for more information

For more great Infant & Toddler Information Check out these websites:

Zero to Three
National Association for the Education of Young Children
The Program for Infant & Toddler Care

Asthma is a pretty common occurrence, being diagnosed in about 1 in every 10 children. Since it affects and presents differently in every child, it is important to know what we can do to prevent flare ups.

First, asthma is a chronic lung disease that affects the airways. Symptoms include coughing, wheezing (a whistling or squeaky sound during breathing), chest tightness, and shortness of breath. Common stimuli that can set off asthma are allergens, irritants, respiratory infections, and physical exercise. It is very important to know if a child in your care has asthma. Talk with the parents about what stimuli set off their child’s asthma. Also, make sure that you have talked with the parents about treatment, as well as having a doctor’s note about any medications that are used and how to use them.

Here are some ways that you can help children to avoid asthma flare ups while in your care. Reduce exposure to pets, definitely keeping them out of sleeping areas; keep bathrooms, kitchens and basements well aired and regularly cleaned (reduces mold); do NOT smoke or allow smoking inside your facility; wash blankets and bedding in hot water weekly (130 degrees, because dust mites do not survive at that temperature); do not use room deodorizers (plug ins); avoid wearing strong perfumes. Now that we are into the cold weather season, the cold air can prompt a flare up for some children. Help them by having them wear a scarf or turtleneck over their mouth and nose.

Information taken from and available at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.