Teachers and caregivers have a lot to juggle in the classroom. It doesn’t matter if they are technically “in ratio” or not, sometimes there are just not enough hands to go around.
In the exact same moment, all of the following can be happening in your infant classroom:
- Tommy can be throwing blocks at the window
- A parent can be dropping off and wanting to have an in-depth conversation about the food options she’s packed
- Sarah has messed her diaper and needs to be changed
- The phone is ringing – no one seems to be answering
- Johnny crawled over to the trash basket and is finding “treasures”
- Ashley & Mia are crying because they both want the same toy
- Gavin sneezes and has snot running down his face
- And Parker is crying because he is suffering from a severe case of separation anxiety.
It can be a super chaotic environment and there are times that your teachers need a little bit of extra support.
You need to be proactive to solve issues even before they come up! The safety of your children and the sanity of your staff is at stake.
And today’s blog is all about providing you with a proactive solution specifically for your infant teachers and caregivers.
Keep reading to find out one unique way child care centers all over the country are supporting their teachers and calming their infants
Calming The Chaos In Our Infant Room With The Tranquilo Soothing Mat” – A Case Study From Mindful Miracle Pre-School in Sacramento, CA by Jarred Winn, Manager
If you’re a daycare owner like me, you’re always trying to help your staff optimize their time to more productively handle all of their countless tasks. And if your teachers and you feel overwhelmed with the workload in their room (at any age), staff turnover can become a serious concern!
No room is probably more stressful than your infant room! It may have the lowest teacher: infant ratio, but any daycare veteran knows that even just one baby with colic or who cries at the top of their lungs for even just a few minutes can make even the most seasoned teacher feel stressed.
In fact, inconsolable crying is considered psychological torment. So, it’s no wonder that staff who experience these stresses day in, day out decide to find new employment, leaving you with the challenge to find, hire, and train a new teacher (again) – which is a costly and time-consuming endeavor.
Mindful Miracle has been using the Tranquilo Mat in its infant room for several months already and it’s already a favorite with their staff and babies alike! Here are just a few ways it’s been valuable in our day-to-day tasks:
- Naptime Champion– Rocking a baby to sleep is one thing, but Mindful Miracle’s staff can’t hold a baby through an entire naptime (and many times that’s often the only way a baby will sleep!) Not only can Tranquilo help baby fall asleep without being held, but it can also help them sleep longer or self-soothe back to sleep during naptime. It’s worked wonders for several babies in our infant room already!
- Sleep Transitions– By holding the baby with the product on while their staff rock them to sleep, the mat acts as a consistent transition as they are placed into a stationary crib. It’s the perfect solution to ensure baby stays asleep when placed down in their crib.
- Ease Parent’s Stress Around Naptime– Oftentimes, Mindful Miracle’s staff has to get a baby to sleep for a quality nap to comply with state guidelines even when the baby isn’t a great napper or sleeper. Talk about stress! Tranquilo helps ease this stress by helping babies get to sleep and stay asleep while minimizing the use of swings / bouncers which aren’t ideal ways of aiding sleep.
- Tummy time– When baby hates tummy time, the mats are a proven, tear-free solution to getting that important time into a baby’s routine.
- Self-Directed Play– Added to an activity mat or even used standalone, the mats can be great for those moments when a staff member needs to do some other more pressing task – like change another infant’s diaper or get snack time done!
Since Mindful Miracle has strict licensing restrictions in CA, we follow all “Safe Sleep” guidelines. The Tranquilo Mat is flexible to use in multiple ways that comply with all regulations including:
- Baby directly on top of the Tranquilo Mat – this is great for Mindful Miracle during tummy time or structured play while the teachers have eyes on the baby all the time
- Tranquilo Mat under the crib mattress –Mindful Miracle simply slides the thin mat under their crib mattresses, and it works like a charm!
- Tranquilo Mat under a crib sheet – Mindful Miracle doesn’t do this but it’s a good option to use either in your daycare center OR for parents at home
By Jarred Winn, Manager of Mindful Miracle Pre-School (www.mindfulmiracle.com)
