Family and Child Welfare

Family and Child Welfare 3 (3+0)

Lesson 32 : Day Care Center- Types and Requirements

Creche

One of the forms of the day-care is creche which programme is quite popular in India particularly in the industrial establishments, which employ women workers. According to Factories Act, 1948, every industrial establishment employing certain number of women workers has to provide services a creche for the babies of working mothers. While mothers are at work, the children could be looked after by a suitably trained nurse or an Aya, because it is not possible to provide someone to take care of the children at home while the mothers are away for work.

A creche takes care of the babies below the age of 3 years who are unable to go to a Nursery school. A creche is supposed to provide physical care, nutritive diet, medical check­, balanced and informal education through play and recrea­tion. The strength in a creche should not exceed 25.

Location
A creche should be located in an urban area having work places and in rural areas, where most of the mothers help the fami­lies during the day time. It should be conveniently acces­sible to mothers. It should not be in close proximity to any part of a factory where fume, dust, bad odours and noise exist.

Building

1. The building of the creche should be made of heat­ resisting materials.
2. In towns, the creche buildings should be made of bricks with finished cement surface and in rural areas, the floor and the walls could be mud-plastered.
3. The height of the rooms should not be less than 10 feet from the floor to the nearest part of the roof.
4. The rooms should be provided with necessary doors and windows for adequate light and ventilation.
5. Facilities for running filtered water, toilet, wash-basin etc. should be available.
6. The bath rooms should be adequately lighted, ventilat­ed and kept in clean condition.
7. There should be shady and open playground for old children.
8. The building should be periodically inspected, in order to see that it is safe and is maintained under sanitary conditions.

Equipment

1. Every crèche should have the following equipment:
   1. Cradles for Infants
   2. Beds for babies over one year.
   3. Small and convenient chairs for older babies.
   4. Mattresses.
   5. Cotton bed sheets.
   6. Rubber sheets.
   7. Blankets.
   8. Small pillows with pillow covers.
   9. Cups for milk and feeding bottles.
   10. Utensils for preparing milk.
   11. Toys.
   12. Adequate supply of clothes for babies and the staff.
   13. Soaps, oil, towels, talcum powder and combs.
   14. Necessary furniture for the staff.
   15. Medical kit.
2. Equipment should be strong and made out of local material.
3. There should be arrangements for periodical check up and repairs or replacement of these equipment.

Working Hours

1. A creche should have arrangements for keeping chil­dren for 6 hours or equivalent to the period, while the mother is working.
2. A creche will have to run in shifts. in case it is running in an industrial area, where women work in two shifts.
3. There should be different batches of Ayas, to look after the children in each shift.
4. Every baby should be medically examined, before admission.
5. They should be given preventive inoculation and vaccination against communicable diseases.
6. Every morning babies should be checked up physically.
7. There should be arrangement for medical check-up of the babies by a competent doctor once a week and weighing them once a month.
8. A creche should have a First Aid Kit, which could be operated by one of the staff members, trained for this purpose.

Every creche should provide at least half a litre of clean pure milk for every child per day. The mothers should be encouraged to come periodically in order to give feed to their babies. The children above the age of 2 years should also be provided adequate supply of wholesome refreshment. The mid­day meals or the refreshment should be cooked under hygienic conditions under the supervision of the creche in-charge.