Toddler Day Care Safety

Indoor Facilities

• When checking out the day care facilities, look to see that proper safety precautions have been adequately met. A safe day care will have covers on electrical outlets and low furniture that is anchored to walls to avoid a toppling hazard. Look for a wide selection of toys without small parts and pieces that would easily fit in a toddler's mouth. The indoor facilities should also feature soft flooring, as toddlers don't always have excellent balance.

Outdoor Play Structures

• Some day care facilities might also have outdoor play structures. Check to make sure the structures are safe for toddlers. If the day care has older children, separate play structures might be necessary. Look to ensure that play structures are put together properly, without any visibly loose screws or sharp components. For toddlers, smaller and lower play structures are better, to avoid a fall risk.

Staff Supervision

• Each state regulates day care supervision ratios, so check your local requirements for safety. The national standards, as recommended in "Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards," are that there should only be two toddlers to every one staff member and a toddler group size should be no more than six, while the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests a ratio of no more than four children to one provider. The older the kids get, the larger the ratio, but a smaller ratio means better supervision and more safety for your active and curious little one.

Eating and Sleeping

• If your toddler is going to be eating meals and napping while at a day care facility, ask about the facility's policies. Toddlers should be seated to eat and fed soft foods that leave little chance of choking. Ask the facility staff about the menu and whether or not you can provide meals from home. When it comes to sleeping, toddlers are more mobile than infants, so they should be placed in a secure, safe crib, suggests the Kids Health website. Cribs should be well away from windows or blinds with cords and should be free of large, fluffy toys that could pose a suffocation risk. If your toddler is trying to climb out of the crib, talk to your day care provider about other sleeping arrangements, like a low cot. Toddlers should always have their own sleep space for naps at day care and shouldn't have to share with other kids.