Question about bottle propping at daycare

indika236

On several occasions when I go to visit P, she is on the floor in a boppy with a bottle propped in her mouth by a blanket. One time, the bottle had come out of her mouth and the milk had run out all over the place. I did say something to her teacher that time, since it is a huge pain in the ass to pump milk and wasting it totally kills me.

Is this a standard practice at daycare?

michanyc

No- I would not be ok with this, you pay these people to take care of your baby, the least they can do is hold her while she eats.  I'm pretty sure my daycare has a policy against bottle propping, but either way, they always hold them to feed them.

Chenny555

Having worked in several daycares,  I have to say, this was NOT standard practice at any facilities I worked at.  I have not seen it at my child's center and quite honestly, I'd be pretty upset if I found out it was happening.  I would question how well taken care of my child is if her basic need of eating was not being met.

I might react differently with an older infant who is capable of holding his own bottle.  But then, there would be no need for propping. 

august06mom

I would definitely not be OK with that. If they can't properly feed the infants, they don't have enough staff.

KathrynMD

that's not cool and I don't think its allowed in most states either.  Eating is one of the best times to interact w/ a young infant and your caregiver should be using this time to talk to, sing with your LO and give her quality, one on one contact. 

financialdiva

august06mom:

I would definitely not be OK with that. If they can't properly feed the infants, they don't have enough staff.

This. You need to say something to the directors.

absent*minded

That would be a dealbreaker for me. Wow.

ITGurl0626

absent*minded:

That would be a dealbreaker for me. Wow.

Exactly....my first reaction would be "Oh hell to the no"....deal breaker for sure.

indika236

Ok this is what I was thinking. I have been trying hard to rationalize some of the things I have seen happen in this place...I just thought maybe I was over reacting since I have never had experience with daycare. There have been a few other things that have really upset me about the practices there (i.e. several times when I have visited, the side of her head was soaked from laying in her crib crying). I toured a new facility this morning (bright horizons) and I am going to start her there  in January (after I go back to work from my back surgery).

wheelsonthebus

I don't like this at all. I would never prop a bottle for a child in my care. How old is your little one? If she can't hold the bottle on her own she should NOT be doing this. One, she could choke. Two, breastmilk is liquid gold. What is the ratio of teacher to children?

skyejo

Uh, that's not standard practice. 

I'd notify the director asap.  And I'm glad you found a new place.

karleegirl

This is against regulations in my state. My daycare does some crap I don't care for but this is even a huge no-no for them. It's a safety issue.

litzo27

FWIW - DS1 goes to Bright Horizons and we love it! Although he started as a toddler not as an infant I always look into the infant room on the way in (because they are just so squishy and cuddly) and I can't imagine ever seeing a propped bottle or an infant that is crying and noone is tending to. They are great about policies.

superbooty

I have worked in several childcare settings and this is an absolutely no no! Bottle propping is extremely frowned upon and in some instances is reason for childcare centers to lose licensing and accreditation... Definitely bring this up to to the childcare director! In my case I would be looking for a new daycare asap...

honkytonk_kid

Absolutely not. Here, daycare regulations require infants under 6 months to be held while getting a bottle, and bottles are never allowed to be propped.

leb2be

you've gotten a ton of answers, but i just wanted to write "ditto".  i'm really glad you found a new place.

indika236

When I went to visit during lunch, the bottle was propped again, so I removed her from daycare. Ugh. The next two weeks are gonna be interesting, buy nothing is worth risking P's safety.

KathrynMD

CTGirl30:

I'm glad to hear you are removing her - that is completely unacceptable.

We love our BH - I think you will find your experiences there to be really good. They NEVER do stuff like that and are very much sticklers for state regs and policies.

ETA - I would also report this...in my opinion, this is negligence and if you have caught them continually engaging in an unsafe practice, who knows what else is going on there.

ditto, report this.

Also - your LO's sheet was soaked from crying?  That's negilgence with a baby that young. 

wheelsonthebus

indika236:

When I went to visit during lunch, the bottle was propped again, so I removed her from daycare. Ugh. The next two weeks are gonna be interesting, buy nothing is worth risking P's safety.

Good for you! The fact that you've seen this happening more than once means they think nothing is wrong with it. Did you pull her out right away or did you give notice? For something like this, I would talk to the director and be certain this will not be done again while you finish up your two weeks. Maybe they will allow you to leave early if you can fine alternate care sooner. It's just not a safe practice.

indika236

wheelsonthebus:

indika236:

When I went to visit during lunch, the bottle was propped again, so I removed her from daycare. Ugh. The next two weeks are gonna be interesting, buy nothing is worth risking P's safety.

Good for you! The fact that you've seen this happening more than once means they think nothing is wrong with it. Did you pull her out right away or did you give notice? For something like this, I would talk to the director and be certain this will not be done again while you finish up your two weeks. Maybe they will allow you to leave early if you can fine alternate care sooner. It's just not a safe practice.

I pulled her out right away without notice...Just packed up her stuff and told the "teacher du jour" that we wouldn't be back. On the way out, I spoke with the director. She reminded me that I had signed a contract that requires two weeks notice, so I reminded her that when I toured the center initially there was no mention of babies being fed by propping a bottle in their mouth.  I had written down the date and time of every incident. I also told her I was going to report her to the state and she shut up quickly and apologized. Grrr. I was in such a bad mood anyways because of the terrible week I am having, finding out about needing surgery and all...I probably shouldn't have went there in such a fit, but I am happy about my decision to enroll her at Bright Horizons. 

indika236

I just filed a complaint with ADHS. Thanks again for all of your responses. 

honkytonk_kid

indika236:

wheelsonthebus:

indika236:

When I went to visit during lunch, the bottle was propped again, so I removed her from daycare. Ugh. The next two weeks are gonna be interesting, buy nothing is worth risking P's safety.

Good for you! The fact that you've seen this happening more than once means they think nothing is wrong with it. Did you pull her out right away or did you give notice? For something like this, I would talk to the director and be certain this will not be done again while you finish up your two weeks. Maybe they will allow you to leave early if you can fine alternate care sooner. It's just not a safe practice.

I pulled her out right away without notice...Just packed up her stuff and told the "teacher du jour" that we wouldn't be back. On the way out, I spoke with the director. She reminded me that I had signed a contract that requires two weeks notice, so I reminded her that when I toured the center initially there was no mention of babies being fed by propping a bottle in their mouth.  I had written down the date and time of every incident. I also told her I was going to report her to the state and she shut up quickly and apologized. Grrr. I was in such a bad mood anyways because of the terrible week I am having, finding out about needing surgery and all...I probably shouldn't have went there in such a fit, but I am happy about my decision to enroll her at Bright Horizons. 

You were 100% justified in your reaction. I was afraid you were going to say that you just paid the 2 weeks to be done with the place- good for you for not putting up with that crap.

Genevieve14

I would be livid.  Our day care actually has a written policy that all bottles must be given by hand.  I let a lot of things go at day care, but this one would be a major issue for me.

emberlee3

No, this is a violation of childcare regulations in my state.  Babies must be held while being given a bottle.

ETA: just caught up on all the replies.  Good for you for taking your child out and reporting to the state.  I hope the new center works out well.  My son had a wonderful experience with his infant teachers.  At his center, the teachers held the babies even if they were old enough to hold their own bottles.  I am pretty sure the state regulation is until 1 year.

akl0506

I don't mean to scare you, but a friend of my husband's child died at daycare when he was 3 mos old about 1.5 yrs ago b/c of bottle propping.  Please say something immediately. 

akl0506

indika236:

When I went to visit during lunch, the bottle was propped again, so I removed her from daycare. Ugh. The next two weeks are gonna be interesting, buy nothing is worth risking P's safety.

yeah!  good for you.  I know it is scary to be without daycare, but that is so dangerous & unacceptable.  

laurakaz13

My daycare does not prop bottles ever.  I would not be okay with it.  Each baby is held as they're fed their bottles. 

everam01

You did the right thing. I would have done the same.

In my state, it's also against regulation (all bottles have to be given by hand w/ the infant being held) and the center could lose their accreditation. 

thebubble09

good for you!  i work with an amazing early childhood educator who RAVES about bright horizons.  there isn't one available to me unfortunately, but htat would have been our first choice hands down!

girllennon

No, it's not and that's unacceptable. Until she is old enough to hold her bottle to feed herself, the teachers should be holding her while giving her a bottle. There's only 8 infants at my DC and they have the feedings staggered so that there's always someone available to bottle feed the younger babies. The older babies who know how to hold their bottles are in high chairs or swings so that they can feed themselves.

I would flip my sh!t if I knew my provider was doing that with any child in the infant room.

AsOctoberFalls

You did the right thing.  I'm about the most laid-back daycare mom out there, but that is NOT acceptable.  I actually am tearing up thinking of babies being fed propped bottles, and of how their parents would react if they knew it was happening.  I'm glad you reported them.