Daycare staff to child ratio for infants

valeivegas · March 2011

We're looking for a daycare now & I'm wondering what the 'standard' staff to child ratio is for infants? I've seen some daycares where it's 1:2 (which seems perfect to me) & others are 1:4! I have no idea how one person could care for 4 babies simultaneously. I could just see my LO crying his head off there while she attends to the other babies!

flowerchild77 · March 2011

I think 1:3 is about standard. Not sure though...

sarahbeth827 · March 2011

I think it depending on your state. I worked at a daycare where the ratio was 1 adult to 4 infants...It's a lot of work!

SoonMrsCruz · March 2011

I worked at a daycare when I was younger and the ratio for 6 month olds to a year was one adult to 4 babies. I'm not sure if it is different for younger than 6 months though. You should definitely ask the centers director when looking at different places.

RubineLime · March 2011

Depends on the laws of your state.

valeivegas · March 2011

thanks - I had no idea this differed according to state laws...

lilbit923 · March 2011

My daycare is 1:4. The teacher does just fine with 4 LOs by herself. All of the infants are different ages and require different levels of care. I think when people hear the ratio 1:4 they think 4 crying newborns at once all needing to be changed, fed, etc. I don't think that's the case all the time. Isla will be the youngest in her group when she starts next week. The others are 8, 10 and 11 months old.

Your LO might very well have to deal with crying while the teacher is busy. I don't think that's any different than any one of us hearing our babies cry and being busy with driving or dishes or laundry for the moment. We all take care of things as they come up when we're able to.

LittleApple · March 2011

NYS is 1:4. It is totally do-able and requires a lot of multi-tasking.

I worked in an infant room for 5 years while in college.

sarag0116 · March 2011

In SC, it's 1:5... I think it's too much personally. I just wish there was ONE daycare here that did a smaller ratio instead of pushing the limits. Ugh.

erika_sue · March 2011

In PA, state says 1:4, and in OH it's 1:5. The day care I'm working at right now is 1:3, so it's definitely worth asking individual directors what the policies are.

valeivegas · March 2011

The primary caregiver has children that vary in age- a newborn, an older baby and crawler. Not 4 newborns at once. Not 4 crawlers at once.

Thanks for the input - I was thinking about 1 person taking care of 4 newborns - which would be tough!

Mrs.Ginger0718 · March 2011

I work at a daycare in Iowa and our state minimum for ratio is 1staff:4babies up to 2 yrs. It does get very hectic, but its do-able because all the kids are on different schedules.

Nyki06Wed43530 · March 2011

Here is Minnesota it's 1:4. I worked in the infant room at a childcare center for quite awhile and it was terrible. Even with the best babies you don't have enough time or arms for that many babies and they do not get the attention they deserve.

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Daycare staff to child ratio for infants

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