Nursery

What Your Child Will Be Doing

Our goal in the DPC Nursery is to provide your child with a safe and nurturing environment in which to play, socialize with others, and enjoy a variety of activities aimed at supporting their spiritual development. While in our care, your child may…

• Play with toys
• Enjoy coloring, puzzles or simple crafts (for older children)
• Listen to Bible stories
• Sing and dance along with faith‐based music and videos
• Interact with friends and caregivers
• Sleep or rest

Young children will sometimes cry or protest when their parents leave them in the care of another, and this is perfectly normal behavior. Most children will calm down soon after a parent departs. Rest assured that if your child is upset, he or she will be comforted and helped to find enjoyable ways to spend his or her time in the Nursery. If your child’s crying persists for an extended period of time or he/she becomes increasingly agitated over your absence, we will contact you on your cell phone (Note: if you will be in services, please be sure you have set your phone to the “vibrate” setting so as not to disturb others).

Policies & Procedures

Check-in/Check-out Procedure

Health Questions – any fever, coughing or sniffles in the last 3 days?

Children should wash their hands before playing.

Sign-in your child so we know a bit about your child and how to contact you.

When you drop your child off at the nursery, you will be asked to provide some very basic information. If a different adult will be signing your child out of the nursery, please notify a nursery worker at sign‐in.

Snack Policy

We understand that some young children may require a snack while in the nursery. Due to food allergies, we will not serve any child food that his or her parent has not provided. If you choose to bring a snack for your child, please be sure that the snack is nut free and does not pose a choking hazard (e.g., popcorn, raisins). All children will be asked to eat their snacks at our designated snack table, monitored by a nursery volunteer. If you have an older toddler, please remind them that they should not share snacks with other children.

Illness Policy

For the safety and well‐being of all children, staff, and volunteers, NO sick children will be admitted to the nursery. We ask that you keep your child at home if he or she has any of the following:

• A temperature greater than 101°
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Sore throat or difficulty swallowing
• Heavy nasal discharge indicative of infection
• Contagious rash or infected skin patches
• Coughing
• Contagious disease such as COVID, Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye), Chicken Pox, Measles, Mumps, Impetigo

If your child is being treated with antibiotics for a sore throat, ear infection, or any other contagious illness, he or she must be on the medication for at least 24 hours before coming to the nursery.

If your child has a continuously clear runny nose or rash that is not contagious, please let us know. We realize some children have allergies and that some symptoms of illness hang on long after the child is no longer contagious.

Suggested Diaper Bag Contents:

• Extra diapers (disposable are preferred) as needed
• Wipes
• Change of clothes
• Pacifier as needed
• One or two bottles or a sippy cup as needed
• Your child’s favorite blanket
• Please put your child’s name on everything – bottles, cups, jackets, diaper bags, etc. (an extra nametag can be printed upon request for your diaper bag)

What NOT to Bring:

• Medicine of any kind. If your child needs medication, it MUST be administered by a parent.
• Personal toys
• Any snack containing nuts