PBS 140 Child Care Center Design Guide - The Whole Building ...

and linens. Facilities need to be provided for this. The needs of the service
personnel can be expedited by:
� Adequate space in janitor’s well-located closet for cleaning materials.
� Ease of supply delivery.
� Efficiently designed facilities for waste disposal.
� Adequate locked storage for toxic materials.
� Easily implemented recycling programs.
� Adequate counter space and efficient kitchen arrangement.
� Adequate refrigerator space.
� Generous, deep, three-compartment sink and gooseneck faucets with
spray attachment and disposal in kitchens.
� Finish materials and building design features that are easy to clean with
minimal use of unhealthful cleaning materials (see LEED draft renovation
guidelines).
� Protection from the potential health and indoor air quality impacts of cleaning
and maintenance activities by the use of appropriate design features
(see section 7.6.18).
3.3 Children
Pre-school and younger children spend an average of nine hours per day
at the center. For most of their care, children remain at the facility. There
are occasions when the children leave the center on field trips with teachers
and center volunteers. The center must promote a child’s optimal
development by providing safe, interesting, health-promoting, and
appropriate environments which allow the children to engage in
developmentally appropriate activities.
Children’s needs, in many respects, correspond to their age. Although
each child develops according to his or her unique schedule, children can
be characterized as belonging to general age categories of development,
with each age group having a different set of needs. To meet these needs,
the space for each age group will be inherently different.
The following four broad age groupings will be referred to throughout the
Guide. In any individual center, actual age ranges between groups may
overlap. In some centers, children may be grouped in mixed-age
classrooms. Age ranges are as follows:
� Infants (birth to 12 months)
� Toddlers (12 to 36 months), including subgroups of:
� Younger toddlers (12 to 24 months)
� Older toddlers (24 to 36 months)
PBS-140 - July 2003
CHAPTER 3: ADULTS AND CHILDREN IN THE CENTER
� Pre-school children (36 months and older, not in kindergarten)
� School-age (6 years and older; enrolled in after-school or summer
programs at the center)
Centers typically do not care for children over 5 years of age unless the
center runs a summer program, a kindergarten, or a before and after school
care program.
3.3.1 Infants:
For the infant, the environment must provide many opportunities for activities
throughout the day. The infant classroom needs to be warm and nurturing
in character. Typically, infant groups will be comprised of six to eight infants
cared for by two teachers. Infants are brought to their classroom by their
parents. Clothing and supplies, usually carried in a diaper bag, are placed
in each infant’s cubby storage space. Diapers and wipes are stored in
separate compartments at the diapering area within easy reach of the
changing table. Strollers or tote bags that are left at the center during the
day should be stored on pegs or rods in storage areas. Formula is kept
refrigerated.
As infants mature, their sleep needs decrease from the frequent naps of
young infancy to a few naps at regular times during the day. Because each
infant may have a unique schedule, a variety of activities can take place in
the infant room at any given time, ranging from playing, diaper changing,
and eating to sleeping, cuddling, and nursing. This variety of activities
requires that quiet areas be separate from more active areas.
Most infants have not begun toilet training, so frequent diaper changes are
needed. When teachers are with an infant at the diaper changing table,
they also need to supervise other infants and maintain visibility to other
infants. Visible connection between teacher and infant should be maintained
to the maximum extent feasible. The design and location of changing
tables should reflect this requirement. Teachers’ view into the activity area
should be unobstructed while at the diaper changing area. When infants
are in the activity area, they must be able to see teachers as well.
During the first year, the infant’s diet progresses from nursing and bottle
feeding to soft foods and finger foods. For young infants, eating is a nurturing
time, with the infant either nursed by the mother or held by a teacher or
parent during bottle feedings. Teachers may start to feed infants soft foods
at around 5-6 months. At around 9 months, infants, seated in low high
chairs, begin to feed themselves and drink from cups. This process can be
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