Interview Transcript Doreen Dubique – Center Director Interviewer: Could you explain the safety issues a center director has to be concerned with in the program? Dubique: Well, there are many safety issues that a director has to be concerned about, because we have to insure that every child who comes here leaves here safely, so we have to observe regulatory policies that our – [Side Chat] Interviewer: Tell me some of the regulations you follow? Dubique: Well, we have to follow ratios for children, to make sure that the ratio for teacher and child is conducive to safety. So, there are different ratios for pre-school, for infants, for toddlers, so we have to observe all these. Interviewer: Can you tell me what the ratios are for infants and toddlers? Dubique: The ratio for infants is three children to one teacher, and seven children to two teachers. However, in our program we go a little higher than that, better than that, so we have a part-time person in the room, so we have two and a half, if you call it this way; two full-time, and one part-time person, and we also have a fostergrandparent, who is in the group. Dubique Transcript Page 1 of 22 Interviewer: Could you tell me what the ratios are for the pre-schoolers? Dubique: Well, we have it for toddlers, too. For toddlers it’s four children to one teacher, nine children to two teachers. But again, we have an extra person here, and the pre-school is ten children to one teacher, so twenty to two. That’s the minimum; that’s the state’s policy, but we do a little better than that. In this case we have three people in the classroom, instead of two. Interviewer: Could you tell me some of the other safety issues that you’re aware of? Dubique: Well, we have to insure that children cannot get out of the building when they come in, so there are buzzers on doors; the classroom doors there are buzzers, and we try to keep our front doors locked. And in most cases the exit doors cannot open from outside, only from inside, so only an adult can do it, and it’s not at the child’s level. In the classrooms, we also have gates so that a child cannot get out of the classroom without the teacher knowing. And of course, we observe state policies with exit doors staying clear at all times, and having no hazardous materials around, making sure we have smoke detectors. What’s the other one? [Side Chat] Dubique: We have smoke detectors, and I’m thinking of carbon monoxide detector alarms. Also, we do have fire extinguishers in every classroom in case there is a need for that, and we do fire drills every month. It’s supposed to be every other month, but we do every month. What else? For field trips we have systems in place so that before the children go out, one of the administrators has to Dubique Transcript Page 2 of 22 check the number of children who are leaving, and when they come back in to insure that they come back with the same number of children, unless if they collected a child on the way, or if a parent picked up a child while they were outside, so the teachers have to record that. So, the numbers are always in place. Interviewer: And the bracelets that the kids use? Dubique: Oh, that’s right. We use an identification bracelet, so the name of the program is on it; it’s a bright orange color, and the child wears it on his or her legs. If they have on pants it will go over the pants, so that if a child does wander from a teacher, and the teacher might sight the band alone will make her know, or if someone were to see the child, they will have the child’s information; not the child’s name, the name of the program, and the telephone number that they can call. [Side Chat] Interviewer: Can you explain how you monitor for potential hazards in a classroom? What are you looking for? Dubique: Well, we monitor to insure that the teachers do not leave any chemical products around, any breakable bottles, any things with sharp edges, like knives, or adult scissors. What else would we be looking for? Adult handbags, or so pocketbooks have to be out of sight, out of reach of the children. Interviewer: What about aerosol cans? Dubique Transcript Page 3 of 22 Dubique: We’re not supposed to have them, either. We don’t use aerosol cans in the classrooms, nothing aerosol, if we do, we do a bleach solution to use as a disinfectant, so – [buzzer] – there is no need to have – [Side Chat] Interviewer: Could you repeat that you have a bleach solution to wash things? Dubique: Right. The teachers do a bleach solution every morning, so they can use that for disinfecting the tables, and disinfecting toys. Immediately, they need to do that. Usually, toys are disinfected – [buzzer] – from the – Dubique: Yeah. Usually, pre-school disinfect their toys every week, once a week, because the children are older, but infants and toddlers, it’s every day they disinfect toys, so they may use the bleach solution, or they use the dishwasher to do that. Interviewer: You mentioned that there are a number of chemical hazards that you’re looking for, and particularly teachers’ things? Dubique: Right. Any chemical products teachers may need to use have to be stored. We have cabinets for that. So, they store them in the cabinets; they have latches on the cabinets, and they are away from the children. The children can’t reach them. I also need to say we discourage teachers from having any hot beverages, like coffee or tea. They can’t have coffee or tea, or they shouldn’t have coffee or tea in the classroom. We do discourage them, too, from having things that children should not have, like sodas, or fast food. So, Dubique Transcript Page 4 of 22 they’re not allowed to have those things in the classroom while the children are awake. [Side Chat] Interviewer: Could you talk about storing teachers’ pocketbooks and personal effects in their own personal locker? Dubique: Right. There is a personal locker for every teacher, so they can store their personal belongings, and that stays locked. Of course, they have possession of the locks, we don’t; and any adult who comes in the classroom, because sometimes we might have substitutes or a volunteer, they have to use the same. We have an extra in each room that that person can use, so that no adult possession is found knocking around where children can have access to them. [Side Chat] Interviewer: How do you monitor to make sure teachers are following the regulations to have everything safe? Do you do regular checks in the classroom? Talk me about how, as a director, you monitor that the safety is maintained all the time. Dubique: Right. Well, I myself, or my assistant director, we’ll go to the classroom periodically, especially whoever opens early in the morning, we will go to the classroom to check and make sure that outlets are covered, and there are no objects left around that children can get to. After the children have been coming in we might go again, during not mid-day, but mid-morning to insure that teachers did not bring coffee or other fluids, and forgot them there, Dubique Transcript Page 5 of 22 and that they’re just following the policies. So, we’re just going on casual walks, so people don’t think you’re coming there just to watch them, but you take a casual walk, and you find those things. We look for those things. And that’s how we will keep them monitored. Of course, if I find a bottle, or something that shouldn’t be there, I’ll just bring it to the teacher’s attention, and let them know, and of course if it happens too often, then the person may get a warning. Interviewer: What safety issues do you need to keep in consideration when supporting teachers in setting up their classroom? What kind of things do you have to make sure that they do to follow the policies? Dubique: Well, when a new teacher comes we have an orientation for that person, and the safety is part of the orientation, safety in the classroom, so all the policies we have, like no hot beverages, or some of the things I mentioned previously, the teacher would be familiarized with those things. So, if a teacher is setting up, what we would do really is to observe, and to see what the person may have forgotten; some things they may have overlooked, because the lead teacher is the person who really sets up the classroom, and this person is trained. So, we do expect them to do it right, but of course you do a spot check, and if you find anything missing, like if the outlets are not covered, if there are adult scissors, or a knife, or anything visible. If it’s visible, I don’t want to see it. It should not be visible, because if it’s visible, a pre-schooler is likely to climb, and try to get it, so it has to be out of sight. So, these things are important. They have to make sure when they come in that the exit door is not locked. It has to be closed, but not locked in case of emergency. If the buzzer on the door goes out, and the battery Dubique Transcript Page 6 of 22 wears out, teachers need to remember to tell us, so we can replace them. Well, other things like the smoke detectors, we have people who come to check them, the facilities people; the facilities people check them on a regular basis to make sure that they are always working. Interviewer: In terms of the classroom environment, describe what you need to insure is in place to ensure a safe environment. For example, the edges need to be rounded; the walls need to be low enough so the teacher can see across the classroom. [Side Chat] Dubique: Well, there are many issues we have to be aware of in the classroom to insure that children are safe. For example, furniture has to be at a certain height, so that children are comfortable when they sit at the table, so the chairs have to be of their size, and also the tables have to be their height. We do use tables that have adjustable legs, so if children are not comfortable with their height, it can be lifted or lowered. We do insure that all the furniture has round edges to avoid accidents. We also place the furniture in such a way that children can maneuver between, and don’t bump into them as they move around, and all the heavy furniture is, I would say, we do get them grounded. In other words, the facility manager would see to that, that any heavy furniture is attached to the ground, or to the floor so that they cannot topple over. Interviewer: What about the edges of carpeting, so that it’s not loose, it’s tacked down? Dubique Transcript Page 7 of 22 Dubique: Right. That’s right. Another important thing to watch for is that carpets are properly laid down, so that children do not trip over them, and so we will have the facility manager cover the edges with tape to make sure that they are securely fastened to the floor. Interviewer: Tell me what the regulations are for electrical outlets how they should be above the child’s level and covered? Dubique: Right. Electrical outlets are always like a foot or more above the child’s reach, and these are always covered. We have cover plugs for them. We do have some which are modern ones that do not use the cover, but it will only be activated when it is plugged, so the children can’t really push anything there to activate it, so someone might see it and say, “There is not a cover there.” But it’s secure. But for those that need to have a plug, we always do make sure that there is one. Interviewer: What about cabinets that are at the child’s reach with a safety latch? Dubique: Right. For cabinets that are at the children’s reach, we have safety locks for them, so the teacher keeps a safety lock there that’s childproof, so the child can’t open it, and only the adults can. Interviewer: What about emergency numbers and contact information? Dubique: Whenever a child is coming in, parents have to give us all the emergency numbers that they would like us to use in case we can’t reach them, so we do have emergency numbers for every child, and apart from emergency numbers, we also need to know who is allowed to pick that child up. So, no one can just come and say, Dubique Transcript Page 8 of 22 “Well, mom sent me.” We have to have a phone call, or a note from the parent to say that someone can take their child, and when this person is coming for the first time, the person has to have a picture ID, and we’ll keep that picture ID with the child’s file, so if the person comes back maybe in the next three months, we’ll know that this person is allowed to take the child. [Side Chat] Interviewer: Talk more about the discrete areas in the toddler rooms? Dubique: Yes. Classrooms are set up in such a way that children are able to move from one area to another without bumping into furniture, and getting into accidents, but it’s also necessary to have them like that, so teachers can observe the children; they can keep an eye on the children without having to be close to them all the time. So, all the furniture on the floor is at a certain level, so that the teacher can see children in whatever area they may be. Interviewer: There are no window shades. Talk about why that is, but state first that there should not be window shades at all. Dubique: Well, we do not have window shades for the main reason that when you have window shades, you may have to have strings to pull them up and down, to close and shut, and strings can be very dangerous. [Side Chat] Interviewer: Let’s talk about the windows again. Dubique Transcript Page 9 of 22 Dubique: Well, in the classrooms we have no shades. We do have windows now; we have some windows, but they’re very high, so only the teacher can open it, but we do not use shades, because for safety purposes. First of all, if you do have shades, you have to have strings to pull them up and down, and that can be a hazard, because the children can tie this string around their neck. A child can get caught in it in whatever way, or the child may put the string in his mouth, and swallow something. I don’t know if I’m saying that right. But shades are not safe to have for that reason in the classrooms, not that they’re not safe otherwise, but for the classroom. Dubique: Well, windows are a potential hazard to children’s safety, and therefore we have chosen not to have shades. We do have windows, but they are not at children’s level. But we have chosen not to use the shades, simply because we are fearful of children getting caught in the strings, and getting hurt, or having choking hazards, or whatever it may be. But for the children’s safety we do not use shades. Interviewer: We saw them playing with wooden beads, but they were a big enough size that they can’t choke on them, so talk about how you avoid choking hazards in the classroom? Dubique: Children on a whole love to put things in their mouth. We know that infants and toddlers, they learn orally by tasting, and whatever object they get will go in their mouth. For this reason, we are very careful when we buy materials that have small pieces of beads that for infants they have to be, I would say, up to probably about 2 inches in circumference, so the child cannot swallow it. For the pre-schoolers, they can be a little smaller. However, teachers have Dubique Transcript Page 10 of 22 to be very cautious, and monitor children, when they’re playing with beads, so that they do not swallow them, because there is a possibility. Interviewer: Are foods related to choking hazards? Dubique: Some foods can be choking hazards. For example, if we serve grapes, we have to cut them. The teachers will cut them in half before they give them to the children. For hot dogs, we have to split them up, and cut them, so that the pieces are not round, or big enough for a child to swallow, and if the child swallows it, that it won’t be harmful to the child. We do not serve popcorn, because popcorn is also hazardous to the child, although some parents will bring them, but we don’t feed it to them. What other foods do we avoid? We don’t serve peanuts, because some kids are allergic to peanuts, but if we were allowed to, we wouldn’t serve the raw peanuts, because this can be a hazard, too. [Side Chat] Interviewer: There are unique safety concerns with respect to infants and toddlers. First, sort of introduce the idea that it’s a different set of areas, and then we’ll ask you about each one. Maybe you could make some developmental points here. [Side Chat] Dubique: Well, we do know that infants depend on teachers or adults for their needs to be met, all needs, and there is nothing they can do for themselves. So, teachers have to be knowledgeable, number one, and also be very vigilant and careful when they take care of Dubique Transcript Page 11 of 22 infants. For example, in feeding infants, teachers have to make sure that the food that infants eat is soft enough and that the consistency of the food is that the child can swallow it without too much effort, and for this reason we do not serve children certain foods like grapes, or hot dogs – [Side Chat] Interviewer: So, focus on the food, the variety of safety concerns around food, like how the teacher has to always wash their hands before serving food. Dubique: Before lunchtime, of course, teachers should be washing their hands, and there are many reasons, and many occasions when teachers should wash their hands. However, during feeding time it’s very important that the teacher washes her hands, and also the children’s. Of course, not necessarily the babies’ hands, but children who are moving around like the toddlers, or pre-schoolers, who are interacting with people, or toys, or the furniture. They have to have their hands washed before lunchtime, and teachers, of course, everybody who is involved in serving the children have to wash their hands before they serve, and wear gloves, too. Interviewer: Describe how you enforce hand washing when feeding children. Dubique: Well, we all know that hand washing is one major way of reducing germs and bacteria, and therefore, we insure that teachers must wash their hands before feeding children, whether they’re going to bottle feed the child, or whether the child is eating at the table, hands have to be washed, and also the children’s hands have to be washed, and if the teacher is dishing out, the teacher who is dishing Dubique Transcript Page 12 of 22 out the food, in addition to washing of hands, they have to wear gloves to dish out the food, so that’s a precautionary measure. Interviewer: Talk about warming a bottle. How does the teacher warm it? They don’t put it in the microwave? Dubique: That’s right. When feeding babies, we do not put their bottles in the microwave, because we know that the microwave, the bottle heats from the inside, and for this reason we do not use microwaves in the babies’ room, period. But the teachers do have what we call a crockpot, and they can put the bottles in there, but they have to test the bottle to make sure it’s a certain temperature before they feed the child. Interviewer: Talk about washing the highchairs; that they’re sanitized, and that there’s a harness to strap the kids in, and that there’s a little bar between the legs. Dubique: That’s right. For the toddlers, or the infants who are not tall enough, or stable enough to sit at the table, we use highchairs. However, the table in the highchair has to be sanitized, just like the regular table, and the child has to be strapped to the seat, and the harness must go between the child’s legs, and around his waist to insure that he is safe. Interviewer: Are there different types of harnesses and bars between the legs? Dubique: Right. Well, another kind of highchair may be the ones where there is the safety strap, and there is a bar between the child’s legs. The teacher just has to make sure that these things are in place before leaving the child in the chair. Dubique Transcript Page 13 of 22 Interviewer: Another thing we saw in the classroom was a little box of toys to be washed, so explain why that’s important, and how that happens? Dubique: Well, we know that germs are spread from one child to another, and of course, infants and toddlers love to put toys in their mouth, because that’s how they learn, and therefore, after an infant or a toddler uses a toy, the teacher puts that toy away, and she takes it away from the regular toys, and puts it away from the classroom, so that the children can’t use it before it is washed and sanitized, and for that matter, the teachers do rotate the toys on a regular basis, so especially when the children have colds, as they use the toy, and another child uses it, that’s how they go from one to the other, and they all get sick at the same time. Interviewer: Describe for me some of the regulations in place for crib safety. Dubique: For crib safety, because all of the babies sleep in cribs, so for crib safety, we have to follow regulations issued by the Consumer Protection Agency, which says that the slots in the crib shouldn’t be more than 2 and 3/8 inches wide, and that the mattress in the crib should be tight enough that an adult can only put two fingers between the wall. [Phone rings] Interviewer: The mattress should be tight enough, right. [Side Chat] Dubique: In terms of the mattress and the crib, the regulations say that the mattress should be tight enough so that an adult can only put two fingers between the mattress and the walls of the crib. Dubique Transcript Page 14 of 22 [Side Chat] Dubique: For safety reasons a baby’s crib should be quite empty, excepting for the baby, of course, in there. There should be no stuffed animals, because a child can climb over a stuffed animal and fall over, so it is important that we do not keep anything in the child’s crib. We also insure that a crib is not under a window, so there is no possibility of the child trying to climb to get to the window. Another thing policy we have is that when there is a latch on the crib, that latch has to be locked before the adult leaves the child, before the child is left in the crib that latch has to be up and locked. Interviewer: Talk to me about the regulations on how to put the babies to sleep? [Side Chat] Dubique: Sudden infant death syndrome is of great concern to us, and we follow the regulations about putting the baby to sleep on his back. We follow that for every baby. Of course, once the baby starts moving around, and can turn on his own, that becomes a challenge. However, we do follow the rules, and every child is put to sleep on his back, and we do not use monitors in our program, however, once there is a child in the crib sleeping, a teacher should be nearby so that the teacher can always monitor that child, and we also have a glass window, so if there is one child in there, and the teacher is on the other side of the glass, she can always peek in and watch that child, but once there are three children in the crib room, a teacher must be there at all times, once those children are sleeping. And of course, we do not keep the children in cribs when Dubique Transcript Page 15 of 22 they wake up. As soon as they wake up they’re taken out of the cribs. [Phone Rings] [Side Chat] Interviewer: Can you say something about not using blankets, and it’s important that the child doesn’t overheat in the bed? Dubique: That’s right. Teachers have to be very aware of how to take care of a child, keep the child comfortable; make sure the temperature in the room, or even the child according to what clothes the child has one to make sure that the child is comfortable. We may have parents who tell us that, “What we want you have to cover him; you know, I want him to be covered.” [Side Chat] Dubique: But the teachers know that once the child is in the crib, we’re not going to use a blanket to cover that child, and we do try not to keep the child warm, to overheat the child, because it’s not healthy for the child, so teachers are aware of that; they know it, and they will usually tell me what the parents said. I said, “But what did the regulations say?” And we do as the teachers do; try to talk with the parents why we do or we don’t do certain things, and sometimes, like for the infant death syndrome, if I can go back to that, some parents will tell us, “My child doesn’t sleep on his back; he has to sleep on his side. I want him to sleep on his side, or on his tummy.” They have to write us a letter, and keep it in their in file, if they ask us to do that. If they insist, we do that. So, I don’t know if that fits in anywhere, but – Dubique Transcript Page 16 of 22 [Side Chat] Interviewer: Why don’t you put mobiles over the cribs? Dubique: Right. We avoid putting mobiles. That’s why I said before that as soon as the child wakes up we take the child out of the crib, because the child has to be stimulated, and because we do not keep mobiles over the cribs, we have to take the children out to stimulate them. The thing is we realize that mobiles can drop, or if the child can reach that mobile, the child may be able to put the pieces in the mouth, and the teacher may not know, simply because the child is in the crib; they may not know right away that the child has done that, so that’s one of the reasons we do not keep mobiles over the cribs. Interviewer: And what do you put under the babies when you change them? Dubique: We have the diaper squares. It’s paper, but special paper, diaper squares. Interviewer: Talk more about diapering safety. Dubique: Diapering time is a very important time for the child. It’s a time when the teacher can interact with the child, they can bond; but it’s also a time where the teacher has to be very careful, and make sure that that child is safe. For that reason wherever we have classrooms in which we have toddlers to be changed, we do have the changing table that has the lip, so the child can’t roll over. The teacher is taught never to take her hands off the child. In other words if she needs to reach for something, one hand should be kept on that child, even if the table itself has a harness that’s over the Dubique Transcript Page 17 of 22 child. The teachers are usually trained to bring everything they need with them to the child, so the child’s diaper, the child’s diaper cream, whatever they need they have to have it, so they do not leave the child to get something. [Side Chat] Interviewer: Talk about the hygiene part before and after. Dubique: Well, to begin with we use an individual diaper pad under each child, so when the child is cleaned, and when the teacher is finished this pad has to be disposed of, and the table, itself, has to be disinfected, again, before another child can be put on the table. Interviewer: One last thing is you make sure that a diaper pail is always secured, and fastened, and the lid on top? Dubique: In our case, we do have a diaper pail, which is under the table, or so how would I say that, because we put the diaper in the hole, because the table – Interviewer: You want to make sure that the diaper goes into a pail that the children cannot access? Dubique: In every classroom, of course, at every diaper table there is a pail where the teacher will dispose of the used diaper, and it is securely fastened so that the children can never get into it. [Side Chat] Dubique Transcript Page 18 of 22 Interviewer: Could you just talk about how safety is the most important thing, and it has to be foremost on every teacher’s mind? Dubique: In every childcare program, I think safety should be the fundamental priority. Here, I think safety is our motto. Teachers are trained that a child may be hungry, and don’t die, but a child who is not safe, there’s a potential of the child dying. So, we are very forceful about safety. If I go to the classroom, and I observe something that is unsafe to the child, I will definitely bring it to the teacher’s attention. We believe that safety should be paramount in everything we do, where the child is concerned. In taking the child outside, we have to make sure that the teachers go to parks that are safe, and the teachers are careful in crossing the streets. So, these things are taught. We have trainings on keeping children safe, and we have different systems in place for keeping children safe, because when parents bring their children to us, when they come back they do want to find their child. Therefore, if a child has a scrape, or if any accident happens, which accidents will happen, we have to make sure that parents are aware of it. If an accident is serious enough, we have to call the parent to get the parent to know that before the parent gets here in the afternoon. And if there is ever a need to take a child to the hospital, there are systems in place, for that to happen. A teacher can never take a child in her own car anywhere. So, we would have to get an ambulance to get the child, and get a parent or somebody on the child’s emergency card to be at the hospital, and of course, a teacher has to go with the child to the hospital. Here at the program, we have various systems that we apply to help the child stay safe. In the classrooms, in the bathrooms, and in the activity area where the children can gather to play wherever they are, safety is the first priority. Dubique Transcript Page 19 of 22 [Side Chat] Interviewer: Could you talk a little bit about how the developmental stages affect how safety issues change over time? Dubique: Well, here we serve children from six weeks up to about five years, and so the safety concerns vary from age group to age group. In the case of infants, we know that infants depend on teachers for everything, so the teacher has to control that environment to make sure there is nothing in the child’s environment that could harm that child. In the case of toddlers, they are getting a little more independent, and they are very curious about things; they explore the environment, and the teacher also has to be sure that there are not hazards in the classroom in the environment, because the toddlers are still at the stage where they suck on things; they put everything in their mouth, because it helps them to differentiate things that can be eaten, and things that can’t be, or texture, whatever it is, they learn from it. So, teachers also have to ensure that materials in the environment are safe, that if the children were to put something in their mouth, they are not likely to swallow it, or they were not able to swallow it, that there are no edges on the toys that could scratch them. Broken toys have to be discarded; dirty toys have to be washed and sanitized, and books, the texture of the books have to be such that they can be wiped, they can be cleaned because the children do put that in their mouths, too. And overall, I think the teacher has a lot to do in controlling that environment to insure that the toddler is safe. In the case of the pre-schooler, they are a little bit more independent; they have a better understanding, although they are not fully conscious of, or know what cause and effect is, they are still able to determine Dubique Transcript Page 20 of 22 whether something is to be eaten, or if they put something that’s not to be eaten their mouth, that they could get sick, or they could get hurt, whatever. So, it’s easier for the teacher to develop rules with them in the classroom about how they interact, or how they access the materials in the classroom. Even then, teachers still have to be very aware of pre-schoolers where they are; when you don’t hear a pre-schooler, make sure you check on them. So, we do that so that every child leaves here in the afternoon the way he came. [Side Chat] Interviewer: If you did have pre-schoolers who had difficulties, so they needed a wheelchair, braces, crutches, something like that, is the center set up for access? Dubique: There are additional practices in places for children who may have special needs. For example, the program is wheelchair accessible, so we’ve had a parent, and not a child, who needed to use a wheelchair, and they were able to come in. In the classrooms, when we set up the classrooms we are all – [buzzer] – \ Dubique: Right. In the classrooms, we set the furniture in such a way that if there were a child who needed to use a wheelchair, the child would be able to go around the furniture with no difficulty, and that is true also for if a child needed to wear; needed to use a walker – [Side Chat] Dubique Transcript Page 21 of 22 Dubique: But I would say in the classroom, if a child needed to use a wheelchair, or crutches, the furniture is set in such a way that the child would be able to move around comfortably. Interviewer: Could you say describe how with your furniture, you can adjust the height up and down, so that if a child needs to sit while they do their artwork, so they can be comfortable? Dubique: Also, when we buy furniture, we keep children who may need adjustment; oh, I’m not watching you, sorry. When we buy furniture, we do keep in mind that some children may need the furniture to be adjusted, and therefore, most of the tables that we use, the legs are adjustable. So, in case of a child with special needs, that would be available for the child. Also, for the art area, if a child needed to use the painting board that can be adjusted to the child’s height, so the child can be comfortable. [Side Chat] Dubique: Here, we do not use playpens. However, should we ever have to use a playpen, we would insure that the netting on the playpen is very sturdy, and that it is not torn, or the children can’t easily tear it to avoid a child falling through. [End of Audio] Dubique Transcript Page 22 of 22
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