Stay & Play Family Handbook

Stay & Play is an added-value service for members of Central Bucks Family YMCA. Our goal is to provide positive and safe care to children and youth while their parents enjoy peace of mind and time for themselves while utilizing our facilities. Stay & Play is designed for free play; however we encourage the children to participate in various games, arts & crafts, social interaction and individual play. While you workout or utilize the facility, your children age 3 months through 6th grade can play and have fun in Stay & Play.

About the Staff

All our Caregivers have extensive babysitting experience. Several are education majors in college, while others are retired teachers or working moms. Every Caregiver is equipped to provide a safe, welcoming, and engaging environment. To ensure the safety of all program participants our Caregivers are required to maintain all certifications and clearances.

All Caregivers have the following clearances:

• Criminal Background Check in all 50 states
• Child Abuse Clearance
• FBI Fingerprint Report
  

All Caregivers have the following certifications/:

• CPR/AED
• First Aid
• Oxygen
• Blood Borne Pathogens
• Child Sexual Abuse Prevention
• PA Mandated Reporter Training

Registered Sex Offender Scanning & Procedure

V-Soft, a web-based system which was developed and is maintained by Raptor Technologies, provides the capability to search the national database of known sex offenders. Central Bucks Family YMCA has been granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable license for the use of V-Soft and its database updates. Our Y will periodically scan the entire database for registered sex offenders and has the ability to scan an individual should the need arise. The Membership policy regarding notification and termination of registered sex offenders will be enforced.

Ages & Ratios

To provide the highest, specific level of care and safety to children ages 3 months to the completion of 6th grade, Stay & Play follows two specific caregiver-child ratios:

• Infant (3-12 months old) = 1:4 ratio
• Child (age one year to end of 6th grade) = 1:10 ratio

Doylestown only:

When member usage is high, Stay & Play may be divided into three age-specific rooms of care to divide activities into developmentally-appropriate groups. These rooms are the General Room, Infant Room, and K-6 Room. Depending on the needs of the children currently checked in, we may also open up the Multi-Purpose Room for crafts or for a movie. All Stay & Play areas are directly supervised by Caregivers. 

Leaving Facility

Children and youth may access Stay & Play for a maximum of 2 free hours per day per child. While using Stay & Play, parents are to remain inside the Y facility. Parents may also use the CB West Track (Doylestown) or go for a run nearby, but they must provide a cell phone number on their child’s name label in case of emergency. 

Non-Member usage

Stay & Play services are provided free of charge for the following memership types: 

Doylestown

• Family membership
• Adult membership
• Youth membership

Fairless Hills

• Family membership
• Adult membership
• Youth membership

Newtown

• Family membership

Warminster

• Youth Membership
• Family Membership

Non-members may pay $5 per Stay & Play visit. We kindly ask that you avoid bringing children other than your own as our space is limited.

Comfort Level

Not all children are ready or comfortable for a two hour visit. Caregivers will do their best to comfort children who become sad or uncomfortable. However, a Caregiver will retrieve the parent for any child who becomes distressed for an extended period of time.

Late Pick Up

A $5 fee will automatically be charged to your credit card on file for every 5-15 minutes over 2 hours or for arrival after closing of Stay & Play. Please bear in mind that the free-play environment can be very exciting and stimulating for children and most children are ready to “end on a happy note” at two hours. 

KidCheck

Signing In and Out

KidCheck is a secure check-in system that enhances the safety and efficiency of Stay & Play’s check-in process. Members are in control of their own account and can ensure that their personal information is correct and up-to-date. Signing up for KidCheck is easy and free for parents. You can create your account from the comfort of home. Once you’ve created your account, you can add your children’s information and any pertinent medical/allergy alerts, and designate authorized and unauthorized guardians. You can also upload photos of yourself, your children, and any guardians to help Stay & Play with identification. Please note that only guardians 18 years of age or older may be approved for drop-off and pick up.

Registration Instructions

1. Go to the website go.kidcheck.com
2. Select “Create your KidCheck account”
3. Fill in the requested fields and create your password – this is the primary guardian
4. You will be asked to select your cell phone provider this is for emergency texting. We will only send texts for emergencies and please be aware that we cannot receive texts back from you.
5. NEW! Select "YMCA of Bucks County" and the campus at which you utilize Stay & Play most often.
6. Agree to the license agreement
7. Select “Save Changes”

Add Children & Guardians

1. Click on “My Kids” (This is where you will input your child’s information and upload photos. Select “Save Changes” when done.)
2. Click on “My Guardians” (This is where you will input additional guardians - such as spouses, family, and friends - with their own phone numbers and upload their photos.)

Signing Into Stay & Play

1. Go to KidCheck station. Note: Only guardians 18 years of age or older may use the check-in station, please!
2. Enter your phone number to access your account (if an approved guardian is dropping off they should use their own phone number so their name & phone number appears on the name tag)
3. Select where you will be in the facility
4. Select which child(ren) you are checking in and if they are in “Stay & Play” or “Sitter Service”
5. If someone other than yourself is picking up your child(ren) please select, which authorized guardian is picking up
6. Select Finish
7. Put provided sticker on child's back.
   
8. Please label diaper bags, snacks, and cups.
9. Please have your child(ren) ready to enter Stay & Play; coats and hats off, children out of car seats and strollers
10. Please complete a Child Care Sheet for your child 3 months-6th grade with anything we should know about your child

Communicate with Caregiver at Drop-off

When dropping off, please notify caregiver of any:

• Medical concerns: i.e. food allergies, diabetes, hearing problems, seizures, etc.
• If you are utilizing Sitter Service: Please complete a Sitter Service Care Sheet and hand that to the Caregiver along with your receipt from the Welcome Center
• No Media: Please let a Caregiver know if you would not like your children exposed to media, such as a G-rated movie (all kids) or Xbox (K-6).

Signing Out of Stay & Play

1. Step up to the pick-up gate behind the Stay & Play desk and let staff know who you are picking up
2. A Caregiver will enter the phone number from your child’s sticker to access your (or your guardian’s) photo.
3. If someone other than the guardian that dropped off is picking up, the Caregiver will confirm they are an authorized guardian and check their picture. If they are not an authorized guardian in the system, we will not release the child. All authorized guardians must have a photo on file or we will ask for a photo I.D.
4. If you are granting special permission for your older child to pick up your checked-in child, please be aware that your “minor guardian” must be at least 13 years of age and you must sign (or confirm) the Pick-Up Guardian Waiver in person at desk in Stay & Play at drop off. For check-outs only. No exceptions will be made.

Illness

We work very hard to prevent the spread of illness and germs in Stay & Play. We ask for your cooperation in keeping our program healthy for all children. If you have kept your child home from school please refrain from bringing him/her into Stay & Play. Please do not bring your child into the program with symtoms of illness, including but not limited to: fever within last 24 hrs, sore throat, rash, heavy nasal discharge, headache, severe sniffles, constant cough, abdominal pain, diarrhea, redness of eyes/discharge, nits or lice, vomitting.

Children must be fever free for 24 hours without the aid of fever reducers (Tylenol, Motrin, etc.) before attending Stay & Play. Children should be symptom free or on antibiotics for at least 24 hours prior to returning to Stay & Play. Please inform staff of any special health problems your child may have. In the event your child still appears ill, you may be asked to take your child home for an extra day of healing before returning to Stay & Play. Caregivers may request a medical clearance upon return from illness or rashes.
If a child becomes ill following a visit to Stay & Play, please inform us immediately by calling as follows: 

Doylestown, Stay & Play desk 215.348.8131 x1131
Newtown, Welcome Center, 215.579.6200
Fairless Hills, Welcome Center, 215.949.3400
Warminster, Welcome Center, 367.387.9622

Injuries

All Caregivers are certified in CPR, Oxygen, First Aid, and Blood Borne Pathogens. In the event of an incident or injury, care will be provided and an incident report completed. The parent may be retrieved based on the severity of the incident or injury. If an emergency should occur, all Y staff have the authority to immediately call 9-1-1, followed by the retrieval of the parent/guardian.

Clothing, Diapers and Bathroom

Please bring your child to Stay & Play with a clean diaper or having used the bathroom. Caregivers will change diapers only if your child’s diaper is clearly in need of changing (ie. full diaper or diaper with odor) and/or the child is uncomfortable. Please provide your own diapers and wipes in a bag clearly labeled with your child’s name.  If your child is potty-training, please send an extra pair of training pants and change of clothes. If your child is in the process of being potty-trained, please have your child wear pull-ups under their clothes and inform staff at drop-off that they are potty-training. To promote safety and respectful practices, Caregivers are never alone with children behind closed bathroom doors. For safety and modesty, all children must wear tops, bottoms and shoes at all times. (Children not yet walking may be excused from wearing shoes.)

Snack Time Guidelines

Snack time guidelines allow our Caregivers to maintain hygiene standards, avoid choking hazards, and protect children with allergies.  All children will be required to:

• Wash their hands before they eat snack
• Be given only the snack that has their name on it
• Be encouraged to clean up after themselves
• Clean their hands before going back to play

Please label all snacks with your child’s name, even if you are sending snack in a larger bag/lunch box. For allergy reasons, we cannot give a child a snack that is not labeled with their name. All snacks must be tree-nut-free (no peanuts, cashews, almonds, etc.. and no snacks labeled “may contain traces of nuts”) and in original packaging as much as possible.

Please note: we will offer your pre-packed bottles to babies as needed. Please make sure all bottles and formula are labeled clearly with your baby's name. Be sure to complete a Child Care Sheet with clear feeding instructions at drop-off. 

To assist parents, the following list of safe and unsafe food is being provided:

Stay & Play Rules

Stay & Play aims to set clear expectations and provide consistent support, engagement and guidance so that children can successfully follow the rules and contribute positively to the Stay & Play community. In doing so, we proactively nurture the children rather than simply respond to behavior.

Stay & Play Rules

• Play gently with toys
• Cooperate and take turns
• Keep your hands to yourself
• Use walking feet
• Use inside voices
• Use manners and approriate words
• Use Kinds words & actions
• Follow directions
• Clean up when you are done

Proactive guidance
All Caregivers have been trained to proactively scan the room to identify any areas of social need. Whether it’s learning to share toys or negotiating tricky personalities, our Caregivers are equipped to model, teach and affirm appropriate behaviors in the children.

Four Core Values
We emphasize the Y’s four core values: Caring, Honesty, Respect and Responsibility. Please see the display in our Stay & Play lobby for an interactive board, where you can help us highlight children who demonstrate the four core values.

Responding to misbehavior
Most misbehaviors do not impact other children, however should a child (preschool or older) mildly hurt another child, a time out will be respectfully delivered, always viewing the time out as a tool to calm down. The child will be encouraged to apologize and try again with the correct behavior. Parents will be notified at pick-up.

For misbehavior that results in injury, Stay & Play staff will immediately notify the parent/guardian and ask them to retrieve their child from Stay & Play for the day. If necessary, the Stay & Play Coordinator/Director will create an Individualized Behavior Plan with the parents.

We believe that, given the right tools, all children can succeed. Therefore, we greet all children with a fresh start each day.

BITING POLICY

Biting is a typical behavior in infants and toddlers. Our staff works hard to help young children deal with this natural behavior that is used as a means of communication before a child has language.  It is our goal to promote the safest environment for our freeplay, drop-in program; therefore, we employ the following steps when a child bites another:

After one bite, the supervisor will notify the parent for immediate child pick up.

• If the biter is an infant or toddler, she/he will be invited back to Stay & Play the next day.
• If the biter is preschool or elementary school aged, a meeting with the Coordinator will be required to create a modified behavior plan.

If any child inflicts a second bite, the supervisor will again notify the parent for immediate child pick up. At that time, the child will have a three-month suspension from use of Stay & Play to allow time for development of language and/or impulse control.

At the conclusion of three-months, the Stay & Play Coordinator or Director will invite the child back to re-evaluate the child’s ability to successfully participate in Stay & Play. If necessary, future steps will be addressed at that time.

K-6 Room (Doylestown branch only)

The K-6 room is designed to specifically serve youth in Kindergarten through the completion of Grade 6. All children younger than Kindergarten are to remain in the General Room. We kindly ask children to abide by the guidelines below when utilizing the K-6 Room. If the guidelines below are not followed, Caregivers will ask the child to move into the General Room for a 10 minute break or for the remainder of their stay, depending on the severity of the situation.

K-6 Room Guidelines:

• Follow the four core values of the YMCA: Caring, Honesty, Respect, and Responsibility
• Use kind words
• Use indoor voices
• Share with others and take turns
• Use all equipment/toys for their intended use
• Clean-up after yourselves
• Eat/drink at the snack table in the General Room

Lost and Found

Lost & Found is located at the Welcome Center. We highly suggest you call or visit the Welcome Center the moment you notice an item is missing. Due to the high volume of membership and overflow of Lost and Found, all items not labeled are bagged and donated each Sunday. We may contact you upon discovery of a lost item, so please be sure to label ALL belongings, including coats, diaper bags, each snack item, and anything you bring into Stay & Play. Central Bucks Family YMCA is not responsible for lost or stolen items.

Toys & Personal Devices

Stay & Play has a wide variety of toys, puzzles and books for your children to enjoy. Please refrain from bringing in toys from home. Comfort items are permitted while a child is transitioning into Stay & Play. Hand-held video games, iPods, and other such electronic gaming devices are NOT permitted. Personal devices are not allowed because our Caregivers cannot control the content that comes in on personal devices. If you wish to send your older, responsible child in with an e-reader you assume the risk of damage or loss and we will remove the reader if your child is doing anything other than reading/downloading books. We have Xbox Kinect available for grades K-6 and ALL games are active games that are rated “E” for everyone. (Please let us know if you prefer “no media.”)

Free Youth Development Classes (Doylestown branch)

Stay and Play staff are able to accompany your child to and from any of our free youth development classes. Simply register your child for a free to member youth development class (see the current session brochure), sign your child into KidCheck at least 5 minutes prior to the class start time, and pick your child back up within two hours of drop-off time! Please let us know your child is attending a class  and we will give your child a green wristband to let the instructor know that Stay & Play is the guardian (we communicate with them via walkie-talkie).

Applies to free Youth Development classes in the main, attached building only.

Sitter Service

Sitter Service is designed to provide our members 90 minutes or 3 hours of traditional babysitting, allowing them to exit the facility, run errands, go to appointments, volunteer, or have lunch with a friend. This is a paid program offered during Stay & Play hours of operation. Choose a 90-minute or 3-hour block of time and register at the Welcome Center in-person, prior to dropping your child off.

Please give yourself an extra 15 minutes to register and fill out a Sitter Service Care Sheet (found in Stay & Play). Please keep in mind that the free-play environment can be very exciting and stimulating for children, so be sure your child is well-fed and well-rested before dropping him/her off for extended time in Sitter Service.

Note that you may not attend traditional Stay & Play and then add Sitter Service on top of that in the same day. There is a daily max of three hours in S&P, except for Parent's Night Out, which is a more structured paid program.

Please visit the main Stay & Play website for pricing information HERE

• Please only purchase the “one child” service if only one child is using Sitter Service.The multi-child discount is intended to serve our families with two or more children using the service on
• Sitter Service purchases expire after 30 days from the purchase date.
• Late fees also apply to to Sitter Service, beginning with your first 5-15 minutes late block of time ($5per block/per child).

Parent’s Night Out

Parents Night Out is generally held on Friday evenings, 5:30-9:00pm, two times per month. Your children will play in the gym, have a pizza dinner, do a craft, have a snack and watch a movie. Parents are welcome to bring children in their PJ's. Please register at the Welcome Center. An updated KidCheck account is required. Please be courteous of our facility hours, as the Y closes promptly at 9:00pm on Fridays.

Specific dates, pricing and registration links can be found on our main website HERE

YMCA Babysitting Policy

Staff and volunteers may not be alone with children they meet in the YMCA programs outside of the YMCA. This includes babysitting, sleepovers, and inviting children to their home. Any exceptions require a written explanation before the fact and are subject to approval. This policy is in effect to protect members, staff and volunteers.

Donating Supplies

Thank you for considering a donation to the Y. We welcome any of the following:

• toys, books, baby gear, or craft supplies
• Unused diapers (when your child grows up a diaper size)
• Wipes (If you get a “buy one, get one” deal on diapers or wipes, please consider donating your freebie to us.)

Please note: we cannot accept anything plush, or with small pieces.

Emergency Procedures

Caregiver Emergency
Should you yourself have a personal emergency while utilizing the Y facility, please ensure that you have added at least one guardian other than yourself with a phone number other than yours to your KidCheck account. This is to ensure your child is released only to someone you have designated in the event that you are unable to return to Stay & Play to pick up your child.

YMCA Emergency

Doylestown branch

As part of the Y’s Emergency Response System, Stay & Play will evacuate in the case of emergency:

• For emergencies within Stay & Play, staff may evacuate checked-in children to Gym A.
• For fire alarm emergencies, staff will evacuate children to the CB West War Memorial Stadium directly across from the Y’s parking lot exit.
• For inside intruder emergencies, staff will evacuate children to the community-wide base, which is the CB West War Memorial Stadium.

Newtown branch

• Procedures pending

Fairless Hills branch

• Procedures pending

Warminster branch

• For emergencies within Stay & Play, staff many evacuate checked-in children to Studio B
• For fire alarm emergencies, staff will evacuate children to front parking area
• For inside intruder emergencies, staff will evacuate children based on situation.
  

Hours

DOYLESTOWN

WARMINSTER