We have a child who has just enroled with us who currently falls asleep on her bottle in her cot. Her parent would like us to continue this here at our centre, however we don't usually put children in their cots with milk bottles. If she was observed during the drinking of the bottle, and the bottle was removed once she was asleep, would this be acceptable practice? We also had a question about comforters? All of our children (0-2 years) bring either a soft teddy or 'riffraff' to take to bed with them. If they fall asleep with these, but they are removed once they are asleep, is this okay? Can we have a parent write permission to void the centre policy for the two questions above? Stating that they understand and have read the centre policy on safe sleeping and choose to continue with their home practice.

Dear Rhonda,

Thank you for contacting Red Nose with your question - “We have a child who has just enrolled with us who currently falls asleep on her bottle in her cot. Her parent would like us to continue this here at our centre, however we don’t usually put children in their cots with milk bottles. If she was observed during the drinking of the bottle, and the bottle was removed once she was asleep, would this be acceptable practice? We also had a question about comforters? All of our children (0-2 years) bring either a soft teddy or ‘riffraff’ to take to bed with them. If they fall asleep with these, but they are removed once they are asleep, is this okay? Can we have a parent write permission to void the centre policy for the two questions above? Stating that they understand and have read the centre policy on safe sleeping and choose to continue with their home practice.”

Red Nose does not have any set policies around children drinking bottles in cots. However, it is important to consider the potential risks of this. There is the potential for parts of the bottle to come apart and cause a choking hazard, if the teat comes apart this may cause a rush of milk and cause choking. When children are having bottles they need to be supervised at all times. For more information please see KIDSAFE in your local area: https://www.kidsafensw.org/
As an early childhood provider you can also contact Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority https://www.acecqa.gov.au/resources/information-sheets/safe-sleep-and-rest-practices

Red Nose does not recommend the use of toys in the cots of children under the age of 7 months. Please see our information statement here: https://rednose.org.au/article/soft-toys-in-the-cot
Red Nose would advise early learning services to follow the practices outlined in their safe sleep policy. If you do choose to make allowances and include soft toys for children under the age of 7 months then you may need to create a risk assessment which would likely need to include that an educator will actively supervise a child the entire time that they have the toy. You may wish to discuss this with your local regulatory authority.