1. (a) Child care staff shall regularly interact with children at their level, maintain eye contact, and, whenever appropriate, sit on the floor with them.

2. (b) When a child is engaging in unacceptable behavior, child care staff shall:

   1. (1) Redirect a child’s attention to a desirable activity by providing positive guidance, positively worded directions, and developmentally appropriate explanations for limits and rules;
   2. (2) Establish developmentally appropriate rules or limits for acceptable behavior, which are equitable, consistently applied, and developmentally appropriate;
   3. (3) Demonstrate desired behavior and problem-solving skills and then redirect children to acceptable behavior;
   4. (4) Arrange equipment, materials, activities, and schedules in a way that promotes desirable behavior; and
   5. (5) Implement safe, logical, and natural consequences related to the misbehavior and enforce those consequences as soon as possible after the misbehavior has occurred.
3. (c) Child care staff shall use separation from the group only as a method to enable a child to regain control of themselves, and not as a punitive disciplinary technique. Child care staff shall check in with children to determine when they are ready to rejoin the group.
4. (d) When a child is separated from the group, they shall be able to see and hear the other children and be within hearing and vision of child care staff, except when child care staff remove a child from the classroom to a quieter area which is visible by other child care staff, to provide one-on-one attention.

5. (e) Child care staff and household members shall not:

   1. (1) Abuse or neglect children;
   2. (2) Use rough handling on children;
   3. (3) Shake children;
   4. (4) Use corporal punishment on children;
   5. (5) Require children to stand or sit facing walls or corners;
   6. (6) Shame, humiliate, threaten, or frighten children;
   7. (7) Confine infants or toddlers in highchairs or other seating devices or equipment, which restricts their movement, as a disciplinary technique;
   8. (8) Place or confine children in equipment that is not appropriate for their age, including but not limited to cribs, playpens, or highchairs;
   9. (9) Withhold food from children, forcibly feed children, or discipline children for not eating;
   10. (10) Discipline any child for toileting accidents, lapses in toileting habits, or prohibiting children from using the toilet as a form of discipline;
   11. (11) Isolate a child as a form of discipline;
   12. (12) Require children to rest, sleep, or go to their mat, crib, or rest area as a means of discipline, or discipline children for not sleeping or resting during naptime;
   13. (13) Yell in anger or frustration at or in the presence of children;
   14. (14) Use profanity or obscene language with children or among themselves where children can hear them; or
   15. (15) Endanger a child as per RSA 170-E:4, II.
6. (f) The applicant, licensee, and all child care staff shall take prompt action to protect children from abuse, neglect, rough handling, and corporal punishment, including but not limited to actions in (e) above.

7. (g) The program manager or their designee shall immediately notify the child’s parent or guardian:

   1. (1) After calling emergency services to report that their child died while under the care of the program;
   2. (2) After calling the police when the program determines that their child is missing;
   3. (3) To report any allegation of abuse or neglect involving their child while in the care and custody of the licensee;
   4. (4) To report that their child was the victim of corporal punishment, rough handling, or other harsh treatment by child care staff;
   5. (5) To report that their child was physically injured because they were not supervised; or
   6. (6) To report that their child’s health, safety, or well-being was otherwise jeopardized due to a program’s non-compliance with licensing rules.
8. (h) The department shall notify the child’s parent or guardian if it determines that the program manager or their designee did not notify a child’s parent or guardian in accordance with the requirements in (g) above.
9. (i) If a child’s actions pose an imminent serious safety risk to the child or others that could result in serious bodily harm, child care staff may move the child to another area, holding the child as gently as possible and as briefly as necessary to protect the child and others.
10. (j) If a child has multiple incidents as described in (i) above and does not respond to techniques described in (b) above, the program manager shall, in consultation with parents or guardians, create and implement a behavior management plan which supports the retention policy pursuant to He-C 4002.15(a)(1).
11. (k) The program shall ensure that parents or guardians have access to the program and to their children, at any time children are in attendance and without prior notification. This requirement shall not prohibit the program from locking the doors for security purposes or checking parent’s or guardian’s identification.
12. (l) The only exceptions to (k) above shall be if there is a court order or other legal documentation limiting parental or guardian access.

13. (m) Child care staff shall not:

    1. (1) Be impaired while on the job by any substances including, but not limited to, legally prescribed medication, alcohol, or illegal substances; and
    2. (2) Use alcohol or illegal substances while caring for children.

Source. #4871, eff 7-24-90; ss by #5203, eff 8-16-91; ss by #6558, INTERIM, eff 8-16-97, EXPIRED: 12-14-97 New. #6719, eff 3-25-98; ss by #7294, eff 5-26-00; ss by #9160, INTERIM, eff 5-26-08; ss by #9310, eff 11-23-08 (from He-C 4002.20); ss by #12046, INTERIM, eff 11-19-16; ss by #12174, EMERGENCY RULE, eff 5-17-17; ss by #12415, eff 11-6-17; ss by #13373, eff 4-22-22; ss by #14356, eff 9-22-25, EXPIRES: 9-22-35 (formerly He-C 4002.18)