SECTION 749.1803. What are the basic care requirements for an infant?

(a) Each infant must receive individual attention, including playing, talking, cuddling, and holding.

(b) A caregiver must provide prompt attention to an infant's physical needs, such as feeding and diapering.

(c) An infant's caregiver must ensure that the environment is safe. For example, free the area of objects that may choke or harm the infant, take measures to prevent electric shock, free the area of furniture that is in disrepair or unstable, and allow no unsupervised access to water to prevent the risk of drowning.

(d) Items necessary for diaper changing must be kept out of the reach of children, but do not need to be in locked storage.

(e) An infant's caregiver must never leave the infant unsupervised:

(1) A sleeping infant is considered supervised if the caregiver is within eyesight or hearing range of the infant and can intervene as needed, or if the caregiver uses a video camera or audio monitoring device to monitor the infant and is close enough to the infant to intervene as needed; and

(2) An awake infant is considered supervised if the caregiver is within eyesight of the infant and is close enough to the infant to intervene as needed. For short periods of time in the course of routine household activities, the infant may be out of the caregiver's eyesight, as long as the:

(A) Infant is within hearing range;

(B) Infant's environment is free of any safety hazards; and

(C) Caregiver is able to intervene immediately, as needed.

Source Note: The provisions of this §749.1803 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; amended to be effective September 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 7522; amended to be effective January 1, 2017, 41 TexReg 9944; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909