Family Employee Resource Group: Safe Infant Sleep

Date: Tue, 12/13/2022 | Time: 12-1pm | Location: Virtual – Zoom

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Event Description

In this presentation, participants will learn what an unsafe sleep environment is and how to create a safe sleep environment in their homes. Infant behavior and development in areas such as feeding, sleeping and crying will be discussed and participants will learn various infant soothing techniques. Participants will learn how to set the stage for nighttime care and develop a bedtime routine. Typical questions/concerns that parents have related to infant safe sleep will be discussed and explored. 

The Family Employee Resource Group (ERG) is a place for Spartans to connect on family-related topics with the goal of connecting, building community and sharing best practices regarding raising or caregiving for children and caregivers.

The Family ERG meets on the second  Tuesday from 12-1pm each month during the academic year in the form of educational Zoom webinars, interactive “Ask the Expert” format meetings, as well as in person family friendly programs and events (which are held on Saturdays). For questions, contact Rachel Perez at gonza243@msu.edu.

Learning Objectives

  • Learn what an unsafe sleep environment is and how to create a safe sleep environment 
  • Learn different soothing techniques depending on infant behavior and development 
  • Learn how to create and stick to a bedtime routine

About the Speaker: Colleen Nelson, LMSW, Infant Safe Sleep Program Coordinator at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

Colleen Nelson is the Infant Safe Sleep Program Coordinator at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. She previously worked in child care licensing and also in child welfare. Colleen received a Bachelor of Science degree in Family Community Services from Michigan State University and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Michigan. Colleen has been involved in infant safe sleep work since early in her career when she was a CPS worker and had to investigate infant deaths. Since that time, she has always done work related to infant safe sleep in some capacity – from participating on infant safe sleep advisory committees to working on trainings.