Caring for a baby or toddler in a grandfamily.
Some of the advice has changed since you last raised a baby. Start with current safe-sleep, health, development and child-safety guidance.
Part of our Health & Mental Health resource series. See the main Health & Mental Health guide for the wider topic and related resources.
Information reviewed September 2026. Laws, program rules and services can change, so use the linked official source for current information.
Caring for a baby can feel unfamiliar even if you raised children decades ago.
Safe-sleep guidance, car seats, feeding recommendations and developmental screening have changed. A grandparent who successfully raised children years ago may still need current information for a new baby or toddler.
Safe sleep has changed from older advice.
Health Canada advises that car seats, swings, bouncers, strollers and similar seated products are not safe sleep spaces. Public-health guidance recommends room-sharing, with the baby in their own crib, cradle or bassinet, for the first six months.
Public Health Nursing is a major PEI starting point.
PEI Public Health Nursing provides infant and preschool health clinics across the province. The Launching Little Ones program includes visits at 2, 4, 6, 12 and 18 months and a 4-year assessment. Nurses provide immunizations and assess areas such as growth, nutrition, hearing, vision, oral health, movement, speech, problem solving and social development.
If the child's health records are incomplete.
Ask Public Health Nursing or the child's health provider to review immunization history and catch-up needs. PEI records childhood vaccines in a provincial immunization registry, and Public Health Nursing can review records for children who previously lived elsewhere.
Car seats should match the child's current size and stage.
Infants and young children should travel rear-facing for as long as the seat's limits allow. Use a seat with the Canadian National Safety Mark and follow both the vehicle and seat manufacturer's instructions. If you are using an older seat from storage, check its expiry date, condition and history before relying on it.
Canada: Caring for Your Baby and Child Passenger Safety
Feeding information may need updating too.
Ask Public Health Nursing, a physician or nurse practitioner about feeding, formula preparation, introduction of solid foods, allergy concerns and growth. Avoid relying only on what was recommended when you raised your own children.
Best Start may help some families.
PEI's Best Start program is a voluntary in-home visiting service for eligible families facing challenges during a child's first three years. Referral is through Public Health Nursing and participation is based on family need.
Attachment grows through ordinary care.
Babies and toddlers who have experienced disrupted caregiving may need time to learn that routines are predictable. Responding consistently to feeding, comfort, sleep and play builds trust. A child may still seek or miss a parent even while becoming strongly attached to the kinship caregiver.
Child care and household setup.
Check current child-care availability, subsidy eligibility and whether the caregiver has the legal authority needed for registration and consent. Baby gates, medication storage, cords, button batteries, cleaning products and furniture anchoring may also need attention if the home has not had a small child in it for years.
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