For many reasons, families choose
to send their child to a child care facility. I have seen moms wanting to take
a break from their child to exercise or shop or go to the spa. Some families
are eager to start off their child in preschool while there are other families
that need care for their children as little as 3 month olds so that they can go
to work. Whatever may be the reason, finding the right care for your child is
very important. It is important that the facility be the right fit for you as
well because you will be visiting that facility about 2500 times before your
child takes off to kindergarten if your child is enrolled since 3 months of age
till the age of 5 years and the fact that you will be walking in & out of
the facility twice every day all year long J
Sounds daunting! Well, how do you simplify this task? It is easy:
There are many different care
options available for your little one. The first & foremost are grandparents.
They are very excited; they raised you and you turned out great, so it seems
like a natural fit, right? Yes, usually for some time & for some families.
A lot of time, grandparents are away and working in another city or country.
They seem to have their own lives. They may also be too tired, old or dealing
with health issues. One other thing to
keep in mind is that but little children need interactions with people of their
age. And so, we move on to our 2nd closest option: a friend, a
neighbor or a younger relative maybe. These may be great options and I am sure
there are a lot of children all around the globe thriving in this environment. But
are they well qualified for regular care? Do they have early education or
training in CPR, First aid or blood borne pathogens? Probably not. Well, that
leads us to the next option: trained people. You can find them in licensed
childcare facilities, whether be it daycare providers at home or at a center.
Home daycare providers in most states require to be licensed. What does this
mean? They need to have minimum early childhood education, training in First
aid, CPR, meet certain requirements as to the space, childproofing their home,
etc. The licensors pay visits to these daycares regularly and as a surprise to
make sure that the codes are being followed and there is required interaction
between the caregiver and the children enrolled. They check records of children
& staff to make sure that everything is up to date and up to code. In the
state of Washington, home daycares are regulated by the state department of
Early Learning. It is not an easy process to get licensed. The criminal
backgrounds of the entire family are checked before the license is issued.
There are lots of resources available to the home daycare providers to utilize
to provide quality care for your children. To make sure you are a good match,
visit the home of the provider before enrolling the child. Do understand that
some of the providers get licensed when they have little children of their own
to get some extra income. Find out the number of children of her own that the
provider has and how many she is licensed for. Do ask how the curriculum will
be taught to the children. Make sure that there is a routine chalked out for
outdoor play, indoor freeplay and structured play for the children throughout
the day. Find out about the licensee absence plan in case of her illness or
absence. Ask if you can bring your child to spend some time at the daycare
before enrollment. Observe the routines and interactions. You will be able to see if the provider is
able to juggle the daycare as well as her home life. A big advantage of home daycare providers is
that there is consistency of having the provider till your child starts
kindergarten. This also means that the provider should be well trained to care
for different age groups and provide stimulation for your child till they are
ready to graduate. Home daycares are wonderful if the provider is educated and
capable. Look for extracurricular activities provided for the children by
different people which will be an added bonus. This ensures that your child is
interacting with different adults during his/her early years. They are a bit
cheaper than centers as well. You don’t want to settle for a provider with
really cheap rates either. The last option is full-fledged centers. These again
have all kinds of rates. Make sure to check to see which one fits in your
budget. Visit a few centers before enrolling your child. Understand that your
child may work with one teacher for a year or more depending on the policy of
the center. Make sure to find out about employee turnover at the centers. This
is a huge issue at centers as employee turnover is generally huge. Do spend
time in the classroom that your child will potentially enroll in, talk to the
teacher and understand the disciplining methods. Centers are regulated by the
state as well. A licensor is assigned to each center and are regularly visited
by them. Make sure to understand the extracurricular activities provided at the
center for your children.
Hope this helps and good luck in
finding the right care for your child. Please remember that if you are not
happy where your child is enrolled, don’t be afraid to change it. I have seen
time & again that parents are apprehensive to change the setting for their
child fearing that their child will need adjustment. But have no fear, children
adapt easily and when your gut says no to a setting, I am sure your child is
saying no too.
