Choosing appropriate child care for your infant or young child can seem as overwhelming as helping your teenager select a college or university. As a parent, it is your responsibility to ensure that your child is safe and happy in a child care environment that is fun, educational, and nurturing. Read on to learn how to go about making such an important decision.
Your Child and Family
About 70% of parents place their young children in some type of daily care. Whether you choose in-home or center-based care, a preschool, or someone else's home for your child's daily care setting, there are specific guidelines you should follow to be sure that your child is receiving quality, professional care suited to his developmental needs.
Most important in determining the type of care your child needs is to know your own child - his temperament, likes and dislikes, health, interests, and behavior. For an infant under 1 year of age, you need to give careful attention to your child's need to be nurtured and held, any special health needs, and the type of person you want to care for your child during the first year of his life. For an older child, his developing play and learning styles, interaction with other children, intellectual curiosity, and need for individualized attention should be considered.
The family's own values and emotional needs should also help to determine the kind of care they choose for their child. Choosing child care depends on the family's comfort level and their type of child. Some parents are overly anxious about leaving their very young child with one person, while others prefer individual care. But by age 3 or 4, it's good for the child to have at least some exposure to other kids and participate in a structured program like preschool or daycare.
Before choosing a care setting, you should be aware of the options available and consider cost, location, and reputation.
What to Look for
The first step you should take is to make a list of qualities you're looking for in a caregiver or day care, such as experience, religious background, discipline beliefs, and flexibility. Also consider any religious or cultural beliefs that you wish a caregiver to impart to your child.
If you're considering a day care center or another group setting, you should spend some time observing the center and talking to parents with children in the center. You might also want to ask the following questions in addition to those above:
Do you have an open-door policy on parent visits?
What are alternative arrangements for care if the program closes? On what holidays is the center closed?
What is your policy on caring for sick children?
How do you monitor children on the playground? How old is the equipment and has it recently been inspected?
How are children grouped? By age?
Do you welcome children of varying ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds to the program? Do you include children with special needs?
What are the educational backgrounds of the teachers?
In evaluating the responses to your questions, carefully consider how his or her philosophy of child rearing, discipline, and nurturing meshes with your personal vision of how your child should be guided and cared for each day.
Finally, do you have a sense of trust in this person or program? Do you believe that your child will be happy and have the opportunity to learn and grow in this environment?
Preschools
Preschools, as the name indicates, provide an educational program for young children before starting kindergarten or elementary school. Many day care centers now also incorporate early childhood curricula into their programs. The NAEYC lists these 10 signs of a great preschool:
Children spend most of their time playing and working with materials or with other children.
Children have access to various activities throughout the day.
Teachers work with individual children, small groups, and the whole group at different times during the day.
The classroom is decorated with children's original artwork and projects.
Children learn numbers and the alphabet in the context of their everyday experiences.
Children work on projects and have long periods of time to play and explore.
Worksheets are used rarely, if at all.
Children have an opportunity to play outside in a safe play area every day.
Teachers read books to children individually or in small groups.
Curricula are adapted for those who are ahead as well as those who need additional help.
Children and their parents look forward to school.
At the End of the Day
After all your research, interviewing, and observing is done, you may need to reassure yourself that leaving your child in the care of someone else is what works best for your family.
Make the most of your time with your child. When you get home with your child at the end of the workday, keep your time free and easy. Give yourselves and your child time to relax and cuddle - that can be a wonderful interactive time and it reduces stress for the whole family.
It is also recommended that guilt-ridden parents use positive self-statements, such as "I am still a good mom or dad" and "My child is having wonderful experiences." Recognize the advantages of quality child care - children are developing relationships with other kids and learning give and take.
Daily reports about the child's day and frequent onsite visits can help you to track your child's progress and reassure you that your child is being nurtured and having fun.
Just as you need to feel confident in your child's caregivers, he needs time to adjust. Young infants, up to 7 months, generally adapt quickly to caring adults; older infants may suffer from "stranger anxiety" and need extra time and parental reassurance in adjusting to a new caregiver. Many toddlers and preschoolers typically go through adjustment periods involving tears, pouting, and tantrums as they settle in. Visits with you, favorite "lovies" (a familiar blanket or teddy bear, for example) in the child's backpack, and the reassurance that you will return at the end of the day can help him adapt to and enjoy his new care setting.
However, if your child is not happy and flourishing in child care, you need to reassess his needs and reevaluate his program or individual caregiver. Realize that bad days may happen from time to time; one bad day does not equal a bad day care facility or caregiver. But if problems persist, it is best to find another arrangement as soon as possible so that your child has a positive experience boosting his mental, physical, and social development, trust in other adults, and sense of self-worth.
