Finding someone to take care of your child is a weighty task. We want to find only the best, to ensure that our children are being taken care of with love and safety. When scary stories come out on the news about bad things happening in certain daycares, you want to be even more careful. Here are some things you should consider when finding a daycare for your kiddo.
4 Aspects of Childcare to Consider When Selecting a Daycare
Parents want the best for their children, even at an early age. If you are a working parent, this can be difficult. Thankfully, early education daycares can assist in providing your child with the environment to grow and learn.
However, how do you select which childcare center to send your child to? In the United States, there were over 18,000 early childhood learning centers in 2023, which was an increase from the previous year. This means there are several daycares to choose from.
If you are currently looking into daycare selection, there are four vital aspects to review before choosing the one center for your child.
Credibility of the Daycare
One of the first aspects to consider is the licensing and accreditation of the daycare center. This ensures that the center follows the regulations and safety standards that have been set out by the state. Each state has their own licensing standards and processes for childcare establishments, and the centers that follow these will be listed on official government websites, like ChildCare.gov.
Once you have found relevant childcare providers in your area, you can check if the center is certified, licensed, registered, or even if it is legally licensed-exempt. This will lead you to reviewing the inspection reports of the program to ensure no violations have been reported or if there have been, these violations will have been corrected. There are quality ratings to check, too; these are provided by the state.
Checking the credibility of the daycare is critical to guarantee your children are adequately cared for by a professional center.
The Learning Environment and Curriculum
Daycare isn’t just to provide children with sufficient care while their parents are at work or otherwise occupied; it should also assist the learning of the child. The staff will provide activities and lessons to help children develop the necessary skills to continue their education as they progress to school. What is included in the curriculum will be based on the needs of the children and the standards of the state.
The learning environment will also cater to the curriculum. It will provide a safe and comforting space for children to interact with the daycare staff, who will provide various learning activities through play and teacher-guided lessons. Families should also feel supported in the daycare environment and online, especially if educators discuss the child’s development in person and via an online portal.
Health and Safety Procedures
Any institute that cares for children should have practices related to health and safety. This is another aspect you must confirm prior to signing your child up to a daycare. Health and safety procedures will include childproofing, cleanliness, and preparation for emergencies, such as fires and security incidents.
Some centers, including Our Future Learning Daycare, use biometric security systems like fingerprint scanners to enhance the safety and security of their daycare facilities. Biometric security systems cannot be duplicated or lost like keys or swipe cards, which ensures parents have peace of mind when leaving their children in the center.
The measures the daycare takes to focus on the children’s health should also be checked. Parents can do this during their tour of the daycare center. If children are being given snacks or lunch, you can monitor how staff display the importance of nutrition; they might serve healthy snacks and meals as well as discussing nourishing nutritional habits with the children.
The Staff and Their Qualifications
Qualified staff are essential to the care and development of your children. Most daycares will have a website that displays the qualifications and training of the staff, allowing parents to make an informed decision. However, if this information is not listed on the website, you can ask during the tour of the daycare.
Childcare qualifications enable staff members to care for children correctly and provide them with positive interactions. This will involve open communication and sharing opportunities, which will increase engagement and learning; both of which are essential in early education.
Parents should also inquire about the staff-to-child ratio that the childcare center allows. The ideal ratio will differ from state to state, and the type of daycare program will also affect it. You might wish your child to attend a daycare that has a lower ratio, which will allow for more one-on-one time with staff.
These four aspects should be reviewed prior to selecting a daycare center for your child.