There are five ways to help you decide on a child care center of high quality.
1. Starting looking early for a center for child care center will be helpful since it takes ample time to be able to find the right option, whether you are counting into child care in other person’s home or a commercial daycare center.
2. Making calls to seek for information on child care and for child care options in your place that will fit your demands and needs. Child care experts and centers with Child care Resource and Referral Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) in your locality can give reliable and adequate information. The latter can also help regarding the requirements for licensing in your area, complaints and licensing violations, and programs on financial assistance and qualifications for it.
3. Visiting the child care centers under consideration and seek for quality indicators. The guidelines in finding the indicators include the following:
• Know the adult-to-child ratio because it is important for your child. Every child has a ratio limit according to his or her age, that is, younger children need smaller adult-to-child ratio specifically not exceeding 1:4. In addition, older children like four-year-olds can make it with 1:10.
• Find out for the group size aside from adult-to-child ratio. Consider the group size that will be more safe and calm for your child. Which of the two following examples, which have similar adult-to-child ratio, is better: a group consisting of twenty three-year olds with four adults or a group of ten three-year olds with two adults?
• Seek for the qualifications involving special training in handling children from the caregivers of the child care center because such qualifications will be helpful for your child’s learning. Also, ask if the caregivers attend skills improvement activities like workshops.
• Inquire about the length of stay of caregivers have spent at the center and how long they have been rendering their service. Transitions from one caregiver to another bring about difficulties for the child and also wastes up the time for his or her learning.
• Make sure that the child care center has their accreditation from nationally distinguished bodies in the field like the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
4. Choosing wisely from your child care options by remembering the important details obtained about each center including the advantages and disadvantages of choosing them.
5. Preparing for the new start since the partnership between you and the child care provider has just started. Some elements necessary for staying immersed with the care of your child and for showing how concerned you are with his or her learning includes the following.
• regular checks about the learning process of the child
• volunteering for the center when you have your free time
• allotting time for important occasions like birthdays
• joining special child care center events
For more:
How to start a daycare business by StartADaycare.org
