In the real world, it is difficult to equal the degree of care that a parent shows for his or her baby. Nevertheless, many child care providers are sufficiently trained to at least approximate the home environment to make the infant day care experience a pleasurable one for all its stakeholders.

Infant day care workers

Before you enter into any agreement with a facility, make sure that all the adults meet the licensing requirements for both the state and the local levels. You must also take the time to interview the key staff who would be directly working with your child. Inform them of your expectations and of your child’s special needs.

Checking the facilities

As the infant day care center is veritably your baby’s second home, it must be as safe a haven for your child as your own home is. All the areas in the center that should not be accessed by infants and toddlers must be secured with gates or at least held off by locks that are out of children’s reach.

The infant day care must also be kept clean at all times. It is understandable that kids create a lot of mess during the day, but there has to be enough people to clean up after the kids, round the clock. If food service is included in the infant day care package, make sure that the food prep area is always kept clean.

Be especially attentive to safety hazards that may be overlooked by the owners of the facility. There should be no sharp corners anywhere the children may venture into. All the electrical outlets must be out of children’s reach or at least protected by safety covers. Radiators should also be childproof, as well other appliances that are not safe for kids.

Constant checks

After selecting a facility, pay the infant day care center an unexpected visit from time to time, preferably at different times of the day. This is because there are things that may be normally hidden by the time the day ends and you’re scheduled to pick up your child.

Watch the caregivers in action to see if they are indeed competent enough to conduct the difficult task of infant care. If you’re at all uncomfortable with any infant day care center or its services, don’t hesitate to choose another one.

Share This

Take for instance the would-be mom who gets so agitated at not having been able to buy an electronic baby monitor in time for her childbirth. I myself spent a couple of hundred dollars on a set, only to discard the contraption after a few months because I found it to be totally worthless to me.

On the eight month of my pregnancy, I bought all the infant care products I could get my hands on, and ended up giving away most of them in the end. I also made a lot of bad purchases, paying attention to the brand and the novelty rather than the practicality of the infant care product.

It would do well for you to prioritize the infant care products which you will definitely need before you spend on items that are merely a fad. In the case of clothing, don’t be tempted to max out your credit card on outfits that will only worn for a couple of weeks.

Babies grow at an unbelievable rate and before you know it, it’s time to buy a new pair of jammies, shirts, and overalls once more. The Internet is a good resource for downloading checklists of infant care products that you would need at different stages of your child’s growth.

Buy infant care products, too, only when you already need them. It’s senseless to purchase a baby chair or a walker when you’ve just given birth. These infant care products will just be stocked in your garage to gather dust.

Use your best judgment

Even if you have to give in to the advice from the old ones once in a while, it’s still best to use your own judgment when purchasing infant care products. I remember my mother-in-law nagging me about buying cloth diapers instead of disposable diapers when I gave birth to my first baby a few years ago.

She said that infants would get terrible diaper rash from these “horrible” disposable diapers that don’t allow the skin to breath. I listened to her sage advice and bought dozens upon dozens of these gauzy cloth diapers.

After a few weeks of using them, I was already so overwhelmed with the mountain of dirty nappies I had to wash everyday that I no longer cared if my mother-in-law would disown me or not. Off to the infant care products store I went and purchased a cartful of disposable diapers!

Share This

All a parent needs to know is the troubling statistic that many home accidents involving children occur while they are in their grandparents’ homes! This means that when a home is not inherently child-friendly, there is a big possibility that accidents can happen.

The same thing is applicable for childcare centers. Some independent childcare providers look after kids in their own homes, and a significant percentage of these homes are not licensed by the government. Thus, several safety features may be missing from the childcare center.

Licensed or not, it is best to first inspect the place where you will eventually be leaving your child. When looking for an appropriate childcare center, keep in mind these four important safety measures.

Adult supervision

How many adults will be on hand to supervise the children? What is the ratio of adults to children in the childcare center? Ideally, there must be no more than 4 kids to an adult who, needless to say, must be well-trained in child psychology, CPR, and first aid, apart from the required early childhood education courses.

This is not an unrealistic figure at all, if you’ve ever experienced being the mother of quadruplets. Children with ages below 5 can be quite a handful, and there remains the possibility that they could all “act up” at the same time.

Indoor and outdoor gates

When we speak of outdoor gates, we refer to the security of the center’s perimeter itself. Even during outdoor play, the children must not be able to open the main gates by themselves and possibly venture out into the street. Indoor gates refer to the contraptions attached to staircases and other areas of the house or establishment where access to them may pose dangers to the children.

For the child’s safety, all staircases must be blocked by a safety gate which no child should be able to open without assistance from an adult. In the same vein, washrooms and toilets must have all the features necessary for it to be child-friendly – that is, toilet seats must be at levels accessible for kids; there should be no bathtubs which could pose dangers to toddlers; and sinks must be within their reach.

Radiators

There are older homes that are still being heated using exposed radiators. This can become a hazard especially during the cold season. Make sure that the childcare centers have covers for their heating units – even for baseboard heating.

Electrical hazards

Electrical outlets, if at all possible, should be out of reach of the children. If the childcare center is only a house converted into a childcare facility, then all electrical outlets must have protective covers or at least blocked by heavy furniture to keep little kids from inserting objects into them.

Share This

Months pass and you find out that the baby is slowly eating you out of house and home! Not even all your mom’s advice prepared you for the unexpected expenses coming your way after the baby’s arrival.

You finally decide that you have to have two incomes. But what about the baby? Who will look after him? This is when child day care facilities enter the picture.

Don’t scrimp on your child’s welfare

It’s one thing to save on stuff such as clothes or appliances, but it’s another to scrimp on your child’s well being. As they say, you get what you pay for when it comes to child day care facilities. If you’re on a shoestring budget, don’t expect the child day care facility to have a structured curriculum, much less a medical staff!

Weigh your options carefully and at least look for child day care facilities whose staff is trained in CPR or first aid. You must also take into consideration that a toddler’s age is the age when he is most curious about the things around him. Thus, he needs to have a great amount of stimulation.

If you’re not prepared to shell out a considerable amount of money, then the only child day care facility you may end up with that can cater to your budget is one that will just aim to “watch” your baby while you are away.

On the other hand, if you want to get “the works” for your baby, you can look into child day care facilties offering an academic curriculum. Ask about their caregiver to child ratio to find out if they would indeed be able to devote the attention you want for your baby.

Child day care facilities with academic thrusts

These facilities are often run by honest-to-goodness academicians who believe that kids should not just be left alone in the ball swim chamber while their parents are out on errands. These child day care centers have curricula almost similar to those of preschools.

You can sit in during one of their sessions before making your huge decision. Some child day care facilities will also be happy to provide you with copies of their lesson plans or curricula. Keep in mind, though, that the more intensive the academic programs are, the higher the fees would be.

Other perks of more expensive child day day care facilities

Apart from the well-planned curriculum, centers on the high end may also include snacks and lunches for the children. This is a boon to busy parents because no matter how simple you plan a lunch to be, there’s always time involved in its preparation.

When food is factored into the services of child day care facilities, all a parent has to worry about is dropping the child off and picking him up at the end of the day.

The more costly child day care facilities also have lower teacher-student ratios, which is great if you want your child showered with attention, and if you want to ensure that all his needs are met while he stays in the facility. This lower ratio can also contribute greatly to your child’s enjoyment of his day care experience.

When there are less students in the classroom, teachers are apt to be less tired throughout the day and thus will have more energy to focus on each student. Understandably, a smaller class will also be easier to handle discipline-wise, so not a lot of time is wasted in shushing the children when they become too rowdy or having to gather them all each time.

Share This

What are these child day care centers’ features?

Depending on what issues matter to you as a parent, you would have to sit down and assess your options for your child day care center. In many cases, you also need to consider your child’s age before making a choice.

If you are looking to entrust a toddler or an infant to the child day care center, you may want to favor an in-home day care center. Here, the atmosphere is more relaxed and closer to home as the surroundings don’t have that “institutional” ambiance.

This is also a good choice for parents who want their kids to have a lot of adult interaction, as the ratio of teachers or caregivers to children is much smaller at in-home child day care centers. And because small children need a lot of stimulation, the smaller child day care centers may be your best as they will be provided more attention.

On the other hand, although the larger and more efficiently run child day care centers may have a higher caregiver to child ratio, they are also usually more complete in terms of facilities and services. Extensive child day care centers take into consideration security and logistics, plus, of course, professional medical services.

They may also provide larger spaces for the children, and this means the possibility of having outdoor as well as indoor play facilities, spacious rest areas, and perhaps even roomy feeding areas.

In-home or otherwise, all child day care centers must be code compliant, according to the standards set by the state where they are located. Don’t be afraid to inquire about their license or certificates that their employees must be equipped with. Ask about the ratio of caregivers to children, and make sure that the maximum number of children per facility is observed.

Most of the new and modern child day care facilities offer structured activities, much like how preschools are being run. This is important because based on the Multiple Intelligence Theory, each child has different types of intelligences which have to be “unlocked” in order for the child to reach his or her full potential.

Structured activities in child day care centers are important in that they have specific objectives and definite techniques that would facilitate a child’s development. There would naturally be more children participating in the larger child day care centers, but both types should definitely have these important structured activities.

To know more about how child day care centers are one, you should personally visit the facilities that are near your area and spend some time talking to the administrator. This way, you will be able to determine what the center’s focus is and the methods they use in teaching your child various skills.

It’s always tough to have to entrust your child to a child care provider, but when you devote even a day to finding out more about the professionals you are leaving your child with, then you can walk off feeling more secure about your child’s well-being.

Share This

The thing that holds back many parents from having a thorough discussion with a potential provider is their fear that they may not be able to ever find one in time. This is a wrong attitude, because it’s much more difficult to keep changing child care providers in the long run.

In addition, children develop an affinity for people with whom they spend most of their waking hours, so constantly shifting between child care providers may have a negative psychological impact on them.

In this regard, it is important for you to take a day off from work and find out everything you can about your potential child care provider. It is really necessary to ask a lot of questions, as this may be your only way of finding out a little about your child care provider’s background.

What is the experience and educational background of your child care provider?

This doesn’t mean that the one you’ll choose has to have a master’s degree in early childhood education or must be a registered nurse. Sure, hiring someone with these qualifications would be great, but someone who doesn’t have a college degree can be a perfect fit as well. It only depends on the questions you ask the child care provider.

For instance, having CPR and First Aid Training are skills that are more valuable than an advanced degree. If your potential child care provider doesn’t have these certifications, but if you believe that she is responsible enough, then you can opt to pay for her training.

As for experience, you would naturally want someone who has had previous experience. Infants are especially fragile and must never be entrusted to someone who never held an infant before.

This is why it’s important to ask family and friends first before looking for child care providers on your own. Those who have been recommended by others are the ones who have been proven reliable. On the other hand, walk-in applicants may provide you with references, but they’ll naturally never give you the names of employers with whom they had a “falling out.”

Personal hygiene and cleaning habits

When we talk of child care providers, we don’t merely ask about how they keep their surroundings clean, but we should also be meticulous about the child care provider’s personal hygiene. Does she wash her hands thoroughly after a cleanup? Are her nails trimmed or is her hair well-groomed?

It may seem like nitpicking to even consider these things, but remember – children’s immunities are not as strong as ours. It is also important that the child care providers you choose have knowledge of the cleaning solutions that are safe to use, and how to properly use them.

What are their absentee policies?

You must know of the absentee policies of child care providers before finalizing a contract with them. There are facilities who charge you even when your son or daughter is absent from day care, or who are strict about sending kids home even if it’s only a mild sniffle. To avoid future misunderstandings, ask about their absentee policies and make sure that everything is in writing.

Termination of services

If you didn’t make the effort of inquiring about a certain child care provider’s payment policies, you might be caught flat-footed when service termination or payment time comes around.

Some child care providers are very strict when it comes to payments. Have a clear idea of when the payments are due – some require it weekly; others, bi-weekly. A few child care providers may ask for a surcharge in case of late payments, and most centers also require a notice of at least two weeks when you decide to terminate their services.

Share This

What a child care locator is all about

There are some areas where one can avail of the services of a child care locator. Simply put, they help parents by investigating child care centers for you and take the drudgery of this ritual off your hands. To make it easy for you, they do the job of asking these facilities certain questions that you yourself would ask – and with their help, all you have to do is evaluate their answers and simply compare different child care centers.

A child care locator charges a fee for doing all the legwork for the parents. Usually, they need to give the child care locator a set of criteria, such as location, rates, employees, facilities, hours, and other factors that may help parents make their final decision. The child care locator also asks about their preferences – whether they prefer the cozy home day care centers or the larger, commercial-type child care centers.

You can also ask a child care locator to provide you with licensing information and whether the center’s employees are fully trained in CPR and other emergency procedures. When the child care locator sees you again with all the information he or she has gathered, then it is up to you to decide the provider you prefer, based on what was given to you.

Utilizing the services of a child locator may initially seem unnecessary, but when you think of all the time and effort that you can save, then you might soon give it some serious thought. Quite often, parents look for child care providers mainly because they are too busy themselves, and the drudgery of having to go from one center to another becomes impractical in this light.

After rendering their service, a child care locator may then hand over everything he or she has gathered, and the parents then assume the responsibility of following up these leads. They should, of course, visit their final two or three choices to determine which child care center they are most comfortable with.

When at last it is time to make a final decision, you will then realize how much work has been taken off your hands by a child care locator, whose job it is to search for only the best and most reliable centers to whom you can trust your precious children.

Share This