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Child Care Selection

More than half of all preschoolers and kindergarteners are cared for while their parents work. Child care options include center-based care, care by a relative other than a parent, and non-relative care. The majority of kids in this age group receive center-based care. Although the type of child care a child in this age group receives does have an influence on his or her development, the good news is that there is no research that proves that children in daycare are less intelligent, less well-adjusted, or less successful than children who are not. So, parents can rest assured, quality child care can help your child thrive and grow just fine.

Kids Day Care Selection

Making the right day care arrangements for your child is very important. However, there's no doubt that good child care is expensive, and the reality is that most parents do the best they can and choose a daycare they can afford.

Here are some day care selection suggestions:

  • Location - finding a daycare near home or work, or at least conveniently between the two, is crucial. Even if you have to pay a bit more, time is money, and you don't need to waste time going well out of your way for child care.
  • Licensing - make sure that the day care center or provider you select is licensed. To maintain a license, providers and centers need to ensure certain minimum standards. Let the licensing agency do some of your work for you, and select a licensed provider.
  • Visiting - make an unscheduled stop at a few daycare centers. You want see how the center is run when they aren't expecting visitors. Even though you probably won't get a full tour during an unscheduled visit, you may at least be able to make note of things like child to worker ratio, noise level (are the children occupied or left to do their own thing), cleanliness, etc. If you're not happy, don't schedule a tour, and ask for references of centers you like.
  • Employees - it's ok to ask a few questions about the employees the center hires. A licensed center is required to perform background checks on employees, but that doesn't mean they are good at what they do. Ask about minimum education and experience requirements, turnover rates, etc.
  • Standards - make sure that the provider you select requires immunization records, that the children are provided with age-appropriate toys and activities, and that the child to staff ratio is no more than 7:1 for three-year-old children and 8:1 for children 4-5 (with class sizes no more than 16).
  • Safety - make sure that the center is childproof. Make sure that there is no smoking, that first aid and CPR care available, and that employees are required to wash their hands frequently. The center should also have an emergency evacuation plan in place.

Ultimately, we do the best we can to provide quality child care for our children. To help manage costs, some communities offer reduced cost child care, many areas have daycare co-ops, and state and federal governments provide vouchers for low-income families. It's important to balance cost and quality for the most successful outcome.