This article we will discover how to choose a quality child care provider
Pricing
Pricing will vary based on age of your child and area you are seeking childcare but if you are looking for quality child care know that just because the price is high does not mean that your child is getting the best care.
We will talk about what is quality care how you can spot it and when you are overpaying for childcare
What is quality Child Care?
So how to choose quality childcare? It is based on your needs the distance from your house to the childcare center
Does the child care center provide adequate space and opportunity for learning Is it safe?
Is there opportunity for parent involvement? How does the center communicate with the parents?
What is the centers sick policy?
Is the price affordable for your family and what is included in the price?
Are the child care providers similar in pricing?
Is the center or home clean?
Center or Home daycare?
The choice is ultimately yours but there are benefits to both types
What’s the difference?
Childcare Centers are ultimately provided in a building coded and designed for children
Home Daycares also use the homes they live in to provide child care for children so the space is used for both childcare and living
Childcare Centers typically have more space so can provide care for a larger amount of children where as home daycares have smaller ratios and cannot exceed a certain amount of children.
Home daycares are usually more affordable and can provide individualized attention if your child requires a extra dietary needs or does better in smaller groups.
Benefits of Home Based Daycares:
- 1 to 4 teachers/helpers
- smaller ratios
- smaller facilities with a home-like environment
- fewer children (typically 3 to 12 children)
- mixed age groups with children of different ages
- children can receive individualized attention
Benefits of Child care Centers
- larger staff (lots of caregivers/teachers, as high as 30+)
- larger facilities with a more standard school feel day is ran on a schedule all children are on the same schedule
- ratios are 1-12 but can provide care to many children (anywhere from around 20 to 200+ )
- all ages are separated based on birthdays so your child will only be with children of the same age
Location
Making sure the location fits your needs are important some people like the child care location to be near their work while others like the convience of the provider to be near home.
Which ever you prefer make sure the child care location fits your families needs.
Important things to know about quality child care in general
Expect your child to pick up a cold or two being around more children equals more germs and can hardly be avoided
It is hard for any childcare center whether it is home based or center based to control what children put in their mouths and how often children share germs
What child care providers can do is make sure children wash hands before meals sanitize classroom and toys and make sure children do not share food.
Right now with COVID-19 there are a lot of restrictions so some people have converted to having a nanny or staying home with there own children.
Amomslifeline 