Child Care! You're doing it right!

       Back in the day, when parents  went to work, grandparents were often nearby to help take care and watch the children. Today, this is less common. Grandparents and other close family members often live far away, furthermore even if they do live close by, they are not available during working hours.
If you do have a relative that is available for child care, this seems like a perfect situation to save time and money..with only a few downfalls. Any complaints often result in bitterness and hurt feelings, where as if things don´t work out at all, non-relatives are easier to fire. Some families choose child care because of family circumstances. Others want the benefits of high quality early childhood education programs for their children. Whatever the motivation for choosing child care may b, the results are that just as high quality child care is good for children, poor quality child care can be harmful.

  
      It is important for parents to be informed when making decisions about child care.Child care should be an enriching and satisfying experience for your child. You should always feel confident that your child is in a healthy, safe and happy environment. It can be hard to know exactly what happens with your baby all day at day care so this may make parents uncomfortable when making this big decision and trying to find the perfect childcare center. Good-quality child care provides a safe, healthy environment and supports the physical, emotional, social and intellectual development of children.  Parents sometimes choose unlicensed child care such as relatives or friends of the family,  because it may be less expensive, more convenient and probably more flexible. Others choose licensed child care because due to the fact that it is licensed, it is monitored by the Early Learning and Child Care Branch and must meet certain standards. Choosing a child care service can be confusing to a parent and they may be unsure of what to look for or what types of questions to ask. All types of child care services must meet standards regarding the number of children in their care.


         Stop by unannounced to check up on the environment and on your child. Also looking for a facility that has video camera monitoring services. Many larger day cares are equipped with camera hookups so you can peek in at any given moment through the web. Not only will you get a little baby fix whenever you’re missing your kid, knowing they’re being watched may be extra motivation for day care workers to do everything by the book. Another tip would be to stay involved  by calling during the day to check in on your child, and also take time to get to know the people who care for him. in being involved you will be able to find out what your child did on a specific date, and the plans going forward in the curriculum. If teachers have a hard time answering these types of questions, that can be concerning for the reason being child care facilities  should record baby’s activities, feeding times and naps throughout the day and make notes about their behaviors. If you are receiving reports make sure that they are detailed and clear. Don’t worry about being too pushy about finding out about your child’s day, or asking questions about any concerns. A good day care will be eager and more than willing to be your partner in caring for your child and that's an important aspect to expect to see.



Links:
www.indusladies.com
www.guardianearlylearning.edu.au