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Home Daycare for Your Child
By admin | April 9, 2008
Selecting a home daycare for your child means asking a lot of questions and being observant. Start your search early as the better places fill up fast. Note that you probably won’t find everything you’re looking for. A licensed provider with a safe, clean home who loves kids and interacts well with them, and who offers a wide range of appropriate activities, yet does not have an educational background in early childhood development, is still probably a good bet.
Ideally, a good home daycare should have:
A good home daycare should have a welcoming, friendly atmosphere and nurturing environment. Contact current clients for references. Also, trust your own first impressions. If you don’t get positive feedback, and it doesn’t feel right when you’re there, keep searching.
A home daycare should be flexible; where children can be picked up/dropped off as per parents needs, but it should also have clearly established rules for everything from operating hours to how to handle emergencies. That way you know the provider takes her responsibility, your baby, seriously.
Look for a provider with a strict sick policy. Find out which illnesses mean your child has to stay home and for how long. A tough policy may inconvenience you if your child is ill, but keeping sick children away from each other makes sense. A good home daycare helps cut down on illness by requiring all children to have current immunizations and regular checkups.
Make sure the provider has an open-door policy where parents are encouraged to stop by unannounced. This will ensure you that the caregiver has nothing to hide.
The best home daycares have structured schedules that include plenty of time for physical activity, quiet time, group programs, individual activities, meals, snacks, and free time. TV and videos should play little or no part in what your child does all day. A well-thought-out curriculum stimulates your child’s development and makes daily life more fun. Also, look for a home daycare that offers regular outings; as long as they’re well supervised, stimulating, and age-appropriate (trips to the park, the museum, etc.), these are good for your child and are often something large centers can’t offer.
Ensure the provider offers a wide range of age-appropriate toys that will encourage your child’s development and, as she gets older, stimulate creative, imaginative play.
Children should also have the chance to play outside every day (weather-permitting, of course) — running, jumping, and skipping are good for them physically, mentally, and socially. As with outings, make sure children are adequately supervised while they play outside. If you live in a city, where many houses don’t have safe outdoor play yards, make sure the home daycare has the next best thing, a spacious indoor area.
If you have to bring your child’s food, find out the provider’s guidelines. Some may require you to pack only nutritious foods; that’s okay — caregivers who don’t restrict candy or other sweets may not have your child’s best interests at heart. If the provider does offer food, find out what she serves at meal and snack times (and make sure she’s aware of your child’s allergies, if he has any). Does she encourage healthy eating habits and cover all the food groups? If not, keep looking.
Topics: Baby Health |