Look For These Crucial Things While Choosing The Child Care Facility For Your Kid
Selecting the right child care facility is a big deal for most parents today. After all, as the world has become smaller, most of us are more aware of better child care practices. It was just the other day that I found myself having a similar conversation with a couple who are relocating to India after spending a significant time in the United States. Amongst other things we found the conversation veering towards good childcare facilities, or the lack thereof, in the country. While it wouldn’t be fair to say that we do not have good childcare facilities in India, it is also true that when we compare most of the services available to us to those abroad you can see a remarkable difference. The good news is that as the populace is getting the global exposure it is becoming increasingly aware of the level of care their child should receive. Couple that with the fact that most families are nuclear and most families are double income, the demand for good child care facilities that match global standards are increasing.
Caregivers And Children Ratio
Many might ask, what’s the big deal in choosing a childcare facility? After all, there are day care facilities at almost every bend of the road. True as that might be, often it has been seen that the caregiver to child ratio is heavily skewed. Little children, infants, and toddlers need constant monitoring and attention. This is the place where they will be spending a considerable amount of time and building their social skills. Crowded facilities often witness children being neglected and overlooked. You don’t want your child to be in a soiled diaper just because the caregiver is inundated with other kids to look after, do you? Or what if your child is an introvert and needs more attention learning how to share and interact with others his/her age? A good caregiving facility will provide a good balance between caregivers and children ratio so that the children can be nurtured in a loving manner in a calm and caring environment.
Infrastructure
Along with this, when assessing a child care facility, parents need to look at the infrastructure of the day care. Is the location safe? What are the security measures to ensure optimal safety of the child? What is the space per child? Does the child care facility have large outdoor spaces for children to play? Are the interiors and exteriors done up in cheerful colours to amplify the energy of the facility and keep the children stimulated? Are all the furniture’s in use ergonomically designed and safe for even the smallest and the naughtiest of kids? What is the overall cleanliness of the facility? How often are the indoor spaces cleaned? Can you see any visible signs of dust? By assessing the infrastructure you can be rest-assured that your child will be in a safe and stimulating space and will be happy to spend his or her time there.
Learning Philosophy
New parents also need to look at the learning philosophy of the child care facility that they are evaluating. What are the learning methodologies in practice? Are these in line with your expectations? Realistically speaking, a child care facility is a space where the primary objective should be to develop a child’s social skills and inculcate within them a deep love for learning. Employing new age practices such as ‘learning by doing’ work much better than learning by rote. Isn’t it better if your child learns the basics of mathematics by learning how to make a sandwich? Aren’t activities like gardening a great way to teach them about science? Isn’t this a more fun way to introduce them to science and mathematical concepts than making them sit in a classroom and expecting them to remember what’s written on the board? Additionally, a care giving facility can contribute tremendously in helping small children learn basic life skills such as learning how to eat independently, tie up their shoe laces etc. Slightly older children learn skills such as cleaning up after playing, filling and serving water, packing their own bags etc. While these activities seem minor, there is a considerable time investment and patience needed for the same. Most parents today might have the patience, but given that there is a constant race against the clock, end up doing a lot more for their children (feed them, make them wear their clothes etc.).
Storytelling, circle time, and lot of free play are of paramount importance in skill development, emotional development and mental agility of children. These learning activities help children understand and teach them how to process words and feelings around them and helps them become more creative in their lives.
Caregivers
The quality of staff and caregivers can make or break a child care facility. You need to make sure that the people taking care of your children not only meet the educational requirements but are in the profession because they love what they do. Having an innate love for children, possessing mountains of patience and being empathetic even with the most challenging children are just a few traits that early learning teachers and child care providers should possess. Assess if the child care facility provides ongoing professional training to their staff to ensure that they can improve their skills and provide an educationally sound and developmentally appropriate environment for the children. In addition to this, the caregivers should also have the knowledge to identify developmental challenges that a child could be experiencing and have good communication skills to address the same with the child and with the parents in an appropriate manner.
Security and Safety
When it comes to security and safety, even the smallest detail should not be overlooked. Without a doubt, this is one aspect that should be investigated closely with a magnifying glass. All the employees should have proper vetting and verifications in place. The facility should have security guards and CCTV cameras. Ingress and egress areas should be manned all the time. The child care facility should also have strict policies for pickup and drop and should ensure that they do not hand over the child to anyone except the person/s listed with the facility.
You also need to check if the childcare environment has books and toys that are age appropriate. Having proper childproofing in the infant and toddler area is essential for their safety. You also need to ensure that toys that have small parts are kept away from the reach of small children (children can be very creative with tiny things!) and that all teacher supplies such as glue, scissors etc. are not accessible to the kids without supervision at any time.
Communication
“I don’t know” “I just played” “Nothing”…these are just few of the ‘creative’ responses that you get when you ask children what they did during the day. Good child care facilities have a formal communication practice in place so that parents know what their children have been up to during the hours spent at daycare. Any formal information, communication regarding activities, field trips etc. should be communicated to the parents through a dairy or a chat book. Parents should also be routinely intimated of what the child has learnt, milestones that he/she has achieved etc. from the child care facility. Parents should have avenues to intimate the child care facility regarding any concerns such as allergies towards food or medications. This should be clearly mentioned in the child’s dairy so that the daycare takes utmost care of the same.
Let’s Talk About Food!
Finally, it’s time to talk about food. If I had a penny for the number of times parents have complained about the poor eating habits of their children, I’d be richer by a few million maybe. I cannot emphasize enough on the importance of inculcating good eating habits in children and this starts from the word ‘go’. Unless your child has some food allergies, I firmly believe that they should be exposed to the right kinds of foods from an early age. A child care facility can play a pivotal role in developing good eating habits with kids. If they teach the kids to avoid processed and junk food, nine out of ten chances are that the children will develop an aversion to these. Food menus at child care facilities have to be nutritious, balanced, healthy and prepared and served in a hygienic manner. Having a balanced diet that contains carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, fats and vitamins is essential not only for the physical growth of the child but for mental development as well. Often, all that slow, cranky or hyperactive kids need is a good, nutritious and balanced meals and all the issues that their parents face with them can be resolved easily.
Lastly, you when parents are looking for a childcare facility they should check the accreditations of the facility to ensure that the providers have met with the voluntary standards of child care. Along with this, when you go to visit the facility, see the general mood of the children. If you find happy children playing and having a good time in a safe and clean environment then you can be certain that the herculean child care hunt is nearing its end.
