Choosing Quality Child Care

Quality child care is a lot like parenting. It involves helping children grow and learn; making sure they are safe and well; and supporting their emotional and physical development. Quality child care is:
* A program with early care providers that have specialized early childhood education and training.
* An experienced program with experienced teachers.
* A program where staff have specialized health and safety training.
* A program that is accredited.
* A program that is well equipped and spacious with good adult/child ratios and class sizes.
* A program that is actively involved with professional organizations.

To identify the quality of care a child care program you’ll need to examine the “process” and the “structure” of the program. The process just means looking at what goes on in the child care program. For instance, high-quality child care has planned activities for your child, that have a purpose. When looking at the program’s structure, your are considering the actual place, the number of providers and teachers, and the number of children, the staff’s training and experience, the safety features and so on.

There are several items that will help you detect the level of quality a program offers.

1) Health and safety
Proper equipment will reduce safety or health risks.
Monitoring of visitors reduces risk or threats to children’s safety.
Clean environments reduce illness and the spread of germs.

2) Learning Environment
Young children need a lot of supervision and guidance.
Children need to develop socially, emotionally, physically, as well as intellectually.

3) Staff Training
- Providers and teachers should know and understand child development and how best to work with children.
- Your child will receive care that is right for his age and skill levels.
- Children need to form a bond with their provider and feel safe and loved.
- Certain behaviors should never occur – refer to What you should NEVER SEE!!

4) Parent Policies
It’s important for parents to be welcomed and involved in the child care program.
Good child care involves parents and works with parents to meet specific needs.

5) Program Administration
Programs with licenses have passed standards for health and safety, ratios, and equipment.
Programs that are accredited will have passed national standards for providing quality care.

Parents and Providers Working Together
One of the most important aspects of any child care program is the relationship you form with your child’s provider. When parents and child care providers work together, everyone benefits. In a good partnership, parents and providers work together to develop communication and achieve goals that are best for the child, in the program setting and at home.

Staff-to-Child Ratios
One way to assure the protection, health and safety of young children is to require a certain number of staff/caregivers to children. Research on children’s ages and stages also shows that the younger the child, the smaller the group size should be. So both staff-to-child ratios and group size are important elements in a quality program. State licensing and certification group size limits are listed in our types of care available section of this website.

That being said, no single child care program is the highest quality for every child, as each child has his/her own individual needs. You, as the parent or guardian need to ensure that the setting chosen best meets the needs of your child. Click here for some considerations, and steps to take, when looking at, and evaluating a child care program.

If you have a question regarding the care that is currently being provided your child and/or would like more information, please feel free to contact us.

There are many warning signs of poor child care ~ and knowing what you should not see can be as important as what you do see. The following are some things you should never see. If you do, it should be a warning that perhaps this is not the provider, or program, for you. If the situation is bad enough, you may feel a need to report the provider to the state licensing authorities.

You should never see:

• A provider physically disciplining a child (hitting, shaking, spanking, etc…)
* Crying babies, or children, left unattended
* A child left out of sight and hearing of other children, as a form of punishment
* Babies left in cribs, playpens or infant seats for a long time
* Babies not being held during feeding
* Children forced into potty training
* Providers making fun of children for any reason, or in any way
* Children running or playing without adult supervision
* Children fighting without an adult stepping in
* Children under the age of three receiving food they could choke on (i.e. raw carrots, grapes, peanuts, popcorn, hot dogs with skin, hard candy, etc..)
* Food used as a bribe or punishment
* Non-nutritious snacks served outside of special occasions
* A child scolded harshly, or embarrassed, in front of other children
* A child left in a wet or messy diaper too long