Choosing a child care centre for your child is an extremely important decision, the ramifications of which can affect your child’s health, well being and developmental opportunities. For this reason, seeking out the best child care available is absolutely essential when finding a day care, facility or nanny for your child or children. As a parent, you know the sense of peace you feel when you know your child is being cared for by someone who has their best interests at heart and can be assured that they are fed, clean and happy. In order to find these qualities in child care for your young ones, some research and leg work will be necessary. It is a good idea to have a benchmark by which you evaluate the care that is given by a facility, and therefore it is important to know what high quality child care entails.
Learning and Growth
In a child care setting, the ideal situation is an atmosphere where the child experiences socialization, guided play and learning. It is important for young children to spend time each day learning things like the alphabet, counting, colors and shapes. These simple lessons are important to their cognitive development and ability to identify more complex ideas later on. A high quality child care facility will have an educational system in place which encourages learning and promotes education as a fun way for children to grow. Guided play may also revolve around these lessons, with simple games involving colors, shapes, numbers and letters. These games help children associate learning with fun and cement the lessons they have learned in their mind.
Imagination and Socialization
Time for imaginative play and socialization are equally important to a child’s developmental skills. Learning to play cooperatively with other children is a major milestone in child development, and as such, independent but supervised play time with other children is a significant aspect of quality child care. Children should always be monitored, but teachers or nannies who get too involved with independent play may discourage free thinking and childlike imagination.
Emergency Preparedness
In any child care setting, the safety of the children must always be paramount. It is very important that at least one person who is certified in child and infant CPR be present on the premises at all times. The school should have a defibrillator that is suitable for use on young children as well as epinephrine pens and other medical supplies necessary in a health emergency. Thanks to modern technology, a high quality child care center should have surveillance present at all times which is reviewed by supervisors and may be reviewed by parents upon request. Intercom communication should also be present for contact between classrooms in case of an emergency.
Social Media Research
If you are seeking the best quality of care for your child, one place to turn is social media. Other experienced parents in your area have likely made postings about the best schools and programs available for young children in your town. Talk to those parents about their experiences and research the schools. You may find something that is the perfect fit for your family.
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Whitney Hewitt is a Whitby based blogger, who enjoys sharing her child care tips with the online world.