Parent Talk / January 2007
Care Ware
Choosing who cares for her children is one of the most important, and difficult, decisions a mother makes.
A study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, concluded that children in higher-quality child care have better cognitive and social development during their early years of life, and are better prepared for school. It also determined that less than 10 percent of child care settings in the U.S. are high quality. Although quality is parents’ top concern about child care, many parents make assumptions that quality standards of health, safety and cognitive, social and emotional development, are in place when, in fact, they often are not. With nearly 12 million children under the age of 5 in the United States in child care every week, it is essential that parents understand what defines high quality.
Experts recommend starting on the decision as far in advance as possible. No matter what type of care is being considered, finding the right child care option can take some time.
Begin the search by calling to find the local licensing requirements and how to get information about complaints and licensing violations. Visit some representative sites of the child care options being considered.
The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral agencies suggests finding out about specific key indicators of quality.
One of the most important is the Adult to Child Ratio, how many children there are for each adult. The fewer the children for each adult, the better for the child. Parents want their child to get plenty of attention. The younger the child, the more important it is. Babies need an adult to child ratio of no more than one adult for four infants, while four-year-olds can do well with a ratio of one adult for ten children.
Group size is also an important issue. The smaller the group, the better. Imagine a group of 25 two-year-olds with five adults, compared to a group of 10 with two adults. Both groups have the same adult to child ratio, but the smaller group would be calmer, safer and more like a family.
Parents should inquire about the caregivers’ training and education. Caregivers with degrees and/or special training in working with children will be better able to help a child learn. Caregivers should also be involved in activities to improve their skills.
Caregivers who come and go make it hard on children. Getting used to new caregivers takes time and energy that could be spent on learning new things. Parents should check how long caregivers have been at the center or been providing care in their homes. It’s best if child stay with the same caregiver at least a year.
Parents should know if the child care provider has been accredited by a national organization. Accredited providers have met voluntary standards for child care that are higher than most state licensing requirements. The National Association for the Education of Young Children and The National Association for Family Child Care are the two largest organizations that accredit child care programs.
After making a choice, parents should stay involved with regular parent-caregiver meetings, by offering to volunteer time when needed, participating in clean up days or by fixing broken toys, being there for their child’s birthday party, reading a book aloud or joining in special events, like field trips or holidays.
Visiting and participating in provider events sends a strong message to children and caregivers that parents believe what they are doing is important.
To help parents better judge quality when they are considering which child care program would be right for their child, the NACCRRA has developed a booklet, Is This the Right Place for My Child?: 38 Research-Based Indicators of High-Quality Child Care. It contains a checklist of 38 questions to help evaluate child care programs, explaining why each question is important and how it relates to the quality of care. The questions are based on research about what is important to a child’s health, safety, and development. Easy to use and free, the booklet doesn’t make judgments, but it can help parents make more effective assessments and better informed decisions for their child.
To download a free electronic copy or order a print copy of Is This the Right Place for My Child?, visit www.naccrra.org. To learn more about the NICHD study, visit http://secc.rti.org/.
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