Choosing Child Care

In our last blog post we discussed the long-term effects of low-quality child care on children.  Choosing child care is one of the most important decisions a parent can make.  Finding the care most suitable for your child will take time, but learning the types of child care available and what make a quality child care program will help your search be successful.

So how do parents find quality child care?  Here are some tips we hope you'll find helpful.


Some important factors to consider when selecting quality child care are:

• What is the education level of the child care providers?
• Is the space safe, bright, attractive, and interesting to children?
• Does the environment allow for a variety of play activities both inside and outside?
• What is the adult to child ratio?
   

Resources for finding quality child care:
- The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (many great resources)
- Reaching for the Stars (rates facilities)
- Rainbow Fleet (resources and referral)

We strongly urge you to visit the family child care homes or child care centers under consideration, and to talk to those who will be directly and indirectly involved in your child's care.  The more homes and centers you visit, the better prepared you will be to make the best choice for your child.  All family child care homes and child care centers must by licensed by the State of Oklahoma.  Licensing is intended to insure minimal standards of health and safety for children's protection.  Licensing alone does not guarantee the quality of a child care center for home.  You are the best judge of whether a child care program will be suitable for your child.

 
Quality Child Care Checklist
 
Health and Safety

• Is the facility licensed?
• Are the proper adult/child ratios maintained?
• Is the setting bright and attractive, with adequate space for quiet and active play both indoors and outdoors?
• Is the facility clean overall (bathrooms and diapering areas, kitchen, play areas) and is hand-washing practiced regularly?
• Are all areas child-proofed and free of hazards and is all equipment safe and in good repair?
• Are there working smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and a first aid kit?
• Is an emergency evacuation plan posted and practiced?
• Are there emergency contact cards for each child?
• Does the caregiver have liability insurance or a waiver of liability?
• Does the caregiver or center staff have up-to-date training in pediatric first aid and CPR?
• Does the caregiver or center use appropriate car seats or safety belts for each child if children are being transported?
• If food is furnished at the facility, is it nutritionally balanced and prepared and stored in a safe manner?

 
Personal Style

• Is the caregiver someone who is warm, sensitive to children's needs, and who responds lovingly and respectfully to children?
• Does the caregiver give each child individual attention?
• Does the caregiver treat each child in a positive way that builds self-esteem? For example, does the caregiver interact respectfully with children, using a positive tone of voice?
• Does the caregiver have a firm but loving approach to discipline? (Note: physical punishment, spanking, humiliation, neglect, retaliation, mental abuse, or punitive interference with daily functions of living such as eating, sleeping, or elimination are strictly prohibited by licensed facilities.)
• Is the caregiver willing to discuss your child with you, and are parents welcome to make unannounced visits at any time?
• Is the caregiver accepting of your cultural and family values?

Professionalism

•  Does the caregiver have training in child development or early childhood education? (Licensing sets minimum educational standards for child care center directors and staff, no educational training is required for family child care providers at this time.)
• Does the caregiver continue to keep up-to-date by attending trainings and seminars?
• How much experience caring for children does the caregiver have?
• Does the caregiver belong to any professional organizations?
• Are the child abuse reporting procedures provided to parents?
• Does the caregiver use written agreements and clearly communicate the expectations and policies of the program?
• Does the caregiver make available a reference list of current and past clients?

The quality of child care affects your children through their teen years

The Washington Post printed an article last month on the long-term effects of low-quality child care, and the results have significant implications for parents.

According to the largest study on child rearing in the U.S., children are affected by low-quality child care through (at least) their teen years.  Kids not only received lower testing scores, but were more likely to have problem behaviors such as arguing, mean behavior, and getting into fights over children who received high-quality child care.  This information proved true for children all ethnicities, races, home life situations, and socio-economic backgrounds.

Although the differences between kids was only a few percentage points, the differences were surprisingly long-term.  The study suggests these behaviors will continue into adulthood, creating life-long difficulties.

What constitutes low quality?  Researchers observed many factors, including the caregiver's warmth, sensitivity, emotional support and how much cognitive stimulation they provided.

What really stood out in the article was the sentence: "Other factors, such as the influence of parents and family members, were clearly more important. However, the findings held true even after researches took those and other factors into account."

This is certainly an issue to take very seriously.  We'll talk more in our next blog about how to locate high-quality child care.

Read the full article here.