Finding A Childcare Service for Your Family?

Answer 1

Whether you have an infant, toddler or pre-school aged child, handing over care of your child to another person can be daunting, especially to an organization or person you haven't worked with before. You likely want someone who will take care of your child in a similar manner as you would if you were able to be at home with your child. Choosing a childcare service should be a well-thought out process that involves you visiting several different facilities or talking to people from different services to determine which company best fulfills the needs and wishes of you and your child.

Use your local phone book, an online yellow pages website or other people to find out which childcare facilities or services are offered in your area. Ask other parents about companies they use or have used in the past for childcare and try to get a sense of different services' weaknesses and strengths from their descriptions and from questions you ask them. Try to get as much information from other parents as possible about the activities, cleanliness, space availability, food choices, supervision levels and staff training at the childcare facilities because they likely will tell you the truth about the quality of childcare providers. This will help you to get a sense of whether certain childcare facilities are better and offer more than others. Look online at the Better Business Bureau's website to find out if the childcare facilities or services are accredited and have had any complaints. Review websites on childcare services in your area can also give you a sense of whether other parents have had positive experiences with providers and give you more of an idea of which childcare facilities in your area are rated as the top-level childcare providers.

Visit childcare companies or talk with people from childcare services to see what the facilities or caregivers are like. Ask questions that help you to determine whether certain providers will be a good fit and narrow down your search based on which offer the most services for which you are searching. Tailor your questions to what you are looking for but try to ask about what services offer in terms of snacks, playtime and educational activities, interaction time between caregivers and children and between children, space for children to play and sleep, the ratio of caregivers to children, emergency and first aid training to staff members or staff member accreditation. Take your child's individual needs into account, especially if you have a special needs child that requires extra attention. Also look at price and location when making a determination because you want to pick a service that is within your price range and close to your home, especially if you need to drop your child off on a daily basis.

Think about the type of childcare provider you would like for your child before starting your search. Some childcare services dispatch babysitters, au pairs or nannies to your homes to take care of your children. These facilities often do in-depth background checks and check references, and the nannies coming to your home get to know your children well from seeing them on a regular basis. The downside to a nanny service is that your child doesn't get to interact with other children or take part in enriching activities or games as he would at a childcare facility. At in-home care facilities, state-licensed caregivers take care of small groups of about eight children or less in their homes. In-home care centers often provide more one-on-one time between children and caregivers than larger facilities and more interaction among children than in-home services, but they usually have less space and fewer activities for children than larger childcare centers. Daycare centers are state-accredited facilities that usually have several caregivers to take care of children. These facilities often have larger groups of about 14 or fewer children and more social and educational activities than smaller care facilities, but they also may have less interaction time between the caregivers and children. The downside to large daycare facilities is that they are sometimes not open during certain days or holidays, usually only offer daytime childcare and often have outbreaks of childhood illnesses such as the flu and pinkeye.

When choosing a childcare provider, think about what services are most important to you and your child. If you want your child to be able to interact with other children from your area, you likely will want to take him to a daycare center. If you want more personalized care, you should look for a service offering nannies or babysitters. Whatever childcare service you choose, make sure that your child will feel comfortable, and the service will adhere to his specific needs and your desires. You want a childcare provider that has similar values as you so that it can further help your child to develop into a person of whom you can be proud in the future.