All too often I see people trying to find last-minute childcare, families constantly trying to find reliable childcare, and parents trying to call upon their friends/family to watch their child for free. While some of these options are more dangerous than others, they are all harming the child in some way. I wanted to provide some tips to parents who are looking for childcare that is consistent and benefits your child to the fullest possibility.
From my experience working in daycare centers, there are often too many employees on a constant rotation in and out, and the majority are young girls just out of high school with little or no experience in childcare. Because so much development happens during the first 5 years of life, it is essential that your early childhood provider is using their position to instill a love for learning within your child.
The first step when trying to find a reliable childcare provider is to ask a list of basic screening questions. I will list my go-to list of questions below.
The first set of questions pertains to safety.
1. Do you have a current infant/child CPR/First Aid certification that I can see?
2. What is your education level? What is your experience level?
3. Do you have a current background check (for nannies- they can do this through care.com) or are you a registered childcare provider (the state runs a background check on all people over age 14 in the house)?
4. If you have appointments, how do you schedule that? Does your fill-in employee have a background check? What is their level of experience? Have they been thoroughly trained in childcare for the age groups under your care? Will there be any other people in the house while my child is there?
5. Are their pets in the house? Are they up to date on vaccines? Can I see proof?
6. What steps do you take to avoid injuries while my child is in your care?
7. Do you have at least three references of other families you have cared for?
8. What is your emergency protocol in case of injury? Fire? Tornado?
9. How do you keep my child safe in terms of releasing them to people?
10. How do you follow COVID-19 measures to keep people safe?
11. How do you ensure the privacy of my child and family?
12. How do you ensure child safety when you are doing other activities- making lunch, logging data, etc?
13. How do you handle discipline during childcare?
The second set of questions pertains to your child's education.
1. What types of activities do you plan to do with my child?
2. What would a typical day look like for my child?
3. How does the environment that you have set up for childcare enable my child to engage in purposefully educational activities?
4. How do you incorporate reading? Math? Science?
5. How will you ensure that my child engages in healthy behaviors, such as eating well, drinking enough water?
6. Do you offer organized physical exercise? Toddler Yoga? Dance fitness?
7. Is there a separate nap space for children who are tired?
8. Do you have an open-door policy? How do you keep parents involved with their child's education/daily activities?
9. Do you offer outside playtime daily?
10. Do you offer a second language such as baby sign language, Spanish, etc?
11. What sort of artistic activities do you use? How often?
12. Do you offer music? What do you teach my child about music?
13. How will you meet my child at their level to help them grow?
14. Is there anything else you would like to tell me about what makes your program unique and special?
15. How much time do you set aside each day for organized educational activities such as circle time?
16. How much time will you spend reading to my child each day?
Childcare is not only about making sure a child's basic needs are met, but also ensuring that they are growing and learning. From my experience, a quality childcare provider will take the time to answer every question that the parent throws at them without becoming annoyed. Please take the time to learn anything and everything you can about the place that will be nurturing your child for the majority of their day.
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