This is the first post in a two-part series about day care.
Now everyone knows that the first three years of a child’s life are important. It’s all about who takes care of babies and toddlers and how they are cared for. But what’s best for babies and toddlers and what’s possible for parents may be two different things.
As a child psychologist and psychoanalyst, my years of training, clinical experience, and extensive reading have convinced me that young children do best in loving, one-on-one care. Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, babysitters, and well-trained day care staff at quality day care centers can provide this.
For many parents, staying home is not an option, there is no possibility of having close relatives, and finding and paying for a babysitter is out of the question. For these parents, daycare is a necessity. But what kind of daycare is best? The lack of reliable research in popular media makes this difficult to unravel.
Everywhere you look there seems to be an article about something new that is harming your baby, but little is said about what proper early care is.
It will be confusing. To make matters worse, the debate is highly politicized. And to make matters worse, there is a lack of high-quality, low-cost day care.
It’s tough.
For parents who must use childcare, it is important to know what constitutes quality childcare. And for parents who live in areas where high-quality child care is either non-existent or too expensive, it’s important to know what to claim in the child care center you use.
What does quality day care look like?
license. This center definitely needs to be licensed, but don’t stop here. A license alone is not enough. Accreditation standards do not cover many important aspects of a good day care center. Generally, they provide a baseline of the basics needed to operate, but they don’t include what matters most: what happens between infants and young children and their parents and teachers. 1 Interpersonal interaction. When you visit, check to see how caregivers interact with the children in their care. Is it warm? Are you patient? Consistent? Do they respond to challenging behaviors by setting reasonable limits?Do they talk to babies and young children and provide a language-rich environment?1 Physical environment. Make sure you have a clean, age-appropriate, inviting environment and educational materials, such as plenty of books and stimulating toys, for babies and toddlers to create, build, and interact with. Make sure you have a well-maintained outdoor space and the opportunity to spend time outdoors every day. 1 Curriculum. Age-appropriate activities and curriculum should be offered to everyone. This starts at age 1 and includes story time, imaginative play time, structured play time, nap time, snack time, and more. Size matters. Small groups are best for infants, toddlers, and children. When you visit, observe the group sizes and the number of staff available to serve each group of children. Staff to child ratio. The number of staff to infant/toddler ratios should be low. Please ask about this. Good communication between teachers and parents. Research shows that parents, teachers, and children benefit from regular, good communication between home and center2. When a baby is born, instead of one of five or six staff caring for the baby, each baby is assigned one or two caregivers to care for the baby. . I need it. When babies get to know their caregivers and are consistently cared for by the same person, they are able to recognize and know their voices, bodies, and rhythms. Low turnover among staff. The relationship between management and staff is good, and staff are treated well enough to want to stay at the center.
In addition to what I mentioned, think about what else is important to you before visiting a day care center. Make a list of things you want to see and ask questions about them.
