Have you recently had a baby and planning on going back to work soon? Maybe you have recently moved and need to find a child care provider for your children in your new community. Either way, finding a quality child care service can be nerve-wracking. How do you know who to entrust with your children while you earn a living? My site has lists of tips that can help you find a child care provider and how to make your children comfortable with them. You can learn from my personal experiences in placing six children in child care over the last many years.
tips for placing your children in child care
The Difference Between In-Home Day Care Vs A Day Care Center
Lillian Price
When it comes to choosing childcare for your child, you have a lot of options. If you are currently looking for a child care provider for your child, you may have noticed that there are daycare centers, which are housed in non-residential buildings and usually contain multiple rooms for taking care of the children, and in-home daycares or family child care.
These two types of child care are not the same and are often regulated differently as well. It helps to understand the difference between these two types of childcare options so you can make the best child care choice for your family.
In-Home Day Care
With an in-home daycare, usually one adult will be watching your child. In some in-home daycares, there may be two adults watching the children. The child to adult ratio should be low. For example, if the child care center is taking care of children under the age of three, there should only be about five children for each adult.
With in-home daycare providers, the licensing can be tricky. Check with your local state officials to find out how they regulate in-home daycares. When you check out an in-home daycare, make sure that it is regulated by the state. You can also check for accreditation by NAFCC, the National Association for Family Child Care. The NAFCC holds really high standards and provides in-person accreditation. With an in-home day-care, you should always follow-up on their accreditation and certification.
Also, make sure that you check out the space. Make sure that there is enough room and space for children to safely play, both inside and outside. There should be a dedicated nap space and eating space.
In-home daycare can have a more casual, family-like setting and affordable rates; just make sure that you check into certifications and use your best judgment about the safety of the home.
Day Care Center
With a daycare center, you are getting a more regulated environment. In a daycare center, the children will generally be grouped by age into classrooms. For example, in many daycare centers, there is an infant room, young toddler room, toddler room, and preschool room. Children are grouped by age and ability.
In most classrooms, there will be at least two teachers on staff always. A strict child-teacher ratio will always be followed. The teachers are generally required to have certain training, such as infant CPR & first aid. In most states, the teachers are also required to have a certain hour of early childhood education training hours or certifications, such as an associate's degree or higher in early childhood education.
Daycare centers are usually more closely regulated by the state than at-home daycare centers. Daycare centers also expose your child to a more classroom-like setting and allow your child to interact with a greater number of children and adults.
When choosing childcare for your child, always look into the accreditations and training of whoever is taking care of your children. Always check out the facility in-person to make sure that it meets your personal safety and childcare standards.
For more information about daycare centers, contact a company like Carousel Of Learning Pre-School & Nursery.
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