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Quality Child Care Is...
Want to know if
you've found a good place for your child? Here are some qualities to look for:
(Note: Do you have suggestions?
Please tell us, and we'll add them!):
 | Ratios:
Child-to-caregiver ratios -- including children of caregivers -- are low. |
| Licensure & Training:
The daycare is licensed -- perhaps even accredited
by the National Association for the
Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Caregivers are licensed, and they all have
adequate (and ongoing) experience and professional training in early childhood development
and education. The director and all caregivers have submitted to background, criminal and
reference checks. No caregivers is allowed access to
children until background checks are complete. All credentials are open to you for viewing. |
| Basics of health & safety:
Caregivers are trained, knowledgeable and supportive of the current, updated basics of
child health and safety, such as: the importance of regular fire drills and inspections
& health inspections; the techniques for both infant and child first aid procedures
(including CPR); what are safe and appropriate child-to-caregiver ratios; that infants
should sleep on their back; that no one must ever shake a baby or child; that
car-safety-seats are recommended for children up to 8 years old; that toddlers and
preschoolers need regular snacks and drinks; etc. |
| Inspections:
The daycare has passed health, fire and safety inspections, and also passes your own
independent observations. Regular fire and health inspections are done, and the daycare
doesn't try to hide or minimize infractions. |
| Cleanliness:
The daycare facilities are clean and well-cared for. All diaper-changing facilities are
separate from eating areas. Medicines and cleaning products are kept locked away and out
of reach of the children. Caregivers wash their hands and the children's hands with soap
and water frequently, and especially before preparing any food. |
| Toys and games:
The room contains lots of age-appropriate toys, books, games, building blocks, paints, puzzles, art
supplies and various learning materials. New materials and
equipment are added regularly. The materials are available to the children (with rules
attached). The children's artwork, writing, and crafts decorate the ceiling and walls. |
| Playing: If
you drop in to watch, you find the children playing or engaged in specific activities --
they aren't fighting, crying, wandering aimlessly or forced to sit still for long periods
of time. Caregivers limit television, video watching
and sweets. They seem happy to be there. |
| Feedback:
Daycare directors/caregivers are interested in your concerns, and they work hard to
accommodate you and your child. The staff meets regularly to evaluate the program and make
positive changes. They are responsive to your suggestions, and open to your participation.
Caregivers listen to your instructions for your child and follow them without complaint. |
| Professional recommendations: Other child care and child advocacy professionals -- including
licensing offices, police, health inspectors and fire inspectors -- have good things to
say about the facility and caregivers. |
| Comfort level: Your
child seems happy and comfortable with the facility and the caregivers. Other parents and
children seem happy and comfortable with the facility and caregivers -- even when you drop
in unannounced, and you are allowed to drop in any time. You don't have nagging feelings of worry about the facility or the
caregivers. There is a waiting list for the facility. |
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Security & Emergencies:
The center closely monitors who comes in and who goes out
of the facility. Only previously approved people leave the facility with a
particular child, and authorities are immediately contacted in the case of an
emergency. Staff who handle children in an unsafe manner are immediately
relieved of their duties (staff are monitored by administrators). There is a standard procedure in place for notifying you of an emergency or illness. There
also is a standard procedure for sending home children who are ill or
obstructive. The center has an evacuation plan in place
that is rehearsed monthly (your local fire department can review an existing
plan for effectiveness). |
| Suitability:
Your child is placed in a suitable, age-appropriate environment. |
| Continuity:
There is continuity of caregiving from day to day and from the morning to the afternoon.
When you pick up your child, you're able to find out what happened throughout the day and
how things went. When you talk with your child, the
details are similar to what you learned from the caregivers. (Bearing in mind that child care does have a high turnover), there isn't
an unusually huge turnover of caregivers at this facility every month. |
| Transporting:
Caregivers do not ever remove your child from the daycare without your knowledge and
permission. But if your child is transported off-site, he/she is transported in a safe and
appropriate vehicle with a proper restraining seat or seat belt. The daycare facility has
a trained person on-site to properly install all car-safety seats. |
| Attention:
Caregivers recognize that your child (and all children) are special and therefore worth
special love and attention. Caregivers work individually with your child in addition to
working with the whole group. |
| Attitude:
Caregivers are warm, patient, comforting and responsive to your child's needs and to both
verbal and nonverbal cues. They treat you and your child
with courtesy and respect. They greet you and your child when you get there in
the morning, and they bid you a pleasant farewell when you leave. They seem to enjoy their work, and the children respond well to
them. They don't treat the children harshly or expect too much for their age. |
| Interaction:
Caregivers physically interact with your child in playful ways, by talking, reading,
singing, play-acting. They work hard to teach, guide, stimulate and nurture. Attention is
given to all areas of a child's development -- cognitive, emotional, social and physical.
They read to the children every day. |
| Routines:
Caregivers establish routines and daily rituals so that your child knows what's coming and
is comforted by familiarity. |
| Fresh air:
Caregivers take your child outside every day (that weather permits) to play and get fresh
air. All outside facilities are fenced, away from dangerous elements (such as
busy roads, gangs and
drug abusers), and the equipment is age-appropriate and
safe. Caregivers go outside with the children and are
with the children at all times. |
| Exploration:
Caregivers encourage your child's daily exploration, play, thinking, testing, trying,
asking, feeling, wanting -- but they keep the environment safe and disciplined.
There are safety procedures in place for preventing children from wandering
away from their rooms or out the door. |
| Discipline:
Caregivers discipline your child in a gentle, loving manner. They refrain from hitting, yelling, pushing, criticizing, laughing at,
or comparing your child unfavorably with other children. They do not allow the
children to do any of these things to each other. |
| Bottom line: You have a good
feeling: The children seem to enjoy being
there, and you and your child have a good feeling about the facility and caregivers. |
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