CARING FOR KIDS
An Accredited Organization of Parents Anonymous ® Inc.
by Imelda Tatsch
Quality Care for Children…
How much thought does the average parent give to the quality of care and education their child will receive in a care facility?
In today’s economy it is necessary for both parents to work outside the home. Without the benefit of extended family to help, most are forced to find outside child care. What are the options? Home Care; some registered some are not. Mothers Day Out programs usually offered at a local church but is often only mornings for two to three days a week. These serve the children in that they are able to socialize with other children their age and mom gets a break for a little while. Both are very important but don’t serve the parent who needs full-time care.
The full-day full-week child care centers are open early and late enough for the full-time working parent provided the parent has day-time hours. Parents that work shift work must find another source of care for the later, earlier or overnight shifts.
All of the regulated centers must follow specific guidelines and can --and in my opinion should be-- checked before considering them for care. Anyone with internet access can go to this Web site and access the Child Care Licensing page. This will lead you to where you can check childcare center requirements, or look up specific child care centers and note how often they have been inspected or reported and the findings.
Many things are considered when choosing the place where your child will spend eight plus hours a day five days a week. The typical thoughts are; will the operating hours fit my schedule, what ages are they licensed for, are meals included or will I need to pack a lunch, and often the question of most concern, how much will this cost. Child care is often very expensive.
As with anything that is governed by federal or state, the requirements are strict at best. All for good reason; the safety and care for your child. This is a good thing and very important. Once you get past the basic necessity requirements, the question to ask is; what will my child’s experience be?
Is the place where you plan to leave your child, child focused? Sounds crazy doesn’t it. After all it is a child care center, so of course it’s child focused, but in my experience with childcare centers some are not. Yes, they are there for the children and yes they meet the minimum standards, so they pass. But merely passing is not enough.
Are they focused on The Whole Child? First of all, always, always visit the center or home that you are considering more than once, and pick different times of the day. If you show up to visit and are told you can only come at certain times consider that a red flag.
First impressions… when you walk in the door how are you greeted? Pay attention to that inner guidance system we are all blessed with. If it don’t feel right, it probably isn’t. What does it smell like? Child care settings do not have to smell like a diaper pail. Visit at lunch time, naptime, play time, drive by and watch the play ground are the caregivers interacting with the children or gathered together talking or worse on their cell phones. When you visit at lunch pay attention to what they are eating (if lunch is provided). Does lunchtime seem to be an enjoyable experience? Again are the caregivers interacting with them? Walk around while they are putting kids down for a nap. Are they spoken to in soothing tones or harshly told “get back on that mat!!!” ?
What activities do they have lined out on a daily basis? If not posted, ask to see the lesson plans. Are they being followed. A good center /caregiver will have knowledge of the age and stage of development of the children in their care and plan activities accordingly. A child’s attention span expands as they grow. Your 2 year old will need more variety than your 4 year old. Educational videos have their place but nothing beats hands on learning.
It is old news that the first 3 to 5 years are the most important in a child’s development. A quality child care setting will be aware of and plan for this and enjoy making the most of the time they spend with your child each day.
Children have often been called our greatest natural resource as well as our future.. If so don’t they deserve the very best start in life? If this topic is something you would like to hear more about or add to please write to me at pa@netcac.org
I think there will be more on this subject very soon.
In closing I would like to leave you with this to think about:
Relative to our children or any children with whom we would interact, our one dominant intention would be to give them a conscious understanding of how powerful and important and valuable and perfect they are. Every word that would come out of our mouths would be a word that would be offered with the desire to help this individual know that they are powerful. It would be a word of empowerment. We would set the Tone for upliftment and understand that everything will gravitate to that Tone if we would maintain it consistently.
--- Abraham
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Imelda Tatsch is the Program Director at the Northeast Texas Child Advocacy Center (NETCAC) located in Winnsboro, and her columns appear in their bi-monthly newsletter. In "Caring for Kids" she offers support, insight, and a touch of humor for parents and grandparents. She is a trained facilitator for parenting classes.
She will be happy to answer questions about parenting and family relationships. You can e-mail her with your questions.