Many parents would prefer to be able to stay home and raise their children full time. However, given today’s economic realities it is often impossible to raise a family without both parents working. One option is to engage the services of a day care center. But how can parents ensure that the facility they choose is a safe, friendly, and healthy environment for their children?

Factors Involved in Choosing a Day Care Center

Parents need to first decide whether the day care center should be in a commercial locale or one based at a private home. Home-based day care usually entails a single adult looking after a handful of children, while a commercial day care center generally employs several adults who oversee a larger number of kids. So a commercial day care facility might provide more planned activities and social interaction with other children, while a home-based center may be able to offer extra attention to each individual child.

When choosing between these two options, parents need to look at their own comfort level as well as the child’s needs and personality. The younger the child, the more attention they require as compared to an older child who will be more interactive and playful with other children. Infants and toddlers might feel more comfortable at a home-based day care center, where more attention and care will be provided. A commercial day care center will supply more activities and opportunities for interaction for older kids.

Every day care center must be licensed with state and local government agencies. Each facility must uphold basic health standards and remain in compliance with state laws, regulations, and building codes. To check out the status of a given day care facility, parents can find much of the information online by perusing government Web sites that relate to child care.

Parents should also know what the adult-to-child ratio is at a given day care center; because if there are fewer children per staff member, the kids are much more likely to receive better care. Ideally, one staff member is assigned to three to five small children (up to 3 years of age). For kids 3 years and older, one staff member per eight to ten children is recommended.

Staff members at the day care center must be qualified (and also certified in some states) to care for young children. Parents should inquire about how staff members are selected and trained. All day care personnel should be educated about child development, certified in basic first aid, and instructed about how to identify abused children.

The day care facility should also clarify its hours of operation and children pickup procedures. If the parents are unable to pick up their child on time, the center should be able to supervise the child until the parents arrive and never leave the youngster alone outside a locked building. Parents should also determine if a relative, guardian, or designated adult is permitted to pick up the children from the day care center should the need arise. Also, the parents should be aware of the child’s schedule while he or she stays at the day care center and whether the parents are allowed to visit the child anytime during the day.

Parents should also know the procedure that the facility follows should the child get hurt or become ill. This includes which maladies require the adult to pick up the child, which injuries warrant immediate medical attention at a health care facility, and which conditions can be treated at the day care center itself. Medication policies should also be discussed, including whether facility staff can administer prescription drugs to the child or if all medicines be kept at home.

Every day care center must provide a set of guidelines and policies to the parents in writing. It is vital that the parents understand the policies regarding such issues as child discipline, field trip supervision, and traveling in day care center vehicles.

Other factors that should be considered when choosing a day care center include:

• Overall cost

• Additional costs for late pickup, medication regimens, or other special services

• Methods of payment that are accepted (credit cards, checks, etc.)

• How far away the center is located from the child’s home or the parents’ workplaces

• Reputation in the community

Before placing their child in a day care center, parents should ensure that certain safety precautions are being observed, including:

• Safe playgrounds with impact-absorbing surfaces

• Execution of regular fire-drills (at least once every month)

• Presence of smoke alarms

• Emergency phone numbers kept close at hand

• Covered electrical outlets

• Protection from sharp corners (by using rubber molding or employing similar measures)

• Security measures that protect against unauthorized personnel gaining access to the facility

• Clean toys

• Surfaces that are disinfected regularly

• Hygienic diaper-changing areas

• Assurance that toxic substances (like cleaning products) are kept out of the reach of children

Because viruses and bacteria can spread quickly through a day care center, the facility should place a high priority on hygiene and sanitization. Infants in diapers should not intermingle with older children. Staff members should wash their hands before fixing meals or snacks, and disposable gloves should be worn while changing diapers. Each child’s immunization records must be kept up to date. It is much easier to prevent an outbreak than to contain the spread of infection and cure those affected by it.

But the parents’ job is not complete after they select a day care center. They should also ensure that the facility maintains the high quality environment that they expect. For instance, parents should make sure that their child’s primary caregiver is not changed frequently. That is why it’s important for them to monitor the number of staff resignations and management changes – because children will need time to adjust to new caregivers.

With older children, at least one parent should ask about and discuss what they did at the day care center each day. If they can, parents should offer to volunteer to help out at the facility by cleaning up, fixing toys, or reading stories to the children. This will help them get a feel for what the child experiences at the day care facility.

If the staff at the day care center fails to respond to any questions or concerns that a parent might have, it may be a sign that something is not right. Parents should not dismiss a child who appears unhappy or expresses some discomfort at the end of the day. They must also keep their eyes open for unexplained bruises or other marks on their child, and listen for other parents mentioning any problems they may have encountered at the facility.

The Child Comes First

A day care center should be like a “home away from home” for children. Kids should always be placed in a stimulating, nurturing, and caring environment where their social, emotional, physical, and intellectual needs are being met. Finding such a place for a child may require a significant amount of research on the part of the parents. But the time spent on these inquiries will pay off if the child is able to flourish while spending time at his or her day care center.