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Home › Articles › Child Care › How to Select a Quality Daycare for Your Child

How to Select a Quality Daycare for Your Child

Exploring Your Childcare Options

By Jill Eggleton Brett

Pages:  1  2  3  

  • Are there routines and/or rules the children can understand and follow?
  • Is there a space for each child's personal items?
  • Is each area thoroughly childproofed?
  • How are medical emergencies handled?
  • Can parents get involved in daily activities if they desire?
  • Can parents drop in without notice?
  • Is there a trial enrollment period?
  • Will the caregiver answer your questions and tell you about your child's day?

    • "Good communication between child, caregiver and parent is essential," says Debbie Colann, director of Mountain View Day Care and Preschool. "Look for a day care that encourages informed communication so that the parent and caregiver can work together to create the best possible experience for the child." It's also a good idea to drop in unscheduled for a second visit with the day care; this may give parents more of a feel for the environment. Whether one chooses a day care center or home-based daycare, each has its good and bad points. The choice depends upon the needs of the parents and children.

    kid going to school Some of the stronger points of daycare centers include scheduled hours, lots of activities and stimulating programs, and opportunities to interact with lots of other children. The benefits of home-based daycare include much lower cost, the ability to work with individual parents on naptimes, potty training and the like, and always the same person taking care of your children.

    Sara Boretz, mother of twin girls, has had her daughters cared for in both types of environments. "In the home-based daycare I used, I really appreciated the amount of individual attention my girls received," Boretz says. "And when they were in a daycare center, it was a joy to see how much fun they had while they were learning letters, numbers and colors with other children."

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