Having a baby is a precious gift that can require some planning. From choosing the brand of diaper to buy or who will be your pediatrician, the decisions are never ending. It’s the dream of most parents that they have the opportunity to stay home with their baby for as long as possible, but often careers call parents back to work far too soon. Choosing a child care provider for your baby can be a stressful undertaking when you are not sure what to look for. Here is a quick guide to help parents choose the right child care for their family.
• Group vs. Family Child Care: What is the right fit for your family? Is it attending a center with multiple classrooms and teaching staff or is it an in-home center with few children and one caregiver? The answer is different for each family. To ensure you find the right fit, tour various group child care centers and interview private family care givers.
•Investment: Child care is a substantial investment and can take a chunk out of any parents’ budget. Though this investment can seem overwhelming, the quality of care provided to your baby at the start of their development and learning journey is critical.
• Research: Check out any potential child care centers online before you visit. Dig into their website and Facebook to see what the center’s core values are. Look them up on the state licensing website to see the results of their most recent licensing visit. If you are comfortable in what you see online, schedule a tour.
• Referrals: Word of mouth is a child care center’s best referral. Ask your friends, neighbors, co-workers and doctors what child care center they would recommend. Read the center’s reviews online and see what other families think of the center you are considering.
• First Impression: Whether you scheduled a tour or just stopped in, parents should feel welcomed to a center. The child care employee you meet on a tour should be happy to see you and be genuinely interested in getting to know you and your family.
• Look & Listen: When visiting a center, keep your eyes and ears open? Do you see staff engaging with the children? Do you see children playing happily and learning? Is the center quiet or loud? Is there crying or yelling? Do you hear nurturing interactions? These observations can give you a snapshot into what your baby’s day could be like.
•Safety & Cleanliness: Is the center secure or can anyone walk in? Is the playground safe and secure? Are the classrooms clean and uncluttered? Are the common areas of the center clean as well? Does the center smell clean? As a parent, you should feel absolutely confident in the safety of your baby and the cleanliness of their environment.
• Education: Even babies can benefit from an educational program focused on individual learning. No two children develop at the same rate so look for a center that will nurture your baby’s development individually as well as in a group setting.
• YoungStar & Accreditation: YoungStar is the Quality Improvement System regulated by the State of Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. This quality improvement system provides a baseline rating system for child care centers on a 1 to 5-star rating. The higher the number of stars equals the higher the quality of the center. Alternatively, accreditation is a process of evaluation by either NAEYC or NAC to validate quality at a cost to the center. Be careful not to base your opinion of quality solely on a center’s YoungStar rating or whether they have an accreditation; visit a center in person to see a center’s quality in action.
• Gut Check: One of the hardest things for a parent to do is to leave their baby in the care of another person. As a parent, you should have no reservations about the safety and quality of care your baby will receive in your absence. When you find the right center for your baby, trust your gut to tell you “this is the one.”
Use the above guide to arm yourself with the knowledge and tools you need to be successful in your child care search. If you get stuck or need help in your search, consider Momentum Early Learning as a resource for you and your family. Momentum Early Learning, the new standard in education and child care, provides unparalleled excellence of care for children through an open, friendly and nurturing culture. Momentum Early Learning’s pledge of excellence is based on four core values: safety, education, cleanliness, and technology.
