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The Right Kind of Care for your Child

The Right Kind of Care for your Child

Admin May 07, 2022

As you are starting your search for the perfect child care center for your child, there are questions in your mind that need answers. What are the things you need to check before you decide on a child care center for your child? Is there any checklist of what the school should have as policies that you should check off before deciding on a school for them?

Let’s make things easier for you. Here is a simple checklist of important things you need to look at when choosing the right preschool or childcare center.

 

  • Child Friendly and Child Safe Spaces

The first thing to check is obviously the safety and security the child care center offers. With COVID restrictions fully in force, we need to ensure that not only are these being enforced in the center, but that additional safety measures are being enforced by the center.

  • What are the safety measures that are in place to protect your child?
  • How are the arrival, settling and departure processes followed while the child is in school?
  • How will the center maintain social distancing amongst children?
  • What is the process in place to respond to different COVID scenarios?

If these processes are in place and they are being strictly followed, then that’s a huge worry off your plate.

Other non-Covid related standards set by the Government of India include creating safe and reliable spaces for your child. Right from the use of child-safe, non-toxic toys and learning equipment, to the stringent yet necessary security policies and procedures in place, to childproofed areas, the list of the standards set down is comprehensive and critical to ensure safety. A good daycare would hence, also have its own health and safety policies and teams in place that are both proactive and responsive in nature to prevent, and if necessary, respond to any kind of accident that might take place at the center.

 

  • Intellectually Stimulating and Holistic Environment

A child care center isn’t just a place to keep children under supervision. Early childhood is one of the most important times for learning and holistic development for your child. Creating a space where a child can explore and learn as they grow into well rounded individuals, and get ready to take on the world isn’t a simple task. It takes well-structured curriculum, dedicated learning spaces that are properly supervised, and qualified, trained staff that can help a child learn concepts through a multitude of methods. Creating spaces that are conducive to learning go a long way in making learning fun and interesting.

This also means making sure that there’s enough space. For example, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the highest standard is at least 35 square feet of indoor space per child in child care centers.

The spaces should be conducive to an education that looks at all aspects of a child’s development and their desire to grow and learn! This is all the more important for children who will be getting back to the learning systems at school after a long break, or, for the very first time.

 

  • Adult to Child Ratios

The next thing to check is the adult to child ratio that the institution offers. The lower the ratio, the greater the attention your child receives, which of course leads to a greater sense of relief for parents. This is accordance to the age of the child; younger children need to have greater adult supervision as compared to older ones.

 

  • Trained Teachers and Staff

Before you decide on a pre-school or child care center for your child, check the credentials and certifications of the staff. Your child will be spending their formative years in early education in the institution, so it is very important that the adults in this institution can impart education to your child in the most fun an interesting way that keeps their curiosity alive and makes learning a life-long joy for them.

Also check that the staff are not only trained in various modes of teaching but also in required safety procedures. Right from basic first aid training and pediatric CPR, to training in the case of a fire, to COVID safety measures, they must be skilled and trained to handle every kind of situation.

 

  • Trust Your Gut

Finally, trust your gut. If your gut is telling you something is wrong, your subconscious probably picked up something you were not consciously looking out for. If a place feels warm and happy from the moment you walk in, and everything else in your list checks out, you are probably at the right place.

It is going to be ok! Be open to listening to your child. Remember, even after you have chosen the best child care center for your child, you still need to be there for them and give them a safe place to come back to.

So go ahead and start looking for that perfect day care center for your child.

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