The Daycare Dilemma:
How to find the best fit for your child
Article By Jessica Monsell, CTW Features
If the thought of leaving your new baby or toddler with a stranger all day gives you anxiety, you’re in good company.
According to Department of Labor statistics, as many as 70 percent of moms with children under age 18 work outside the home. With literally hundreds of child care options in the tri-county area – from in-home care, to traditional daycare, to Montessori schools – just where to leave your child can overwhelm even the calmest of new parents.
On top of different educational approaches, parents must also consider cost, convenience and quality. But with some research and a little bit of mother’s intuition, you can make sense of your options.
There are generally two categories of child care facilities: those which offer childcare to infants and young toddlers, and those which welcome children ages 2 and up. Finding quality childcare for infants can be the most challenging – and the most expensive. In order to meet the demands of infants, staff to child ratios must be low.
Licensed Daycare Centers
Licensed daycare centers offer many benefits to working parents, including long hours to accommodate parents’ work schedule. Because daycare facilities serve many children, they tend to cost less than other options. They are routinely visited by your state’s social services department, which provides and assesses minimum health and safety standards. While children in daycare centers will get plenty of playtime with their peers, allowing them to build socialization skills, they may also be more frequently exposed to illnesses at an early age.
Licensed daycare centers vary widely, but all must respect your state’s teacher-to-student-ratio guideline. Some schools hire and train additional staff to improve on the state-mandated ratios. The increased staff allows for more one-on-one interaction between the teacher and child, but can also significantly increase tuition costs.
In-Home Care
Group homes provide care for 12 or fewer children, and they must also respect your state’s regulations. Depending on the number of children in attendance, group homes must be registered at a minimum but can also be licensed with the state. Home-based childcare is often provided by a mother caring for other children alongside her own. Because in-home care accommodates fewer children, they may get less exposure to illness than in a large facility.
Faith-Based Centers
Child care services provided by religious organizations or churches are called faith-based centers. These facilities must be registered, which ensures the program meets state established safety and health standards. These programs sometimes provide less expensive childcare options to members of the religious organization or church, but may have family volunteering and engagement requirements in addition to tuition fees.
Licensing requirements and assessments: no apples to apples comparison
Most childcare facilities are either licensed or registered with the state. All private, non-religious daycare centers must be licensed, while all faith-based centers and in-home care providers must be registered.
Though a provider’s status with the state is important, it is not always an indication of quality. Rather, the licensing status merely demonstrates that the provider is in compliance with health and safety laws.
While all licensed and registered programs are inspected, those inspection records don’t shed light on a program’s quality. The inspections reveal violations of health and safety regulations, such as sanitation violations. But programs are given time to correct the issues and are rarely fined.
The difficulty for parents is that there is no one standard of assessment in the childcare world, but do your research, interview other parents and make sure to drop-in unannounced to make sure you approve of how the facility and programs are managed.
Pricing and Financial Aid
There is no doubt about it, high quality child care is expensive, and financial aid is scarce. Though costs vary based on location and facility type, some of the most sought-after pre-schools cost more than $1,200 a month, sometimes offering a small discount for siblings enrolled at the same time. Faith-based centers tend to cost less and may offer scholarships based on need, as do some programs sponsored by the state. For those in greatest need, some states offer voucher programs for parents whose income is meets a certain threshold based on family size.
Parents Know Best
Because of the lack of clarity when it comes to assessing child care program quality, the best way to determine if a program is right for you is to visit the facility. You may need to make an appointment to tour the center, but once there, observe the interactions between staff and children. An in-person visit will give you an idea of what to expect if your own child enrolls. If you don’t like what you see, consider crossing the center off your list. You must be comfortable with the interactions between children and staff, and ideally, you want to see positive interactions between happy children and teachers. Make a list of questions to ask staff members, and if possible, other parents.
Bonus: 14 Questions to Ask a Potential Childcare Provider
Regardless of which childcare option you choose, create a contract (unless the provider has one of his own) to make sure you’re getting what you expect and that you won’t have unexpected costs when you pay the bill. Go over the following questions with your daycare provider and get the answers in writing:
- Are you licensed to provide childcare in this state?
- What training have you received in childcare and education What about your staff?
- Are you insured in case of accident?
- Who is providing the food?
- How often and on what day are you expected to pay?
- Do you need my permission to take my child in a car?
- How much notice do you need to give in order to terminate the agreement?
- Do you frequently have visitors? Are they allowed to interact with the children?
- Will my child always be under your care, or will your spouse/child/friend/family member be helping?
- Do I have to pay when my child is sick or we are on vacation?
- How do you discipline children?
- What do you charge for days I need to drop my child off early/ pick him up late?
- What security provisions are in place?
- Are you certified in both infant and child CPR?
Excerpted from “Dad’s Guide to Pregnancy For Dummies, 2nd Ed.” (Wiley, 2014) by Matthew M. F. Miller and Sharon Perkins
© CTW Features