Choosing the Right Daycare Center for Your Child

Since time began, traditional family roles have placed the bulk of child rearing on the mothers and the bulk of the financial responsibility on the fathers. The 1960s proved to be an empowering time in the lives of women with the passing of the Equal Pay Act by Congress in 1963 that promised comparable wages for the same work regardless of race, religion or sex of the worker and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964 that prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, religion, or sex. Millions of women flocked to the work force in the following years.

In 2002, 55 percent of mothers with infant children were in the workforce. Two million preschoolers were being cared for in more than 650,000 daycare centers in the United States in 2002 while their mothers worked. Since children who are enrolled in a daycare center spend approximately 50 hours each week in the center, it's important that parents research the centers thoroughly to ensure the best possible experience for the child and for themselves. There are many ways parents can do this. It's not hard to weed out the bad ones, if they know what to look for. The following information will explain how to spot common red flags when choosing a child care center.

Educate yourself

Be armed with information before you visit prospective centers. Know the state guidelines for centers in your state so that you can ask the right questions.
Know what the legal teacher/child ratio is for your child's age group is so that you can compare it to the actual classes in the centers you interview. You can also call your local childcare licensing office to find out if they have a website. There, you can search each center by name to see if any violations have been found during state inspections. The severity of the violations (Minor ones being paperwork infractions; Major ones being accidents) is a good indicator of how the center is ran. There is a website that contains licensing and teacher/child ratio information as well as contact information for the licensing offices broken down by state at www.daycare.com

Don't announce your visit to the center

You'll be able to see the center in its normal mode of operation instead of "incoming" mode. Note how you are received by the staff and directors. Are the children being supervised in every area of the center? Is any area of the center "off limits" to visitors? Are the classes under control? Is it a structured environment? The best times to visit are generally between 8:30am and 10:30am and between 2:30pm and 4:00pm. The morning rush, lunchtime, and naptime are all hectic times and things can be pretty chaotic during those transitions. If the center has cameras installed in the classrooms, this is definitely one to consider. This tells you the center, seemingly, has nothing to hide.

Directors

How active is the director in the center? Is she a visible fixture and always readily available? Or does she run the business by phone and always have someone handle things in her stead?

Fees

Before you enroll your child in a daycare center, be sure you understand how and when you will be billed. Discounts are not generally given for any time the center is closed, including national holidays. Most centers allow one week vacation time that is not billed if your child attends fulltime. However, if your child is ill and only attends one day of any given week, you're usually still responsible for paying for the full week.

Lunch

Check the lunch menu. If it's a repeat week after week, chances are, your child will be eating frozen leftovers and little freshly prepared food. This is done to cut back on costs and out of convenience for the center. Ask if your child will be able to have soups or other things heated up that he brings from home, if you choose to send them. Inquire what the food preparation procedure is when dealing with a child who has a special diet for medical or religious reasons, if this pertains to you.

Policies

What is the center's procedure for informing parents of outbreaks of communicable illnesses within the center? What about lice? What's the policy regarding teacher/child ratio when going on field trips? What is the procedure for making sure each and every child is accounted for when loading and unloading the center's vehicles? Is there a curriculum with a structured environment or is it pretty much just coloring and playing?

Trust your instinct

In the end, it's not going to matter which policies the daycare centers follow. They can make you feel better about leaving your child in their care, but nothing is going to be a better indicator than your own parental instinct. Going with your proverbial "gut feeling" is a pretty good way to determine what is best for your child. If anything makes you uneasy about a certain center, move on. Eventually, you will find one that has your and your child's best interests at heart.