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When You Need Child Day Care
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A brochure from the American Psychological Association Public Interest Directorate
This brochure provides tips for caregivers to consider when selecting a day care environment that will affect their child's physical, intellectual, emotional and social development. 1990.
Many families need and use child care in addition to what parents can provide. Most children and about half of all infants have parents who work outside the home. One of the biggest family changes in the United States since the 1950s has been the increase in the number of mothers with young children who are in the paid labor force. If this increase continues at its current rate, by 1995 two out of three children under age 6 will have mothers who work outside the home, most of them in full-time jobs. These families must be able to find and pay for good day care.
Finding child care is more than merely picking a service that lets parents go to work. More importantly, parents are choosing a whole world for their child, a world that affects the child's physical, intellectual, emotional, and social development. Making a good choice is not easy.
Kinds of child care
Most parents must choose one form of day care from among the different kinds that are available. Some parents arrange for care in their home by a baby-sitter or for care in the home of a relative, neighbor, friend, or some other family day care person. Parents who choose this service need to make sure that the child care provider is experienced and likes to work with children.
Another kind of service is in a child care center or other place outside of the child's home. Some child care settings, mainly daycare centers or family day care homes, are licensed or regulated by state agencies. However, even where day care providers are licensed, the license covers only the most basic standards of health and safety. These standards usually do not include rules about the actual activities or how the developmental needs of the child are met. The training and experience of people who provide such child care differ greatly. Parents have to decide if the daycare offered in these centers will help the child grow up in a healthful way.
Cost
Child care can be expensive, but high cost alone is not a guarantee of good care. Good care can sometimes be found at little cost, for example, when an experienced friend or relative provides the care. Parents first should pay attention to the quality of care: Does it help the child grow up and develop physically, intellectually,socially, and emotionally? Then they should consider the cost.
Many parents cannot afford to pay much, if anything, for day care. They must work and, at the same time, find cheap or cost-free daycare where they know their children are safe and being helped to grow up happy and healthy. In many places, parents can call the social services department for help. There may be a resource and referral agency in the area that can help a parent find child care. To find out, call the NAEYC Information Service at (800) 424-2460,or write to:
The National Association for the Education of Young Children
Information Service
1834 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
Choosing child care
How does a parent choose? In some communities, as already mentioned, there are resources and referral agencies to help parents make a good choice. However, these may not be available or very useful. Then, parents must find their own settings. They often use word of mouth and other informal ways to find day care for their children.
How does a parent know what quality day care is? After hearing good things about a place from other parents, friends, and neighbors, or from a child care referral agency, the best thing to do is to visit the child care setting. Watch what goes on. Talk with the child care workers. Watch how they work with the children. See if the children are enjoying themselves.
Here are some things to think about:
- Are there enough caregivers? The number of caregivers needed changes with the ages of the children. There should be at least one adult for every three to four infants, one for each four to six toddlers under age 3, one for every nine to ten preschoolers underage 6, or one for each twelve school-aged children.
- Can the caregivers take care of the number of children they have? Even with more than one caregiver, a group should not have more than eight infants, twelve toddlers, eighteen preschoolers, or twenty-four school-aged children.
- Do the caregivers seem interested in doing child care? Quality care that remains the same for the children over a long period of time is very important. How long have the caregivers been doing child care? How long do they plan to keep doing child care? Do they see child care as a career or just as a temporary job?
- Do the caregivers spend most of their time listening to, playing with, and talking to the children? Do they pay attention quickly, and are they patient when children ask for help or seem to need attention? Do they know about and plan activities around the cultural traditions of the children? The answer to each of these questions should be yes.
- Are parents welcome to visit at any time? They should be. Do the caregivers talk with parents when the parents drop off and pickup their children? Do the caregivers ask about the rest of the child's life? It is important that caregivers and parents talk often about the child at home and in day care.
- Are the children safe? Children should not be left to themselves. Play equipment should be clean and in good repair. There should be a plan for contacting parents in case of emergency. Electrical outlets should be covered with safety caps. Do all the rooms have smoke detectors? Are toilets clean? Are rules for washing hands before eating and after toilet use clear? Do children and caregivers follow them? Sometimes mixing ages can be a problem because appropriate toys and games are different for each age. For example, small plastic blocks that are fine for 4-year-olds can be a danger to infants.
- Is the place set up for children? Are the toys and furniture right for the children being cared for? Are there books appropriate for the age of the children?
- Do the children seem happy, busy, and interested in what they are doing? Watching and listening to the children is one of the best ways to find out how good the care is.
- Do the caregivers seem to know how hard it is for a child to adjust to a new situation and new people? Good centers have a plan for gradually bringing new children into the program to make the adjustment easier.
If you answered 'yes' to the questions above, your choice of daycare for your child should be a good one. Remember, you have the right to ask questions and visit as often as you like. You should be comfortable with your choice of day care for your child. If you are not comfortable with your choice, it is possible that your child will not be either.
Reading
A parent who wants to know more about child care will find the following publications useful.
Brochures and checklists
American Academy of Pediatrics. Tips on selecting the 'right' day care facility. Available from AAP, Department of Publications,PO Box 927, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007.
National Association for the Education of Young Children. How to choose a good early childhood program. Available from NAEYC, 1834 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Parents' checklist for day care. Available from Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20424 (Stock No. 017-091-00231-2).
Books and articles
Brazelton, T. B. (1986). Issues for working parents. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 56, 14-26.
Clarke-Stewart, A. (1982). Daycare. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Phillips, D. (1987). Quality in child care: What does research tell us? Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Scarr, S. (1984). Mother care, other care. New York: Basic Books.
Zigler, E. G., & Gordon, E. W. (1982). Day care: Scientific andsocial policy issues. Boston, MA: Auburn House.
This material may be reproduced without permission of the American Psychological Association as long as no changes are made and credit is given.
Prepared by the Committee on Children, Youth, and Families,American Psychological Association.
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