Selecting Child Care Providers - CHAPTER ONE - TYPES OF CHILD CARE

From the occasional babysitter to full-time day or after-school care, this chapter will give you specific details about the several different types of child care and what each of them can offer you and your child.

It’s extremely important for you to understand the different types of child care available and what each of them can offer to your specific needs. This is the first step in your search for safe and secure child care.

Babysitters

A babysitter is someone who looks after your child occasionally. Choosing a babysitter is just as important as choosing any other type of child care.

The applicant should be carefully screened and found competent to care for your child while you’re away, even for just a few hours.

It is recommended that your babysitter be older than *16 years of age because anyone who is younger cannot be charged with neglect or ill treatment of your child left in their care, if such an unfortunate incident were to happen.

If you leave your child with anyone under the age of *16 you are still responsible for them. If anything should go wrong and you are found to have left your child with someone unsuitable, which includes someone underage, you could be charged with neglect.

( * It is advisable that you check your own state laws regarding exact age.)

Nannies

Nannies are ultimately your child’s nurse and daily care provider. They should have completed a course in child care, and at least one years experience gained while studying for their qualifications.

The age range of nannies are from 20 years of age and up. Salaries range from $385 to $618 a week depending on experience and years of employment in other homes.

Maternity Nannies

Maternity nannies live in your home and specialize in the care of a newly born baby.

Duties would include bottle making, feeding, bathing, washing the babies clothing, diaper changing and would be regarded as taking complete control of the newly born baby for it’s first few weeks at home.

Maternity nannies usually stay in the home for about four weeks but could stay up to three months, depending on the child’s and or parents needs.

Salaries are at the high end of the scale, earning as much as $170 on a regular 12 hour night and increasing dramatically for multiple births and longer hours.

Mothers Help

Mothers’ help are one’s who are wanting to start a career in the child care industry and are currently undergoing full-time, evening or home study courses.

Their experience in the child care field will have been gained within their own families, or have been babysitting for quite some time.

Salaries can range between $368 to $392 per 40 hour work week, depending on their experience and your needs as a client.

Au-Pairs

Au-Pairs are foreign nationals between the ages of 18 and 26 with women over the age of 20 being mostly sought after because of their maturity level.

These foreign nationals are granted a special one year student visa, which is non-renewable.

This is a great opportunity for these young women who will expect to live near a college to attend English classes.

The hosting family provides room and board and a weekly stipend, and the Au-Pair will undertake light housework and child care type duties.

Presently there are six US government authorized agencies who arrange Au-Pair matches. The typical fee, which includes airfare, agency fees, and weekly stipend, is approximately $14,000 US per year.

Day Care (Crèche, After-School)

You as a parent, have the right to check and visit any day care, crèche, or after-school that you might find suitable for your child’s needs. You should also be aware of the things to look for when visiting these places, such as;

Are you and your child greeted, and made to feel welcome and comfortable?

Are the children active and seem to be happy?

Are there adequate and suitable toys for the children?

Are there adequate activities within the care center?

Are there enough staff members present to care for the children?

What kinds of foods are provided and is it suitable, nutritious and enough?

What are the qualifications and experience of the staff members?

What are the protocols of the care center for injuries?

What are the protocols when a child becomes ill?

Are the surroundings, both indoors and outdoors, clean and attractive?

What are the costs of the child care center?

Is there any programs or financial assistance available?

Are the children ever alone with a single staff member?

What are the protocols for resting, changing clothes, and toileting?

Is the staff required to provide references?

Does all the staff undergo a criminal record and background check?

What forms of discipline are used?

Once you have a day care in mind, call and ask them when the best time would be for you and your child to look through the facilities and learn more about what they offer.

Pre-School (Nursery School)

Pre-schools are designed to give your child an educational type program to prepare them for kindergarten and elementary school. There are also many day care centers who incorporate early childhood curriculum in their programs.

The child will spend most of their time playing and working with materials, participating in various activities through out the day, and interacting with other children.

The staff members or teachers will work with small groups of children as well as each one individually through out the course of the day.

Signs of a great pre-school include:

The classroom is decorated with various children’s artwork and projects.

The pre-school incorporates the learning of numbers and the alphabet throughout the child’s daily interaction and experiences.

The children have long periods of playing and exploring time.

Worksheets are used rarely, if at all.

The development of your child’s creativity will be better utilized if they are able to discover their own interests as opposed to being classified, marked and graded by worksheets.

The children have a safe out-door play area that is used daily and is supervised.

The teachers read books to the children individually as well as in small groups.

The curriculum is adopted for those who are ahead as well as those who need additional help.

The qualifications of the teachers will be especially important for children who are less developed in certain aspects of the curriculum.

The children and their parents look forward to school. This is a great sign that the school is fun for your child.

In-Home Care

An in-home care provider may live in the home or out-side the home but provides one-on-one contact and child care in the child’s own home. The in-home care provider may also be asked to perform light household duties.

In-home care is a great alternative as apposed to trying to juggle other childcare arrangements with heavy work schedules, business trips, and overtime.

Au-pair’s and nannies provide in-home care and have a typical work week of 40 to 60 hours.

Before welcoming any child care provider into your home ensure that you take the time to properly screen them before during and after the interview. You must also make sure that you follow up on any information given by the applicant, especially talking with references they provide.

Out-of-Home Care

There are several types of out-of-home child care programs available. These include day care centers, which are generally affiliated with public or private agencies such as religious organizations, corporations, and community centers.

Family day care programs, which are held in the caregiver’s home. Part-time child care programs such as pre-schools or play groups. Publicly funded preschool programs such as Head Start.

All of these programs usually care for children from birth to ages five. After the age of five, you will need to look into after-school care facilities in your state or province.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that one adult should have primary responsibility for no more than one baby under twelve months of age in any caregiver setting.

These younger children require positive and consistent caregivers’ attention who will learn to recognize the child’s unique cues for hunger, distress, and play.

This kind of nurturing and interaction contributes significantly to an infant’s social and emotional development. For infants, the AAP recommends a child to staff ratio of 3:1

The differences in group size will depend on the age of your child and the number of staff the center has. Below is a table of child to staff ratios based on age, as recommended by AAP.

Child Care Facilities

Day care can be provided in the caregiver's own home, often with only one single adult supervising and caring for the children. Day care centers and pre-schools offer several adult supervisors employed by the school to care for much larger groups of children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) recommend that both types of child care facilities be licensed and regularly inspected, which you have the right to ask for when checking out their facilities.

All caregivers should have the minimum training in CPR and early childhood education and development certificates. You should also be able to find clearly written policies on forms of discipline and what the center does when a child is sick.

The center you choose will most likely be determined by the ongoing child development programs, quality of care, and well laid out policies. You may also want to look for an accreditation with the National Association for Child Care (NAFCC), which the center can apply for and obtain on a voluntary basis.

Child Care Center Helpful Tips

Ensure that all other children and staff members have been kept current with immunizations. You should also ask whether each staff member undergoes a criminal background check and are they all clear.

You must also be made aware of good hygiene and safety policies which might include staff wearing disposable gloves when changing diapers, all toys are disinfected regularly, frequent hand washing by both staff and children to minimize the spread of germs and infections.

Another important factor you should consider is the turn-over-rate of the center's caregivers. A high rate means that their could be something wrong with the center or with how they screen their employees.

Children With Special Needs

Federal law guarantees special education and related services to children with disabilities from birth through to age 5.

Special services such as speech, physical and occupational therapy can now be contracted into day care centers or preschools so that children with special needs can be included in "regular" care settings.

Early intervention services can be coordinated through your local Office of Mental Health/Mental Retardation for children up to age 3 and through your state's Department of Education for ages 3 to 5.

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