Six Signs Of An Excellent Child Care Center
As a parent, your child's health and well-being is perhaps the most important thing to you. The early developmental phases of a child's health and well-being, as well as the education that they receive, play an integral part on his/her road to becoming a fully realized person. Because of this, finding a good child care center for your child is absolutely essential because a good program will help your child grow intellectually and socially.
Active Learning Occurs
Active learning is a form of education where the person being educated does not merely listen, but is required to actively engage with the material by reading, drawing, analyzing, discussing, etc. the material at hand.
Active learning is a form of learning that is not merely the responsibility of the person learning, however. Teachers must provide engaging activities and be involved in the educational life of their students. As such, it is important to find a child care center that promotes active learning and has teachers that are well versed in this method of imparting knowledge.
Healthy Meals And Snacks
You should remember that an important part of your child's well-being is their physical health. Remember that nutrition and having a healthy body is, in fact, something that is learned. By choosing a child care center that promotes healthy living by distributing healthy foods, your child is learning how to cultivate a responsible, active, and ultimately healthy lifestyle.
Cultivates A Healthy Relationship With Parents
A good child care provider does not merely consider its job done at the end of the day. A solid child care provider knows that it is not just a babysitting service, but it provides children with their first formal educational experience outside of the home.
As such, a good child care provider will cultivate a relationship with its students' parents. By discussing how the child is developing, where the child's interests lie, how well the child is progressing and so on, both parents and child care workers alike will be able to take a more solid, hands-on approach to a child's educational experience.
A Good Reputation
Sometimes a ruling in the court of public opinion can mean the entire world. If it is a child care center that you are looking for, then do not be afraid to get personal. Ask friends about their experiences with certain child care centers. Make sure you address the pros and cons, as well as the relationship that those individuals were able to forge with their child care providers. Put stock into online reviews from reputable sites as well.
A Qualified, Serviceable Staff
Make sure that the staff of the child care center you choose is more than adequate-- that it is superior. Staff members should be trained in a vast array of safety situations, including everything from what to do during a natural disaster to being able to perform CPR on a child if necessary. Also, a child care center should be adequately staffed. That means that an sufficient number of staffers should be available for educational, nutritional, and safekeeping at all times. A good child care center will have a low child to caretaker ratio to ensure that each child will be having their needs met effectively.
A Current License
A child care center should absolutely have a current license. Although a license is not always required for a them to exist, it is a state assured-- and insured--sign of quality. Although having a license is not always necessarily a sign of quality, the lack of a license is undoubtedly an indication that quality service does not exist at the child care center. Always investigate whether or not a center has a license. If they do not, move along; that child care center is not for you and your child.
Remember that finding the perfect child care center can take time and may eat up a bit of your patience. However, finding what is best for your child and his or her development is worth that little bit of effort on your part.