Guidelines For Parents When Choosing Daycares

As parents, the time will come when we have to let go of our little precious miracles, our children. For those first few years of their lives, we nurture them, keep them close to us, and the thought of them being out of our care is far from our minds. Till that day comes when we find ourselves choosing daycares. It can be dreaded task for a parent, but hopefully these guidelines can help make it a bit easier for you.

Location: One of the first things to consider is the location of the day care. It should be close to your home or your place of work. This is so that dropping off and picking up can be done on your route to either of these destinations. Also, should there be an emergency, you can get there quickly enough.

Be clear what you want out of it: Before you decide on where to send your child, clarify first for yourself what exactly you want to get out of this service. If your child is very small, you will only require someone to look after him and his basic needs such as feeding, sleeping and changing of nappies. But if you child is a toddler, you will probably be looking for a place that will also encourage learning.

Activities: Always ask questions when you visit different facilities. Enquire about what kinds of activities they do with the kids. For example, they should include singing of nursery rhymes, coloring, painting, playing outside, gross and fine motor skills and structured as well as unstructured play time.

Food: Some child care places include meals as part of their services. This usually affects the price as groceries will have to be purchased by the school. If the daycare does not provide meals, you will have to pack a lunchbox for your child. Find out what their set meal times are and whether this suits your child's routine.

Child to teacher ratio: When choosing daycares, a very important question to ask is how many children there are in the facility and how many staff members there are. You want to be sure that your child is receiving sufficient attention. If there are too many children and too little staff members, there is a higher risk of your child getting hurt or being neglected due to lack of human resources.

Qualifications: Choose a place that looks professional. Make sure that the teachers are all highly qualified in education and child care. Some places also have registered nurses as part of their staff. This is very helpful as young children get hurt often.

These notes should help to make your task of choosing daycares much easier. Remember that the place you choose should be liked by both you and your child. It is a very difficult transition for both of you to make, so take it easy in the beginning. Perhaps you could stay for a few minutes after you drop off your child on the first day. Thereafter he will slowly get used to being without you during the day.

For fantastic daycares in Brampton visit Rise & Shine Kids- 255 Queen St E, Brampton, ON L6W 2B8 (905) 799-0782- They provide Brampton child care services with a fun atmosphere where kids can learn and play!