OPTION C: CHILD CARE

If you were considering leaving your three year-old child in a child care facility (family day care
or child care center), what would be your major concerns? Why? Would your concerns be
different, if your child were an infant? Explain. Would you prefer an academic or a childcentered preschool for your child? Why?
Choosing a Child Care Facility
If I chose to leave my three year old at a child care facility there are many things I would
need to consider before leaving my child at the center. A couple main factors are is the facility
clean? Do they use their time productively? What is the adult to child ratio? What is the turn over
of the facility? What is their sick child policy? What actives would they be doing with my child?
What kind of accreditation do they have? How is their communication? Am I allowed to come
announced?
These are some of the many questions I would ask before even considering a facility but I
would start with research I prefer to have my child in a child centered preschool for my child so I
would start by looking for local facilities and start reading reviews from other parents. Then I
would contact the facility and interview them. When I first walked in I would pay attention to
what I smell, does it smell clean? That is really important to me I don't want my child coming
home sick because the other kids got my child sick or because the facility wasnt clean.
The next thing I would look for is what activities do they have for my child? I think its
important to have a variety of activities for the children. From sensory activities to quiet time
activities to even outdoor activities when the weather is right. I dont want my child to be

watching a lot of TV and if they will be watching a little but of TV then I would hope it would be
educational activities. I really like the advice that was given in class to look at the type of paint
that they use. I think letting the children paint is so important to their sensory learning.
The teachers and care givers are important to interview as well. I would bring my child
along so that I can see them interact and see if my child responds well. Its important that their
inst a lot of children to one teacher. They are only three so they need more attention that five
year olds do and they need to be watched constantly. A one to four ratio is a good teacher to child
ratio and I think in that case they would get the attention that they need throughout the day.
(AFC).
Now if I had a five year old child I would want their learning to be more based on
academics. I would still want them to have different activities but I would now want them to be
learning; language, math, colors, animals ect. I think teacher directed programs at this point are
more acceptable; every child naps, snacks and goes to the bathroom on a schedule as well.
(Berger page 196)
Out of all the facilities it doesnt matter the age their sick child program is really
important to understand. I want to make sure that the children in the facility are up to date on all
of their immunizations. I also want to know what they do when a child is sick at school, will they
send the child home even though at times its inconvenient for the parents? Good centers help cut
down on illness by requiring all children and employees to have current immunizations and
regular checkups. (Broadwell)

Works Cited:
Berger, Kathleen Stassen. Invitation to the Life Span. 2nd ed. New York: Worth, 2010.
Print. 195-197
Broadwell,Laura."SignsofaGoodDaycareCenter|BabyCenter."BabyCenter.BABY,
2014.Web.01Oct.2015.
"5 Steps To Choosing Care." 5 Steps To Choosing Care. Administration for Children and
Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2015. Web. 01 Oct. 2015.