|
By
Catherine Pruissen
Sadly,
child care licensing is no guarantee of quality child
care. Parents must be astutely aware of what is going
on at their child's daycare centre, home child care,
or in their own home when nanny care is involved.
That means learning how to carefully monitor child
care arrangements to ensure they remain safe and of
good quality. Some tips from our workbook, Monitoring
Your Child Care Arrangements:
Observe
It takes as little as five minutes a day to
1) Look around for safety
practices, art work, used play materials, etc. to
know the children aren't being left to their own devises.
2) Listen to the voices
of children and caregivers - are they happy? Solemn?
Playful?
3) Count the number
of staff and children. Does the number meet your local
regulations for child/staff ratios? Are there over
6 or 7 children in the home?
Communicate
Take five minutes to talk with your caregiver. Positive
parent/provider communication plays a major role in
ensuring quality care. Talk with your child as well.
Ask what fun things they did during the day or if
anything happened that bothered them
Visit
Unexpectantly
Paying an unexpected visit to your child care facility
or home is one of the best ways to gag what is actually
going on. Any daycare, home care provider who objects
to unexpected visits or keeps you at the door instead
of inviting you in, is no place for any child.
Use
Your Intuition
Pay close attention to your own instincts. No one
knows your child better than you do. Any usual changes
in your child's temperament or behaviour should be
taken seriously. So too should any noticeable changes
in the caregiver's temperament.
Maintain
a Monitoring System
The worksheets in the Monitoring
Your Child Care Arrangements Workbook
can be used over and over again to assist you in monitoring
your child care arrangements, and in ensuring your
child's safety and well-being.
|
