Daycares for 3 month old: Drop-In Daycare: Flexible Part-Time Child Care Options
8 Important Qualities of a Great Daycare
When you start looking for daycare, the options can seem overwhelming. How do I know this one is better than this one? Which reviews can I trust? You want the most affordable, highest quality daycare that’s close to your home or work—that’s not too much to ask, is it?
First, breathe. “The search for the right daycare is going to be stressful, but don’t get discouraged,” says Sydney Ziverts, Health & Nutrition Investigator at Consumersafety.org. “It’s important to start thinking about childcare well before the baby arrives. A general rule of thumb for parents going right back to work after the baby is born is to begin looking in the second trimester. If you live in a big city, the sooner the better.”
Having time on your side is one way to ensure that you’ll get the best daycare for you and your baby’s needs, but what else should you keep in mind?
Here are eight signs of a great daycare.
1. Stellar Reviews
Positive reviews are a great sign when looking for a daycare center. This doesn’t necessarily mean just the ones you’ll read online (though, of course, check those too!). You can find reviews on websites like Winnie, Care.com and even local parent groups on Facebook. Ask the daycare to provide you with a few names and numbers of parents you can call for references, or tap your network of friends and family to see which local center is their favorite.
As you’re sifting through reviews, take note of any patterns, good or bad. “No provider is perfect, but if the same type of complaints are lodged, something isn’t right,” says Traci Sanders, author of Right at Home: A Parent’s Guide to Choosing Quality Child Care.
When you do go online, don’t underestimate social media. “Many daycare providers have Facebook pages,” says Ziverts. “Read what they are posting, and pay attention to what parents are saying too. When parents are engaged, it’s a healthy sign of a trusted childcare business.”
2. A Caring, Stimulating Environment With Happy Kids
You’ll feel it right when you walk in the door.
In this situation, first impressions really are everything. Does it seem like a vibrant, clean, fun space for your child? “Take a look at the environment and be sure it’s home-like, welcoming and reflective of diversity and the children in the classroom,” says Rachel Robertson, Vice President for Education and Development at Bright Horizons. Note whether they have age-appropriate environments for each stage. For example, does the infant room have plenty of floor space for crawlers or babies who need tummy time? Or do the older kids have desks or tables for coloring or crafts?
Observe the children. Are they happy and engaged? Do they have access to diverse activities and projects? Do they seem responsive and comfortable with the caregivers? “Assess how children are encouraged to explore the environment. Can they make independent choices?” adds Robertson. “Also, look for evidence that children’s interests and ideas are respected and reflected. Do you see displays of what the children are doing and learning?”
When you’re feeling really great about the environment, you can probably imagine your child there: standing by the play kitchen sink, gabbing away with another child, or crawling around on the foam mats searching for a book to read, or, you know, eat.
3. An Interesting and Varied Schedule or Curriculum
What constitutes “great” here will have more to do with what you want for your child’s ideal day.
Do you want them to have a loose, fluid schedule that is more child-led and changes often? Or would you prefer a more school-like educational environment that has a curriculum? Either way, an excellent daycare will meet your needs.
“Excellent early care and education programs allow for children to be invested in the materials and their learning. Skilled teachers balance important learning outcomes with children’s natural interests,” says Robertson. “No matter what kind of program you select for your child, you and your child’s teachers can join in a partnership to enhance your child’s learning experience. By building strong home-school relationships from the start, parents and teachers can support children and prepare them for future success, both in and outside the classroom.”
4. Qualified Caregivers Who Really Care
How do you assess the adults in the room? First, make sure they have the basics in terms of certification and training.
Most should have degrees related to early childhood development or be in the process of obtaining one, with at least two years of college under their belt. They should also be trained in CPR and any other emergency procedures.
When it comes to the intangibles, you can learn a lot simply by observing. Listen to how the teachers or caregivers interact with the children and take note of their body language. “Look for teachers talking respectfully to children at children’s eye-level,” says Robertson. “Parents want to hear meaningful conversations and respectful tone of voice, even in infant and toddler rooms, rather than an authoritative tone, constant directions or a lot of no’s.”
Beyond interacting with the children, how comfortable do you feel with the caregivers? Are they communicative and eager to be a partner with you in caring for and educating your children? If so, then you’ll know you’re looking in the right direction.
5. Safety, Safety, Safety
This is a no-brainer.
Great daycare centers go above and beyond to ensure children’s safety. This includes childproofing, food safety practices, a well-kept and maintained play space with sets of toys (making sure none of have been recalled) and constant supervision.
A well child-proofed space will have:
- Covers on every outlet
- Cribs out of reach of blinds or windows
- Window blind pull strings are out of reach or fastened with anchors
- Stairs blocked by a baby gate
- Changing tables and high chairs with straps
- Clean toys in good condition (no broken toys)
- No small objects around that children could choke on (especially important in centers that cover multiple age groups)
- Potentially toxic substances (like medications and cleaning supplies) are secured
6. Low Child-to-Caregivers Ratio and Low Employee Turnover
Look for 1:4 caregiver to child ratio for infants.
The more hands on deck, the better.
You want to see a high amount of caregivers per group of children. And ideally, you’d have the same caregivers day in and day out. “It’s best if children stay with the same caregiver for at least a year,” says Krystal Rogers-Nelson, a parenting and child safety expert for A Secure Life. Consistency for your child goes a long way to maintaining a happy well-being.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has a useful chart that shows the recommended ratios for each age group and group size. For infants under 15 months old, with a group size of 8 or less, the ratio should be 1:4. For toddlers up to 2.5 years old with a group size of 10 or less, the recommended ratio is 1:4, and for preschool-aged kids up to 4 years old with a group size of 10 or less, the recommended ratio is 1:6.
7. Established Policies and Consistent Rules
Great daycares have written-down, well-established operating policies for small things like when they do circle time to more crucial rules like how to handle sick children or emergency situations.
You don’t want a place that’s so inflexible you can’t do something like pack a special meal for your child, but you also don’t want one that’s so loose with their rules and policies that it can be confusing or feels unsafe.
8. Licensed (and Maybe Accredited)
Licensing is the legal state requirement and accreditation is a higher bar.
Each state has basic legal requirements for operating a daycare, so being licensed is non-negotiable. But whether or not a great daycare center also needs to be accredited is completely up to you and may depend on availability in your area.
State licensing agencies validate that the center is safe and abides by all official regulations. Accreditation agencies are private and evaluate centers based on a wider range of criteria that can be very specific. For example, benefits are provided to all employees, vehicles do not idle in the parking lot, wheel toys that are used outside are not used inside, etc.
Three organizations run accreditation programs in the US:
- National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
- National Accreditation Commission for the Early Care and Education Programs (NAC)
- National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (NECPA)
If you want to find an accredited program, NAEYC has the largest list and is a good starting place.
Keep in mind, accreditation is not an end-all-be-all for quality childcare. Very few childcare programs in California are accredited by any of these organizations, for instance. There can be plenty of other criteria (location, price, childcare philosophies) that may be more important to you.
Overall, the best daycares have the magical combination of everything above, while also checking the boxes on your own personal wishlist, especially making you feel secure and happy to leave your child there every day. “Their teachers and friends become their first away-from-home village family,” says Wagner. “I never really thought about that part until my first child started daycare.”
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Nearly 30 percent of infants and toddlers attend home-based child care as their primary arrangement
Home-based child care is an important option for families seeking affordable, accessible care that fits their needs. Policymakers and early childhood education professionals should recognize the diversity of home-based child care—paid versus unpaid care, and whether providers have prior relationships with the children for whom they care—and acknowledge its role in the lives of children, families, and providers.
Ensuring that home-based care is safe and that children experience high-quality interactions and experiences are central goals of states’ early care and education quality initiatives. It is important that these initiatives address the diversity of home-based providers and tailor outreach, professional development, and quality improvement strategies that align with providers’ characteristics, including their personal and professional goals.
Whether a home-based provider is licensed or regulated is a primary distinction to use for tailoring supports. Licensing requirements vary significantly across states.
Family, friend, and neighbor providers are home-based providers that are typically exempt from being licensed or regulated. However, these providers do need to demonstrate to local licensing agencies that they meet health and safety criteria when receiving child care subsidies. Research findings indicate that the quality of family, friend, and neighbor care offers benefits and flexibility that other care providers might not. For example, many families use and prefer family, friend, and neighbor providers because they have a preexisting relationship with the family and often share the same culture, language, or values. Family, friend, and neighbor providers are also more likely than other providers to offer care overnight or on the weekends, which makes them a better fit for some households’ schedules.
Additionally, research suggests that family, friend, and neighbor providers are interested in learning how to best support child development.
Much like other home-based providers, these providers seek to learn about health and safety, child development, and low-cost community resources and activities to support their interactions with young children. More research is needed to identify how best to reach these providers, effectively engage them, and support the care they provide.
Given these unique features and benefits, it is critical that policymakers and administrators support home-based providers in providing high-quality care. Home-based care experts from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation and Child Trends have proposed a new model for how home-based care can support the positive development of young children, families, and the providers themselves. This model can help states work with home-based care providers to support the diverse needs of children and families.
Data visualization provided by Alec Friedhoff.
Child’s adaptation to kindergarten | For the little ones (from 2 months to 3 years)
We are going to kindergarten
So how do you prepare your child for kindergarten? What needs to be done for this?
1.
Parents need to familiarize themselves with the nursery routine of the day in advance and try to adhere to it at home as accurately as possible. After all, the main difficulties most often arise due to the fact that at home he lives according to a completely different biological clock. The kid is already in a state of emotional stress: he was separated from his family and close people, torn away from his usual environment, and then there was a break in the usual routine
2. A lot in the process of children’s adaptation depends on parents: on their mood, their attitude towards educators and the children’s institution in general. If relatives tell the child only good things about kindergarten, about teachers, about interesting activities and beautiful toys, this attitude and attitude will be transferred to the baby, and he will want to go to kindergarten with pleasure.
3. It is good if the baby has brothers, sisters and numerous relatives with whom he has the opportunity to communicate often.
But, if a child doesn’t even have cousins, I advise you to be with him more often in the “society” of kids like him and in the company of their parents (this can be a park, courtyard, alley and other places of recreation). You can also come with the child to the nursery, at a time when the teacher and the children are walking on the site and take a walk with them. Seeing that the mother is nearby, the baby will calmly play with the children. Having at least a little communication experience, the child, entering the group, will not be afraid of new, unfamiliar children and adults, but rather will be drawn to them.
4. Many well-meaning mothers breastfeed for a very long time. Undoubtedly, mother’s milk is very useful for a small child. But, if you decide to send the child to a nursery, you must wean him from the breast in advance (at least a month in advance). A breastfed baby is very attached to his mother and separation can be bad for his mental health and complicate adaptation.
5. Sometimes children are brought to kindergarten who not only do not know how to use a spoon and a cup on their own, but are not at all familiar with these cutlery items. Some parents find it easier to give their baby a bottle of gruel or juice than to spoon feed and drink from a cup. As a result, the child does not develop a chewing or swallowing reflex in a timely manner, and he does not eat food prepared in kindergarten. This greatly complicates getting used to new conditions. Therefore, we recommend that parents teach their baby to eat thick and liquid food from a spoon and drink from a cup. With these skills, the child will feel much more confident and calm.
6. There are cases when a child is not accustomed to eat at the table. He runs around the house, and his mother or grandmother with a spoon and a plate rush around the apartment behind him, if only he would eat something. Educators have a very difficult time retraining such a child.
He cries, resists, refuses to sit down at the table, does not understand why he is not fed the way he used to. Therefore, as soon as the child began to sit confidently, teach him to eat at the table without fairy tales, cartoons and toys. The kid must understand that eating is not pampering, but a serious event.
7. It will not be bad if parents get acquainted with the menu of the children’s institution in advance and try to follow it at home. The process of getting used to new food will be easier and imperceptible for the baby.
8. Many children come to the group in diapers, but this is not the problem. It happens that they are not even familiar with the pot. In the nursery, we often put children on the potty, and kids who are not accustomed to it refuse to sit on it, cry, show fear, throw a tantrum. All this greatly aggravates adaptation and can cause reluctance to go to nursery. Therefore, we strongly advise parents to get acquainted with this toilet item long before entering a preschool institution.
And even better if the child is weaned from diapers and used to using the potty on his own. Then he will feel more calm and confident in the manger.
9. A very important moment in the daily routine of a small child is daytime sleep. It has a positive effect on mental and physical health. Everyone knows that if the baby does not sleep during the day, he will be capricious in the evening. Now it has become fashionable that children sleep with their parents. Even laying down for daytime sleep, many mothers lie down with the child and rock him to sleep. It must be understood that the teacher cannot lie down on the crib with the child, and the baby does not understand why he should fall asleep in the crib alone. He cries, protests against such bedding. In order for the child to sleep peacefully in kindergarten, it is important to teach him in advance to fall asleep on his own in a crib and without motion sickness.
10. It will be much easier for a child to adapt to a child care institution if parents teach him simple primary self-care skills, i.
e.: take off and put on panties, tights, socks and shoes on his own. A child who is more confident in himself and his skills will quickly and easily get used to a new environment, to a kindergarten.
From year to year, watching children, we see that children prepared by their parents get used to the nursery faster, adapt more easily, find a common language with their peers, cry less and miss their loved ones, and, as a rule, get sick less.
We sincerely wish your kids easy adaptation and good health!
How to understand that it is time for a child to go to kindergarten?
Previously, all children were sent en masse to kindergarten, but now parents have the right to decide for themselves whether the child will go to preschool or be brought up at home. When should kindergarten be preferred?
Home education has a number of advantages, for example, your baby is less likely to get sick. Yes, and training can be built the way you want by inviting a nanny or tutor to a specialist in languages, music or sports.
It just may happen that your baby will not learn to communicate with peers. After all, a kindergarten is not only looking after and learning, it is also a team of the same kids as your child. It is in kindergarten that the baby goes through its first steps in socialization: it learns to make contact with peers, play with them, argue and put up.
Signs that your child needs to attend kindergarten
– Your child is a real lively person: from morning till night he is on the move.
– He constantly demands your attention. This may indicate that he does not have enough home communication.
– He enjoys playing with the children for a long time on the playground and protests when you take him home.
– By temperament, he is a pronounced extrovert: all the time he needs new impressions, without them he starts to act up.
– He easily connects with strangers and does not seem to get bored at all when you are away from home for a long time.
Kindergarten Readiness Signs
In addition to purely psychological issues, you need to be sure that your child has the necessary self-care skills and will be able to accept the kindergarten daily routine.
If your child has not yet developed the skills listed below, and your plans include going to kindergarten, try to start teaching skills now:
1. He must take an active part in dressing and washing.
2. The child must be able to use the cup and spoon himself.
3. He must sit on a chair without the help of adults.
4. He should wake up in the morning without problems and, in general, with a desire to observe the daily routine.
How to facilitate the adaptation process?
The concept of “non-kindergarten child” applies to a very small percentage of toddlers. As a rule, most children sooner or later adapt to kindergarten, and yours will be no exception. And in order for the addiction to go faster, you must adhere to the following rules:
– Tell your child how good and fun it is in kindergarten. Even if you have fears or worries, try not to show it: you should radiate confidence and optimism.
– It makes sense to talk to a pediatrician so that he or she can prescribe immunosuppressive drugs or vitamins for your baby.