Choosing a Childcare Provider: What Should You Look for?

Every family has different child care needs. Correspondingly, every child care program offers an assortment of options to consider. Therefore, when choosing a childcare provider, your homework is important. We will cover some of the most important considerations that a parent must make while looking for child care.

Location:

Location is almost always one of the top considerations. Some may think the obvious choice is a facility closest to mom or dad's work. However, the real question is, which parent stays in the same location for the most time. In the event of illness, injury or family emergency that requires a quick retrieval of your child, close proximity is key.

Traffic patterns are definitely part of the equation and should be taken into account. Traffic and commute challenges also raise the question about whether "to commute with" or "not to commute with" the child. When a parent’s work location is a reasonable distance from home, some prefer not to have their child in the car for extended periods of time. Yet, conversely, some parents enjoy the interaction with their child during the commute time and/or enjoy taking advantage of the carpool lane. Don't forget to calculate in extra gas usage if you will be deviating significantly from your normal route twice a day on your way to and from child care.

Tuition:

Location and tuition commonly run neck and neck for the top spot of most significant considerations. Each provider has their own tuition fee schedule based on their program expenses. Your tuition will depend on your child's age. Infants and toddlers have a much lower provider-to-child ratio, and consequently, higher tuition fees. After age 2 the tuition fee begin to become more affordable as the provider-to-child ratios goes up.

Beyond the actual "tuition", be sure to ask if there are any additional fees while conducting your interviews. Additional fees can include; annual registration fees, required monthly Scrip Fundraising purchases, supply fees charged at regular intervals, field trips, Internet viewing charges, various late fees and so on. Extra-curricular activities can mean an additional financial commitment as well.

Tuition - plus - any additional fees add up to the real cost of your child care obligation.

Provider Education and Qualifications:

Most states have minimum education and experience qualification requirements for child care providers. Child care centers are required to employ staff members who have completed college level courses in Early Childhood Education.

Family child care home providers, on the other hand, have no educational requirements imposed by state licensing. Most states also require all providers to be CPR and first aid certified with annual re-certifications required.

All child care providers must also be fingerprinted by the state before they are able to work with children. The fingerprinting process enables the state to run a perspective caregiver through the national Dept. of Justice database.

Education fulfillment, fingerprint and CPR training statuses are all monitored by the state so there is no need for a parent to review those records.

Meals:

How will meals be handled? Will the facility provide meals or will you bring a sack lunch & snacks for your child each day? If your child is an infant, who will provide baby food/formula? Are there any food restrictions to consider?

When making your evaluations, the subject of meals may play an important role in your decision. If your child is an extremely picky eater, has food allergies or maintains a vegetarian/vegan, gluten or dairy free etc. diet, you may prefer a program in which you bring your own food.

However, for convenience, you may prefer a program that provides meals on site. If, after reviewing your choices, your favorite choice of providers offers meals, yet, you would like to bring your child's food, see if the provider can accommodate you. One thing to note: Picky eaters are often willing to try and enjoy new foods when they see the other children eating them. There may also be a tuition difference for programs that provide meals verses programs that have the families bring food from home.

Educational Philosophies:

As you conduct your phone interviews you may have the occasion to talk with a director of a program with a specific educational philosophy. Those educational philosophies will likely fall under one of 4 philosophies. Montessori, Waldorf, High Scope or Bank Street. It's less important whether the school touts a particular educational philosophy or curriculum style, and much more important that the director and teachers feel excited and enthusiastic about what they do.

Your Program Tour:

When you visit potential providers there are several things to pay attention to: Are the children engaged, happy and enjoying their time? Are the staff members interacting with them well? Does the staff appear to be enjoying their time? How is the atmosphere in the facility? A happy, energetic and positive tone or heavy with tension in the air? If there is a child or children who are upset, are they being attended to? Is the facility clean, organized well maintained and well equipped? Is there children's art decorating the classroom? In the end, you're going to lean on your gut instincts as your guide. If you like what you see and feel comfortable your child will too.