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Finding the Right Child Care Provider

Tips and Tricks to finding the right child care provider to meet your needs.Looking for someone to care for your child is an exhaustive process that starts out when you are still pregnant, if you plan on returning to work after the baby is born. Most providers will not accept children under six weeks old, and most maternity leaves last for six weeks after your baby is born, however if your situation differs from most the first question you will want to ask any potential sitter is whether or not they take a child who is younger than six weeks old.

Questions for Child Care Providers

If you are looking at returning to work after your child enters kindergarten, having stay at home with them up until this point your needs and your sitters needs will vary from when they are an infant. Below are some tips to help make the decision of which provider is right for you easier. The first question you might want to ask is whether or not your provider is licensed. Keep in mind however those non-licensed providers can be just as good as licensed ones, and if they aren’t licensed, ask why not. The reason could be a simple one or one that makes sense to you, writing off a potential provider simply because they aren’t licensed may mean giving up someone who is a perfect match for you and your child. Each state is different, some require licensing if the provider is watching more than four children, some if they are watching more than six. To understand your states laws contact your local Family Services office, if they aren’t sure they will know who to tell you to contact. Online essay writers Cate Colburn-Smith and Andrea Serrette recommend that you inquire into the educational back ground of your child care provider, along with any training that they have. Among other questions that the duo pose in their book.

What is the adult-to-child ratio? Do you have first-aid training? Are you certified in infant and child CPR? What is your policy regarding sick kids? Do you send kids home at the first hint of a sniffle, or do you wait until a child has a fever? Do I have to pay for days when my child is absent due to sickness or vacation? How do you discipline children when you see tantrums, pushing, fighting, and arguments? It’s important to find out which discipline methods are used as well as which ones are prohibited.

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Questions for Sitters

A lot of your initial questions can be asked over the phone, so now that you have found a sitter that you want to visit you might want to sit down with your spouse and ask some additional questions. Author Robin McClure offers up some helpful hints, including the one major red flag when visiting a potential sitter, if they won’t allow you inside for the initial visit you do not want to leave your child with them. Some in home sitters have an open door policy where they will allow you into their home anytime that they are open and watching children, this is a lot more inviting and you will then be able to see what kind of home they keep. Take note, is it exceptionally dirty? With small children running around, chances are the home won’t be spotless, but if there are piles of dirty dishes, dirty clothing, or bugs covering the counters this might not be the kind of place you want to leave your child.

Are there other children? What are the children doing? What kind of activities does the provider offer? Do they leave the facility for field trips, and if so how do they get there? Will they provide a child seat if they are traveling or do you need to leave your seat? What kind of outside play area is available?

With your first visit, the child care provider should give you a tour, while you look around you can ask also what the meals and snacks are like. When do the children eat? If meal time is at eight am and I am dropping my child off at 8:30 do I need to feed them first? Child care providers have to run on more of a schedule than you might run your own home on, so it is better to ask these questions then assume that they will make a meal for your child whenever they are hungry.

Take Time to Make that Decision

You don’t have to decide upon that initial visit. Go home and discuss it with your spouse. Call their references and ask them how they like their sitter. Some states keep records of complaints, you can contact your Family services office and find out if your potential sitter has had any complaints, what they were and how they were resolved.

The Cost of Child Care

How much is this going to cost? That shouldn’t be the most important question; still it is one that you are going to want to ask at some point. Bargain shopping for child care is generally not a good idea, you get what you pay for and looking for the cheapest sitter might mean that you are going to give up something far more important than a few extra bucks. Still you want to know how much they charge, when they expect to be paid, if they offer discounts for multiple children, and if you have to pay even when your child isn’t in attendance. Some providers offer vacation time that you can use, when your child is sick or cannot be their because of family obligations. Other sitters require that you pay no matter what, it is what they call “holding the spot”, this is important because if you don’t ask, and therefore don’t pay you might end up without a childcare provider and have to look all over again. Some states offer financial assistance with child care, however not all providers are set up to accept this kind of payment, so it is important that you ask if you plan on using state aid to pay for your child care.

Resources for Finding Child Care

As mentioned most states offer up resources for finding good childcare, Massachusetts offers up the Child Care Resource Center. This assignment help website can be helpful even if you do not live in Massachusetts. They have a checklist that you can print off before you make the first call or visit. This will allow you the opportunity to review some of their suggestions while coming up with some of your own.

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