Understanding Child Care

3 Tips For Choosing A Daycare Center

27 June 2023

Victoria Jimenez

Enrolling your child in daycare for the first time can feel overwhelming. You want to know that your child will be safe, cared for, engaged, and happy during the hours they are at the daycare center. If you live in an area with many daycare centers to choose from, you may be unsure where to even begin your search. It can be helpful to begin with a few key criteria in order to narrow down your list of daycare options. Here are a few tips to help you choose the right daycare center for your family:

Start With a Daycare Center Tour 

Before committing to any daycare center, it's important to start with a tour of your top contenders. No matter how appealing a daycare center looks on the website, you won't get a true feel for it until you visit in person. During your tour, pay close attention to the children. While it's normal for some kids to cry or act upset on any given day, in general, the children should seem happy, engaged, and like they're getting plenty of attention. The facility itself should be clean with enough toys and activities to keep the children entertained and help them learn.

Focus on Teacher to Child Ratios

One of the most important factors in choosing a daycare center is the ratio of daycare teachers to children. The government actually shares recommendations for ideal child-to-daycare teacher ratios online. These recommendations are based on child development studies.

The more daycare employees or teachers there are in proportion to the number of children, the more one-on-one time your child is likely to receive from the staff. Keep in mind that this is especially important for more introverted or shy children who may get lost in the shuffle in an understaffed daycare center. 

Don't Overlook the Practical Details

While a warm and engaging environment is crucial when choosing a childcare center, the practical details are also important. Choose a daycare center with convenient hours that work with your schedule. Be sure to read the daycare center's policies when it comes to drop-off and pick-up times. And of course, it's important to choose a daycare center that fits into your household budget and is located in a convenient area.

Enrolling your child in a daycare center doesn't have to be stressful. Follow the tips in this blog post to help make things easier.

Contact local daycare centers to learn more.

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