What to Look For in a Child Care Centre or Home

Parents should set aside some time to visit the child care centers or homes in which they are interested. It is important to see a variety of child care centers and homes to understand the differences that exist between the two types of care and from one facility to another. Visit as many centers or homes as possible, even if there may be waiting lists at the time of your visits. Once you have narrowed down your selection to a few centers or homes, you may wish to take your child with you to visit.

To help prepare you for your visit to the child care centre or home, seven basic areas of a centre or home operation are described in more detail in the following pages: general impressions, daily program, behaviour management, health, nutrition and safety, furnishings and equipment, staff training and ratios and administrative policy. A brief explanation of each area will assist you in preparing appropriate questions for your visit.

General Impressions

When you visit a child care centre or home, you will get an immediate impression as a result of some of the things you see. The following suggestions are general tips to think about as you look through the centre or home for the first time.

• Is the child care centre or home clean and safe?
• Do the children appear to be happy and enthusiastic in what they are doing?
• Do the adults appear to be warm and friendly and responsive to the needs of the children in their care?
• Does the child care centre or home seem to have enough space for the number of children attending?
• Is a Child Day Care license clearly posted?
• Are daily menus, staff schedules and daily programs posted for parents' information?
• Is the equipment at the centre or home in good condition?
• Is there outdoor space for the children's activities?
• Are there adequate napping and toilet facilities?

The Daily Program

A daily program at a child care centre or home should provide a well-planned and balanced program for your child. The daily routine should be flexible and include play activities, snacks, and in some instances lunch, a nap or rest time and outdoor play. Programs should allow for individual as well as small group play and there should be both active and quiet periods during the day. The program should be suitable for your child's stage of development. Daily play activity should include activities that allow your child to develop language, social, emotional, physical and cognitive skills.

A child care centre should have a statement describing how it will run its program and what is sees as its goals and objectives. This program philosophy should include statements that reflect the child care centre's attitudes to child care. All policies should include a statement of how parents may be involved in the centre's operations.

Here are some questions you may wish to ask to give you a better understanding of the type of program the child care centre or home provides.

• What are the centre's or home's goals and objectives for children and parents?
• What type of daily activities are there (e.g., creative art, music, dramatic play, science, reading)?
• What are the policies regarding nap time and toilet training?
• How is free play incorporated into the program?
• At what time of the day do children play outdoors?
• What are the centre's or home's expectations of parents' involvement?

Behaviour Management Policy

A child care centre or home should have a behavior management policy, made known to child care staff and to parents whose children are enrolled in the centre or home.

The regulations state that physical punishment such as spanking, verbal or emotional abuse, and denial of physical necessities for any child attending a child care centre or home are not permitted.

Child care centers or homes that are effective in the care of young children have developed a range of positive alternatives to these negative forms of handling children. A copy of the behavior management policies of the program should be provided to parents. These policies describe how they relate to children and how they handle children's behavior if it becomes unacceptable.

Health, Nutrition and Safety

A number of specific regulations govern the area of health in child care facilities. Some of the more common requirements are procedures for distributing medication, what the centre or home must do if a child contracts a communicable disease, guidelines for keeping animals at the centre or home, procedures regarding diapers and the need for a first-aid kit at each child care centre or home.

All child care workers in centers and homes are expected to have completed instruction in emergency first aid and training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for the age of the children they are caring for.

The centre or home should outline when snacks and meals will be provided. Parents should look for the menus, which must be clearly posted, to see the types of meals and snacks provided for their children. In some instances the child care centre or home may request that parents supply the meals and snacks for their children.

Parents should be made aware of the type of safety precautions that have been arranged in the child care centre or home. The emergency procedures and responsibility of staff should also be posted in a visible area.

The types of questions parents can ask about the child care centre's or home's policies regarding health, nutrition and safety may include the following:

• What types of snacks and/or meals are served?
• Are parents required to supply the food for their children?
• Can a parent send a child to the centre or home if the child is ill?
• What safety precautions have been taken to ensure the children's safety in the child care centre or home, in the outdoor play area and on outings?
• What procedures are followed in the event of an emergency, illness, accident or fire?
• What policies does the centre or home have to help ensure the health and safety of children with life-threatening allergies (anaphylaxis)?

Furnishings and Equipment

Furnishings at a child care centre or home can vary, depending on the nature of the child care arrangement.

The furnishings in a school-age or infant centre will be different from those in a pre-school centre or family child care home. Items such as tables and chairs, high chairs and infant seats, playpens and cribs, cots and sleeping mats are all part of the furnishings of a centre.

Child care centers often arrange their equipment in areas called learning centres. You will often see equipment arranged in the following areas: creative art, science, dramatic play, blocks, library, large muscle, sand, water, small table toys and construction. There must be a quantity of equipment available for the children to use and it must be accessible to the children.

In family child care homes you can expect to find the same range of equipment, but it will not usually be arranged in the same way as a child care centre because of the other family activities that take place in a home.

The types of questions that may be asked are:

• Do the playpens and cribs meet current safety standards?
• How and when are the toys / equipment cleaned?
• What type of equipment do you have and why is it arranged the way it is?
• Do the children use the equipment on a daily basis?
• How does the equipment help to develop the children's learning capabilities?

Staff Training and Staff-to-Child Ratios

Children who are cared for by competent early childhood educators will have a beneficial experience while they are away from their parents.

The number of staff caring for children, which is called the staff-to-child ratio, plays an important role in the daily operation of a child care centre. Regulations outline the staff-to-child ratios for children of different age groupings. Here are some questions you may wish to ask concerning qualifications and ratios in the care setting you are visiting:

• What experience do the staff or family child care provider have?
• What educational training have the providers completed?
• What is the staff turn over ratio for the past 12 months?
• For how many children is one person responsible at any time during the day?

Administrative Policy

Administrative policy takes into consideration matters such as child information records, fee schedules, fee payments and the daily rules the child care centre or home may set.

The child information records contain necessary information such as the child's name, address and phone number; the child's legal guardians; a listing of who can be contacted in case of emergencies; names of persons to whom the child may be released; and, any medical, physical, developmental or emotional conditions that may affect the child's care in the centre or home.

Parents should clearly understand the centre's or home's policies on fees and their payment. Some child care centers and homes care for subsidized children. Depending on total family income, some families may be eligible for a child care subsidy to assist with the cost of child care.

The following questions may help you learn about the child care centre's or home's policies concerning fee payments, subsidy status and attendance policies.

• During what hours is the centre or home open?
• What is the cost of child care, and are there any additional charges?
• Are parents eligible to receive subsidies?
• What is the procedure for fee payment?
    o When are fees to be paid?
    o What form of payments are accepted?
    o When will receipts be issued?
• What is the policy for payment for days when your child is sick, absent or on holidays?
• What notice is required for withdrawal, holidays or other absences?