Choosing The Right Day Care:

The Basic Steps to Take


People of all ages are somehow destined to become parents, and if not, many of them surely want to raise children. Well, part of raising a child is the responsibility of sending that child to day cares where he or she will start learning new things. It is at these centers where children will start to learn their own roles and responsibilities in the family and the society. It is also where they will be taught about how to count numbers and say the alphabet, and all of these are but needed for the child’s development and growth.

With that said, it is then a wise idea for parents to make sure that they send their children to the most reliable child care institutions years after their birth. The problem occurs, however, with the fact that in today’s fast-paced world, a lot of child or day care centers are already operating to provide parents a number of learning options for their kids. You can find these institutions anywhere in the United States and other countries in the world, each operating with their own standards and policies.

Now, with the myriad of options available today, choosing the right day care can seem to be a puzzling task for many parents. A lot of things are there to be considered, plus the fact that there’s actually no guarantee for you to get a service that will remain good until the end of your child’s preschool years. But this doesn’t mean that there’s no hope for you, parents, to make your day care search less hassling. With a little amount of planning and patience, finding and choosing the right day care can be handled quicker and easier.

Below are some tips for you to note when choosing the right day care for your child. Just take note of the following and do whatever you can to make everything perfect.


#1: Know and Hit the Goal

Before considering any day care option, know first your goal for finding the right center. Everyone has this, of course. But when making yours, make sure that it is something straightforward. It should revolve into the purpose of getting a safe, comfortable and nurturing environment in which your kid will grow healthy and bright. Finding this kind of environment is so worth the move as it will give you peace of mind, knowing that you are leaving your child in good hands.


#2: Plan and Start in Advance

Finding the right day care is one task that demands more time. If you are the type who hate being squeezed by time, then start planning and thinking about your day care options earlier. A two to three-month period can help you do the planning and all related stuffs, but note that during this time, the options seem limited and scarce. You may find no available space for your kid anymore, and this can only be solved if you’ll book for your kid’s stay for at least one year before his or her entrance.

#3: Look for the Right Type of Day Care

Childcare comes in a variety of forms. So if you need someone to help you in caring for your child, choose exactly the type of day care that suits your needs best. You may find three of them available today; each has its own way of teaching kids to grow. Want to know what they are? Take note of the following:

* Day Care Centers – Considered as a popular alternative to a home-based type of childcare, the day care centers are the most formal type that must be operated under a license. This option is built either for profit or non-profit purposes, and are often associated with other licensed organization and the church. They work to teach kids everything necessary for their growth, but the environment they provide can cause harm to your kids. Illnesses commonly occur in kids raised by day care centers and this is perhaps due to the fact that they carry a large population of kids compared to the number of care givers. This follows that when your child becomes sick, no individualized attention will be given to him or her.

* In-Home Care – As the name suggests, the guidance and care provided by this option comes from home. The main advantage of this is that it handles the responsibility of caring your child with the highest degree of individual attention. Your child is cared for at the comfort of your own home, and this can happen anytime of the day. Perhaps what’s necessary to note about this option is that most of the people handling and managing this type of day care are unlicensed. They also are unsupervised and often come with an expensive price. Because of this, interested parties are highly recommended to do some careful checking on the possible references first before making a deal.

* Family Child Care – Developed somewhat similar to that of the in-home care, this option is handled primarily inside the home, but by licensed care givers. This is offered primarily for small groups of children, and costs a lot cheaper than the formal day care centers. It is also worth noting that the quality of care offered here varies greatly, the reason that checking for any possible references is much needed.

As you notice, each of the above mentioned types of day care has its own strengths and weaknesses. Many of them are capable of providing you an environment that is similar to what your home can provide, while others develop and offer a number of activities that can help make the schedules more flexible for both the children and their parents. So if you are serious enough with your day care search, then you’ll have to decide exactly which from the available options works best for you and your kids.


#4: Select the Right Location

Day cares are located anywhere in the world. With that, choosing the right location is very necessary. To start with, know what you want the center to be located at, whether you want something close to your home, or those that are kilometers away from your area. The closest the center is located, the more convenient it would be for parents knowing that they can do drop offs and pick ups easily. The latter may work best for those who are working away from home and want to keep checks with their kids more often.


#5: Call the Centers for Screening Purposes

Now that you’ve found the potential day care, start calling them and conduct a phone interview for screening purposes. This is but one important task to perform as this allows you to determine and confirm exactly if the day care you’re considering is standing by what they have once stated about their service. Don’t just be contented on what they have provided you before, but ask for additional information. One way to make this easier is to start writing all the observations you have gathered about the childcare, and to start listing all the possible questions you wanted to ask. This will allow you to do some comparisons with the care providers you’re considering, which in turn will help you pick the best choice quickly, without having to deal with any possible hassle.

To better guide you in asking providers about everything you’ll need to know about their service, consider the following:

* Conditions for Admission

It is so typical for the day care centers to carry conditions that interested parents should consider and follow for the admission of their kids. Before dealing with any possible transactions, try to ask the childcare provider first about any possible conditions and what may make your child highly qualified. Most centers require their children to live in a particular neighborhood where the training and lessons will be handled. Expect other centers to require your kid to undergo certain forms of potty training, immunizations, and other techniques designed for their own development.

* Age Limit and Number of Children Cared For

Naturally, children need a lot of supervision. The younger they are, the higher the level of attention they require. With this fact alone, it would make a lot of sense if parents will know about the age and number of children that the providers are capable of caring for. Well, on the most basic, a single provider can handle three children under eighteen months of age. They accept six of them provided that the children are between the age of eighteen months and four years. Eight children of ages four to five years will be admitted, and that number can be doubled if parents are targeting kindergarten or elementary school.

Note that when considering the age and number of children attending a day care, the above mentioned guidelines will apply if the provider offers their service for a mixed group of individuals.

* Degree of Expertise

A good childcare provider is someone who has gone through a lot of professional trainings and experiences. Before dealing with a particular choice, make sure that they are highly capable of caring a child in the best possible way. They must have attained a college degree in childcare or any other related field. Other than that, they must have attended and completed a training course on first aiding, which is but considered as a very vital thing in child caring. The people holding the day care service must also be CPR certified and are knowledgeable enough to handle issues like SIDS. Yes, knowledge on SIDS prevention techniques is highly preferred.

While noting all those assets, it is always important for every parent to make sure that the people holding the service are highly responsible. Caring for children is a big responsibility, after all.

* Schedules

Part of the task of finding the right child care is confirming both the opening and closing hours of the day care centers. So do the confirmation and also make sure to ask if a part time childcare service is available or not.

Note: If what you are opting is a long term service or solution, find a care service provider that is highly capable of accommodating you. That provider must also be willing to care for your child until their preschool years.

* Prices and Terms

When choosing the right day care, confirm the terms and prices that the provider is offering. This is so necessary for the fact that all services provided by these centers are offered with respective costs. There are some out there that offer a service based on a daily rate, while others provide their services with a weekly or monthly rate attached. It is also typical for these centers to provide certain discounts, which are commonly availed by those who are taking a long term contract.

It is further important for parents to be mindful about hidden charges, which may appear to many as simply additional expenses. Included in the list are the admission fees, fees for early drop-offs and late pick-ups, and fees for absences, extra meals, and others. Once these charges are identified, consider the terms available for the payment of these fees. You may find some providers requiring their customers to make payments at the end of the week, while others handle it on a monthly basis.

While all those costs and terms matter, always make sure to ask if the provider you’re considering qualifies for any of the programs handled by the government, be it federal, provincial, or city based. Knowing these stuffs will guarantee you a financial assistance coming from the government that you can use for covering all the expenses needed in childcare.

* Set an Appointment

To make everything clear, set an appointment with the day care you are thinking of dealing with. This is the only way to obtain all the details you want to know about, so find out if the answers of the questions you’ve thrown to them meet your needs and expectations. Another advantage of this is that by visiting the provider’s place, you will know exactly the kind of environment that your child will be living the moment he or she enters the center.


#6: Do the Final Checks

There are a lot of things you can do to make the final checking perfect. First and foremost, you can ask for any possible reference. The references will help you determine that the provider of childcare is working on their service thoroughly. Well, one possible reference you can use is the parents who have once used the service, or even those who are still using it. That way, you can talk to them privately, allowing you to get information firsthand. You can also call your friends, members of your family, or anybody from your community who are familiar with the day care service you are thinking of dealing with.

Part of the final checking is the task of doing a background examination on the part of the care givers and other individuals who will be working and supervising your child. To make sure that you are dealing with the most reliable people, gather information about them and see if they have passed all sorts of inspections. See to it that no violations and all sorts are reported involving these people.

Finally, let your judgment work. The decision is ultimately yours and no one can dictate you what to do. Just listen to what your mind and heart tells you. If you don’t feel comfortable with the particular day care, then why take it?


Finding and choosing the right day care is definitely not a one time process. A lot of things are out there, each requires attention and consideration from parents. If you are serious with this task, then you need a lot of preparation and planning, which should be coupled with the right moves, interest and dedication.