Is your child headed to daycare this year? As much as you’d like to spend all your time with your little one, it isn’t always possible. If you do plan on leaving your child in someone else’s care, it’s natural to want to make sure they are safe.
Whether it’s a child care facility or a family child care in a private home, the best piece of advice for you as a parent is to be proactive and check the caregiver’s safety procedures carefully.
While transitioning from an infant to a toddler, it is important for your child to attend daycare as peer interaction and several other basic responsibilities and behavioral tendencies are learned at this age.
Here are some points you must keep in mind before you put your child in a daycare facility.
Almost every working parent has had their share of run-ins with daycare horror stories, which makes the prospect of leaving your child with a stranger especially hard. It’s always good to know the safety procedures the caregivers at the daycare provide.
Check their reputation. If they are known to be callous with the way they handle children, or if there’s the slightest hint of them neglecting or mistreating kids, it’s obvious that you aren’t going to entrust them with the responsibility of caring for your child.
Go online and check reviews. Check if your chosen daycare is staffed adequately to give full attention to your child instead of a dwindling one running helter-skelter after a bunch of children.
Talk to other parents who send their kids to daycare. Inquire about the staff, their treatment of children, and always remember to ask for routes from your house.
Ask the other parents why they decided to send their kids there and check the qualifications of the caregivers. Make sure the disciplinary techniques are in place and that the staff are carefully vetted before they are hired
Picture a parent’s worst nightmare – leaving your child in a daycare and having someone yell at them or force them to sit alone. While verbal and emotional abuse from caregivers is rare, it’s good to do a background check and ask other parents if any teacher at the center has such tendencies.
Raised voices, uncalled timeouts, and public scolding aren’t unheard of and can often cause your child to dislike daycare and be low on confidence and upset for no reason. Look for warm, friendly staff that can handle your children the way you would want.
Inspect the sanitary conditions of the daycare. Check for open drains or water stagnation as they could breed mosquitoes.
If there’s the slightest chance that a daycare could have a mosquito problem, use a child-friendly product such as GoodKnight Fabric Roll-On. It is easy to apply on your garments and one application keeps mosquitoes away for up to eight hours.
Also check if the toilets are spotless. Often daycares do not have proper toilet sanitation, which can be a serious health risk.
Letting someone else care for your child may give you a sense of lack of control. You might be wondering who their favorite people are or how well they’re sleeping. Make sure your child is happy and healthy while checking up on the treatment provided by the caregivers. It’s essential your child knows you care and will always be there when they need you.
Following these steps will help you choose the ideal daycare facility for your children. The assurance that your little one is cared for while you’re away should provide you unparalleled peace of mind.
