How to choose a Day Care for your Child?

A few simple steps to make it easy to choose the right day care.

Picture this, your 9-month-old crawling and ready to explore the environment, does your 1.5-year-old babble and talk through actions, is your 2-year-old imitating you, and his/her curiosity is at its peak? Your child is ready to socialize, be stimulated progressively, and be curious about the world around her. If you start noticing these signs then your child must be ready for day care. 

As parents of little ones, you have been there through every milestone and have cared for this precious being with heart and soul. But selecting a day care is never easy as there are so many options in the market today offering multiple value-adds along with primary care. How do you know what is the right day care for your precious little one?

Choosing the right day care for your child is a big step for parents. When you start day care hunting, here is a handy list of important things that you can use to know what day care is right for your child. 

Choose a Day Care that puts safety as a top priority

Safety is the first aspect to consider when choosing a day care. Look for the following safety measures:

1. Is the entry and exit of the day care easily accessible? Are the classes easily accessible? This is important to make sure the kids can be easily moved during an emergency.

2. Are there CCTV cameras on the premises and the classrooms? Everything happening in classrooms must be monitored and recorded.

   

   Always check if there is adequate CCTV surveillance throughout the day care premises

3. Do the teachers have Basic Life Support training to handle emergencies?

   

   Teachers and caregivers need to be trained to intervene during a choking hazard.

4. Day Cares must be equipped with fire extinguishers and fire escape routes. The caregivers should be trained to handle a situation calmly to guide the children out of the building safely.

5. Are the furniture, pillars, edges, and door hinges properly padded and childproofed to avoid injury to the little ones? 

6. Is there a sign-in and sign-out facility in the day care, where the parent signs in at the time of drop off and signs out at the time of pick up?

7. Does the day care follow a registration process of parents and guardians as a mandatory step to pick up the child from the day care?

   
   

Answers to these simple questions in your day care can give you peace of mind about the provider's priority for safety.

Choose a day care where cleanliness meets caring

Little hands are at play. Cleanliness and Hygiene are essential factors in choosing the right day care for your child. When a child walks in, the team needs to check the temperature of the child and their hands need to be sanitised before entry. The toys, cupboards, and every nook and cranny where the little explorers are always touching need to be sanitized at least once every day. The day care must make sure the children are taken for a handwash multiple times a day. It is important to check the cleanliness of the washrooms.

Clean and hygienic spaces are very important for the child's health and well-being.

Different children have varied immunity levels, so it is extremely important to make sure that the day care is taking adequate care in keeping the area hygienic and clean. With all the care inevitably given, children do fall sick sometimes. For such instances, enquire about the protocols on how the day care manages an unwell child.

The right day care can be a home away from home

A gentle smile, an encouraging nod, and an environment where the child is at the centre are places where your child will bloom. An environment where there is warmth and caregivers are encouraging will lead to positive emotional growth for your child. Curiosity, free play, and experiential learning are the bases for a child’s growth and a day care that provides these opportunities is your best bet. A day care isn’t just an alternative for a nanny, it should be a place where the child learns and grows. To make sure that it is a home away from home you can check the day care practices if they have an open-door policy for parents. All channels of communication are open where a parent can call, message, or just walk into the centre to inquire about their child's well-being. You can also check to see if the day care sends daily reports of the child's day.

The right day care for your child will make sure it's a memorable experience for both your child and you.

Most importantly, what does your gut say? Whenever you visit a space, there is always a gut feeling that’s the parental instinct. Visit the day care with your child and observe the way the child will react and how you react to the surroundings and the people.

The journey of deciding the right day care for your child may seem overwhelming at first but remember that every child and every parent is unique and while you may not fit into a perfect checklist, you know your child best and you are the best judge for making sure that your child will have a memorable experience at the day care.

Children playing in the day care.

Looking for the right day care is never easy. We hope this information will help you make a more informed decision in choosing the right day care for your child.