Benefits of a Child Day care facility
Prior to having children, you probably never even thought about looking into the child day care facilities in your neighborhood. Maybe because you assumed, quite optimistically, that you and your partner would be able to manage the seemingly easy task of caring for a little baby. Months pass and you find out that the baby is slowly eating you out of house and home! Not even all your mom’s advice prepared you for the unexpected expenses coming your way after the baby’s arrival. You finally decide that you have to have two incomes. But what about the baby? Who will look after him? This is when child day care facilities enter the picture.
-Don’t scrimp on your child’s welfare
It’s one thing to save on stuff such as clothes or appliances, but it’s another to scrimp on your child’s well-being. As they say, you get what you pay for when it comes to child day care facilities. If you’re on a shoestring budget, don’t expect the child day care facility to have a structured curriculum, much less a medical staff! Weigh your options carefully and at least look for child day care facilities whose staff is trained in CPR or first aid. You must also take into consideration that a toddler’s age is the age when he is most curious about the things around him. Thus, he needs to have a great amount of stimulation.
If you’re not prepared to shell out a considerable amount of money, then the only child day care facility you may end up with that can cater to your budget is one that will just aim to “watch” your baby while you are away. On the other hand, if you want to get “the works” for your baby, you can look into child day care facilities offering an academic curriculum. Ask about their caregiver to child ratio to find out if they would indeed be able to devote the attention you want for your baby.
-Child day care facilities with academic thrusts
These facilities are often run by honest-to-goodness academicians who believe that kids should not just be left alone in the ball swim chamber while their parents are out on errands. These child day care centers have curricula almost similar to those of preschools. You can sit in during one of their sessions before making your huge decision. Some child day care facilities will also be happy to provide you with copies of their lesson plans or curricula. Keep in mind, though, that the more intensive the academic programs are, the higher the fees would be.
-Other perks of more expensive child day care facilities
Apart from the well-planned curriculum, centers on the high end may also include snacks and lunches for the children. This is a boon to busy parents because no matter how simple you plan a lunch to be, there’s always time involved in its preparation. When food is factored into the services of child day care facilities, all a parent has to worry about is dropping the child off and picking him up at the end of the day.
The more costly child day care facilities also have lower teacher-student ratios, which is great if you want your child showered with attention, and if you want to ensure that all his needs are met while he stays in the facility. This lower ratio can also contribute greatly to your child’s enjoyment of his day care experience. When there are less students in the classroom, teachers are apt to be less tired throughout the day and thus will have more energy to focus on each student. Understandably, a smaller class will also be easier to handle discipline-wise, so not a lot of time is wasted in shushing the children when they become too rowdy or having to gather them all each time.