Enrolling your child(ren) into child care is an extremely important thing, as it contributes to your child's welbeing, and it gives you peace of mind, assuring you that your child, who is your prize and joy (or the light of your life, if you will), is being looked after. Having your child in care also ensures that you can go to work, clean your house, catch up with your friends over coffee or go shopping, whether it be for groceries or clothes, and just have 'me' time.
There is one ultimate thing on making your relationship between yourself, child and centre work: you need to be comfortable with leaving your child with that centre. You would think that the first would be your child's happiness, wouldn't you? Yes, it is, and it's important, but first and foremost you need to be comfortable with it. If you're nervous about being introduced to this centre, or for another reason, it's most likely that your child's going to be as well, as he or she is picking up on your mood. If you're calm, your child is too.
Child care centres' not only cater for the child, but the family, too.
These are the things you'll need to consider when trying out a new centre:
How are you feeling about going to the centre?
As a parent, who constantly cares for your child, your gut feeling is very important! It not only tells you how you're feeling, but it radiates on your child. Don't get me wrong, feeling nervous or anxious is normal, as is feeling happy and calm. It's also normal for your child to pick up on this and act the same way.
If you're feeling anxious or scared, ask yourself why; maybe there is a good reason for this. Once going to the centre and meeting the staff, though, your nerves may subside. If not, or they are made worse, get out of there. If you're not comfortable there, your child won't be either.
Is the staff friendly?
First impressions are extremely important - they must be welcoming, warm, give off lots of (natural and genuine) smiles and be someone who loves her job, and the children he or she cares for. If you get the impression that this is just a job to them, it's most likely that s/he doesn't value the children.
It may feel intimidating but look out for centre's that treat the children in their care like children - they're welcoming and affectionate (giving hugs when needed, and even kissing their boo-boos). However, they should still respect that you're the parent, not them. Child carers shouldn't encourage children to call them "Mum," even though you'll encounter one or two children who insist on calling them so, but that shows that the child carers are doing something right - they're doing everything a parent would - make each child feel like they belong, give them the attention and affection they need and deserve, and make them feel safe.
I've become used to being called "Mum," even though I don't encourage children to call me so. It assures me that I'm making them feel safe, as if they belong, and I'm kind to them. I'm always happy to see them.
What's the atmosphere at the centre like?
Is it a laid back, happy and welcoming environment? Is it stressful and the staff couldn't be bothered with the children? If it's the former, that's great! If it's the latter, it's really not the right place for you and your child. You'll be constantly stressed and dreading leaving your child there, and your child's going to pick up on it, making his or her experience a bad one.
Confidentiality is important. If your child carer, whether prospective or current, gossips to you about another family, then it's a wonder what they're saying about you and your family, and to whom.
They should never talk about any family, whether in their care or not - doing so is absolutely unprofessional and should not be tolerated.
If they do gossip to you, pull them to one side and tell them that you're not interested in partaking in such behaviour, and that it unprofessional of them to do so.
"Audition" time.
Look at it as an audition. Instead of you auditioning for them, though, they're auditioning for you. This is the most vulnerable time for both you and them, but you've got the upper hand.
When you're looking and prospective centres, expect to spend 30 to 60 minutes of your child at each of them. So, I would suggest clearing your schedule for the day. Okay, maybe not the entire day, but at least 90 to 120 minutes. You want to spend that time familiarizing yourself with the centre, the staff, their policies and routines. After spending at least 30 minutes with your child, settling him or her in and seeing how the staff interact with the children in their care - yours included. You then want to excuse yourself and go to the kitchen for anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes to get a cup of tea and have a break. During this time, though, you're going to be assessing a number of things - how your child reacts to you leaving the room for an extended period of time (make sure he or she knows where you're going and the duration of which you'll be gone), how the staff respond to your departure, and how they interact with the child for the duration of your "departure". If your child's distressed about your departure, this is a time to see how the staff deal with your distressed child - whether they try to sooth your child, or just leave him or her to his or her own devices.
If the staff don't make the effort to sooth your child or even interact, preferring to keep his or her distance, maybe it's not the right centre. Maybe you want a centre that has more interaction and initiative or maybe you'll want one that leaves that all to you.
Age-appropriate activities.
You also want a centre that provides your child with activities appropriate to his or her age, and staff who are willing to play that activity with the child, encouraging him or her to use their imagination or brain. It's important to encourage the child to problem-solve than to have the adult solving it for them.
Partnership.
It's important that the centre works with you to care for the child. They should also try their hardest to comply with your suggestions or requests, considering they're reasonable. If your requests aren't reasonable or they contradict their policies, they most likely won't do it. If they cannot do it, they should politely explain why. The staff should always be looking out for the child and their wellbeing.
Here's an example: If you say that you don't want your child to sleep, they will comply as long as the child doesn't appear tired. However, if the child looks tired, they must provide a bed for the child to rest on. If they fall asleep, they cannot wake them for 30 minutes. This is for the child's wellbeing. The child is obviously tired and needs a sleep. They cannot in good conscious deny that fact and deny them an opportunity to sleep and on a bed.
If you have dressed your child in layers of clothes and don't want your child to remove it, the staff will comply as long as the child's not overheating. If it is hot outside or your child is partaking in some physical activity, and it is evident that he or she is going to overheat, it is well within the staff's right (it's actually their responsibility) to remove the clothing. If it happens that they leave it on and your child has heatstroke, they can be held responsible. The child carers will then put the clothing back on once it's home time, but they must tell you that they had to remove the extra layers of clothing and why.
Honesty is the best policy.
Staff and families need to be honest with one another in order to better care for the child. If you feel that a staff member is not being honest with you, ask them if it has anything to do with your child, and what it is. If it has nothing to do with your child, leave it alone. If it does but they are unwilling to say anything, ask the coordinator. If they're not willing to say anything, ask for your child's daily observations and/or the centre's medical folder. However, for them to be honest with them about your child, you also need to be honest with them and tell them anything they may need to know, even if you feel that it's not important. Don't ever feel stupid or a particular question is stupid; even the most important of questions may be important. If the staff makes you feel stupid, make an appointment with them and the coordinator, tell them that you're feeling stupid and why, and if they're doing this intentionally, ask them why. If they don't give you a satisfying answer, or they apologize and say they didn't realise it was happening and that they promise to stop doing so, but it keeps happening, maybe it's time to move on (aka. Move centres).
Daily communication.
This also comes under the "honesty is the best policy" subheading. To better care for your child, effective and daily communication is key. Fill out your child's "All About Me" honestly, even if you feel that your answers may be stupid or unimportant (they aren't stupid and they are important), tell your room leader that your child hasn't slept well, hasn't had breakfast, is emotional because of something important (tell them what it is), or has had a little accident either in their bed or in the car. It might be embarrassing, but your child may be emotional throughout the day and it's best that the staff know about it so that they can appropriately sooth your child, and assure him or her that it's perfectly normal to have those accidents. Tell the staff member if your child's fallen over, so therefor he or she has a bruise. If he or she has been hit by someone, tell the centre, so they know what's going on. They can be your confidante. If you and your partner is having a fight, tell your room leader, as it may be having an emotional affect on your child, who has to also experience it. If you have a court order on your partner and/or the child's father, tell your coordinator and room leader and bring in the court order so your centre can appropriately deal with it.
The staff are there to support you through anything and everything.
In return, the staff will tell you whether or not the child's had his or her midday sleep and for how long, if he or she's eaten and how much, and at what time he or she's needed a nappy change, and whether it was wet, poo-ey or dry.
Policies.
Familiarize yourself with the centre's policies - each centre has slightly different policies. They should be on display, easily accessed by parents. If they're not, ask the receptionist or coordinator for them. Every family member (parent, guardian and sibling who's over 18) has a right to view them. Even students who are doing their work placement there has a right to view them.
The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF)/Victorian Early Years and Development Framework.
To assess the centre, also look out as to whether they follow the Early Years Learning Framework, or alternatively, if you're in Victoria, the Victorian Early Years and Development Framework (VEYDF). (You can download both by following the links). If you like, you can download both of the documents, but they're much the same, just a little different. Each outcome is colour-coded, which the child carers should follow. If you see some activity and/or outcome colour-coded (eg. Child can feel safe and supported: with the support of Tina, Annabelle has become familiar with her routine, which assists her to transition from one activity to another well.) You'll know it comes from one particular outcome (the example above comes from "Identity," which is, as you can see, red under the VEYDF).
If the centre follows either or both frameworks well, you can rest assured that they're doing their job and they're teaching your child well.
Song and games.
See how the staff interact and teach the children in their care. Remember that staff aren't singing songs, playing games and reading stories to the children just for the fun of it; they're actually teaching children life skills that they'll need later on - maths, science, language skills and social skills, as well as motor skills (picking up trucks and running, etc.), fine motor skills (drawing, pasting, etc.) and congnitive skills (problem-solving, etc.)
If the staff are teaching them this and allowing them to explore these areas both assisted and unassisted, then they're doing their jobs well.
If you want to add any more, please feel free to leave them in the comments section.
