Who's Caring For Your Child?
Child care providers influence a child's life in many
ways. Choosing the right caregiver for their child is a
major decision for parents.
Here are some things to help you in your search:
- Visit several child care programs to find one that
is best for your child. Good child care providers are
warm, caring and understanding with children.
- Spend time talking with caregivers who will be
caring for your child. Ask lots of questions.
- Find out about the caregiver's training and
experience working with children your child's age. Make
sure the caregiver has child development training and
knows what children need to learn new skills.
- See if the caregiver's child-rearing practices are
the same as yours.
- Children benefit when there is good communication
between parents and caregivers. Do you feel comfortable
talking with the child care provider?
- Get references from other parents with children in
the program.
Penn State Cooperative Extension's Better Kid Care
Program has a variety of free educational materials for
child care providers in Pennsylvania. The toll-free number
to call is 1-800-452-9108.
The Better Kid Care Web site at
www.betterkidcare.psu.edu has information for parents
and child care providers. It also has links to other Web
sites with information about children's issues.