It’s finally happened: The time has come for you to choose a daycare for your child. You’ve been putting it off for a while, hoping that a way to turn back time would be discovered before you had to choose a child care provider you’d trust with your little one. Alas, no one’s figured out how to time travel yet. And whether you work from home or report to work in person, you’re now tasked with choosing a place to care for your little one that’s safe and clean.
There’s no question that choosing the best child care center for you and your family is a big decision, but it’s one you need to make. So where do you start? What qualities in a daycare should you be looking for? What questions do you need to ask? Is it even worth it to send your child to daycare?
Let’s look at three initial steps you can take to begin the process of choosing a child care center.
Step #1: Do Your Research
You do research before you buy a car or choose a restaurant for dinner, right? Shopping around for a high-quality day care center to care for your child is necessary so you can find the perfect fit for you and your child. To start, get word-of-mouth recommendations from family and friends with children. Of course, you’ll also want to check the websites and reviews of any child care center you’re considering. Make note of the programs available, curricula, hours, and other services offered.
Step #2: Prepare Questions
Once you have a list of some child care centers you want to contact, create a list of questions that you can ask during a phone interview. Some important questions include:
What levels of training, tenure, and experience do the staff and caregivers have?
What are the average student to caregiver/teacher ratios?
What is the policy for children who are sick?
How is discipline handled?
What is the protocol for food and snacks?
What is the process for nap time? How are fussy babies handled?
What is the curriculum like for your child’s age group? What childhood education theories are employed?
What is the tuition fee?
What actions has the center taken to keep everyone safe during COVID?
Step #3: Do a Virtual Tour or After Hours Tour
Visiting a child care center can tell you a lot about the day-to-day operations and how children are cared for, so be sure to schedule site visits or tours of centers you’re researching. Is each facility clean and child proofed? Are staff and caregivers interacting favorably with the children? Are infants getting one-on-one time with caregivers? Are children of varying age groups mixed appropriately and interacting with each other well?
While it may be tempting to stop by a child care center unannounced for a site visit, keep in mind that daycares and preschools are following strict COVID-19 protocols to ensure the safety of children and staff and may not allow previously unscheduled drop-ins.
Benefits of Sending Your Child to a Good Daycare
The purpose of finding a high-quality child care center is of course to have someone watch and care for your child. But there are many benefits to enjoy when you find a program that is among the best. For example, you can rest easy knowing that:
Multiple licensed, trained caregivers are overseeing your child’s well being and safety while they’re away from home
Your child will get valuable socialization time with other kids in a range of ages
Education will be a primary focus, helping your child reach or surpass early childhood development milestones
Your child can grow in a good daycare with programs that cater to children of multiple ages, from infants to preschoolers and beyond
Why Choose Cresthill Academy?
At Cresthill Academy, we know that choosing a child care center for your little one is not a decision that should be made lightly. We get it. That’s why we want to help make your decision easy. Cresthill Academy certainly provides the benefits described above, but we offer so much more.
What makes us different from other daycare and preschool programs in New Jersey? For example, Cresthill:
Has incredible COVID-19 safety measures and protocols in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children and staff, which is especially important if you’re considering whether it’s safe to send your child to daycare during a pandemic
Employs a kitchen staff that prepares and serves 100% organic meals and snacks, ensuring that your child receives the proper nutrition to encourage growth and development
Plans and executes on a well-balanced curriculum that incorporates several early childhood development theories and foreign language learning, fostering an enhanced learning environment
And the benefits don’t end there! If you’re ready to learn more about Cresthill Academy and why we’re the high-quality day care you’ve been looking for, contact us today and schedule a tour. We offer a variety of day care programs for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners with locations in Harrison, Hoboken Uptown, Hoboken Downtown, East Hanover, and Lyndhurst, New Jersey.
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