Most families are busy. Both mother and father have work to pay the bills and to provide for the family. For this reason, most families have to turn to a child care service to take care of their precious children while they work.

But it can be hard in deciding which child care service to enroll your child. You want to pick out one that will be suitable for your child and one that the child will like, yet you trust.

Your first step in choosing a child care service is to actually go and see the place in person. You should at first be aware of the environment itself. Is the place clean? If you can, try to go during the time meals would be prepared. Is that area clean? What about the area in which the children nap? Is it also clean?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. For instance, is the child care providers trained? Do
they have any actual qualifications in child care? What about first aid? Does someone there know CPR and basic first aid techniques? Are there any health polices they have to meet? Do they have any certificates from the local health department?

If your child is still in diapers, will this be a problem? At what age does a child need to be toilet trained? (Your child will become older you know).

Then there are questions you need to know regarding their own polices.

—Their hours of operation. Can those hours ever be extended?

—Attendance question. What do you do if your child is going to be absent?

—Are they strict about who is allowed to take the child home? This is a very
important question to ask.

Finally, you do need to discuss price and price options. If your schedule is one that changes from week to week, you should see if the price options can change accordingly as well (if your child doesn’t attend as often one week).

If you like the answers to the questions you asked and you like the looks of the child care service as well as the caregivers themselves, you should see if you and child could spend a day at the center for free. This is a great chance for your child to become acquainted with the center, the routine of the center and at the same time give your child the comfort of your presence. This also gives you a better chance to watch the center in full working mode.

If the day goes well and you decide to enroll your child, talk enthusiastically about the center with your child. Allow your child to help in labeling his/her things to take to the child care center with him/her. Be sure not to take his/her most favorite toys in case they get damaged. Do make sure to always take an extra change of clothes (accidents can happen).

Once that first day arrives, be sure to have a few minutes to get your child settled before leaving for the day. Allow the child to begin the day with the other students. Then when he/she looks comfortable tell him/her that you have to go to work now, but you will be back shortly. Then actually leave. Don’t be slow about leaving or the child will sense that you are nervous and this can cause the child to become nervous.

Remember once you leave your child, to always make sure you have your cell phone so that the child care service can always get you in case an emergency should arise.

Also don’t forget to make spot checks of the child care service when you have no appointment or when it isn’t departure time. Do this on a continued basis to make sure that the child care service continues to run smoothly and is continuing to care for your child as it should.

As parents, you probably don’t love the idea of leaving your child in the hands of caregivers, no matter how great the child care service is. But it may be a necessity. If you follow these tips, maybe you will find a child care service that will at least make you feel a little bit more comfortable in your choice.

By: Jeffrey Meier

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