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WHY CHOOSE
QUALITY CHILD CARE?
Choosing a quality child care provider is one
of the most important decisions that parents must make. It
is important that a secure relationship is developed between
the child and child care provider. There has been extensive
research in recent years on child development and the importance
of the early years of a child’s life. Among the findings
are:
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There is a demonstrable difference in children
who experience a high-quality child care compared with a
lower-quality child care. Some of these differences
include enhanced social skills, increased language skills,
higher attention and thinking skills, greater mathematical
abilities and fewer behavioral issues.
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Children develop best in environments rich with stimulating
activities which are age appropriate for the child.
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High-quality child care is an important element of school-readiness
for children, and positively predicts children’s scholastic
performance well into the school-age years.
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The most essential element in a high-quality child care
is the presence of a warm, nurturing adult. |
There are several other factors which parents will want to
take into account when selecting child care:
Child care providers can better
care for your child if there are fewer children per adult. This
is important as young children will receive more individualized
attention helping them to learn and develop. This is especially
important with babies to help develop a sense of security through
attachment with an individual provider.
While an appropriate group size will
vary according to the ages of the children, research finds that
a smaller group size increases the quality of care, particularly
with younger children. As the group size decreases, the
individual attention the child receives from the provider increases.
Studies find
that as the education level of the provider increases, so does
the level of quality care provided. This is especially
true when the education relates to child development and early
childhood education.
A high staff turnover can affect
the quality of care by decreasing the feeling of stability within
the setting. When a child changes teachers constantly,
it is difficult to develop a sense of security and attachment
within the environment.
Child care providers may strive
to provide a higher standard of care than required by licensing. By
voluntarily applying to an accrediting organization, providers
are documenting a higher level of performance and commitment
to providing a higher quality of child care. The most
commonly recognized accrediting organizations are the National
Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and
the National Association of Family Child Care (NAFCC).
As a recognized member of the National Association of Child
Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), VACCRRN members
cannot selectively endorse or recommend any child care provider,
but rather provide a randomized list of providers based upon
the criterion provided by the parents requesting referrals.
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