Child care issues come up quite often in the life of a child. From the time they are little and you are trying to sort through nanny agencies or baby sitting services to find the best person to care for your child up until the time they are old enough to watch themselves, each place that you decide to leave that child comes into question.
It can be a very difficult task to find good day care providers and schools for your kids; after all you want them to be in a place that is as loving as their home is. You want them to not only be safe, but you want them to be nurtured as well. This can be quite challenging, but there are good providers out there they are just few and far between.
On way to make sure that your child care providers are doing the best job possible is to use references; however just like job references this can be difficult because most times a child care provider will only direct you to references that will be good ones. When you contact references, be sure and hear what they are not saying as well as what they are saying. Many times, when asked to give a reference, someone will want to make the child care provider sound as good as possible. Most people will, however, be hesitant to lie and this is where the evasiveness might clue you into where the problems may lie.
Also, it is an excellent idea to drop in on places like day care centers, summer kids camps, and schools when they are in the middle of their day. This can give you the best feel for what is happening in that environment when the parents aren’t coming in and out and aren’t expected. In the morning hours during drop off and at the end of the day, during pick up, staff will be putting their best foot forward. The same goes for an open house or during a lunch time when parents are expected to be present, and this is why the element of surprise is so important. It catches what is going on when no one is around and that is the time of day that you most want to know about.
The bottom line is make sure that you know where your child is being cared for and by whom. Take a close look and investigate whether it is a school, day care facility or camp, know all there is to know and listen to what your children say, either in words or their behavior. They will probably let you know when there is a problem that needs to be addressed.