Having to find a reputable and reliable child care centre for your child can be a difficult task, as you want to look past the appearance of a building or of a centre's fancy brochure, and really consider how well the company and staff would care for your child. While it's often impossible to note every single detail of a potential care centre, consider a few important details you don't want to overlook before you make your decision.
Age of children
Whether or not your child is an infant, you may want to consider if the care centre has an age limit for children, and how many infants they might allow in their facility. This is because infants may require more care and attention from the staff, so this might take away from the attention your own child would get when at the centre, no matter their age. If a centre does allow infants, consider the ratio of infants to staff and other children, so you know all the children are cared for properly and receive proper attention.
Travel distance
While you may be willing to travel a few extra miles or kilometres for a good child care facility, it's also good to consider the distance you would need to travel in case of an emergency, if the facility needs to close early for any reason, and the like. Note the distance of the facility to your office versus your home, if that's where you would travel from if you got a call to pick up your child. Note, too, the average traffic patterns around the facility; a centre that is set back from the main road may actually mean less traffic in and out of the location, for easier access to the centre.
Expectations of behaviour
You may not like the idea of being handed a list of unacceptable behaviours from your child, but it's never good to entrust your child to a centre without such a list! This type of list will mean that other children are also expected to behave properly when at the child care centre, and this can serve to protect your child from bullying, teasing, being excluded during play, and even physical abuse such as hitting, pinching, shoving, and the like. Note the way such behaviour is handled and if there is a clear policy for children being removed from the facility if they fail to conform, as this is best for your child and his or her safe care.
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