Last week, I wrote about how to receive feedback triggered by a child care center’s refusal to receive and engage with parental feedback, and I was surprised by how many of my friends and acquaintances reached out to me about my blog post after. It turns out that so many parents in my community and beyond have had a similar experience – thank you, all, for sharing your stories with me! Finding the right child care center as well as being able to speak up with confidence when you spot a flag with your child care center, especially for first-time parents and for expat parents (who are not necessarily familiar with the child care culture and regimen of the host country, and therefore may not be as self-trusting), seem to be shared pain points. Inspired by conversations with fellow parents, I read up a bit more on early child care, early brain development, as well as spoke to a couple of early education specialists and psychologists this past week, and wanted to share some more thoughts this week.
Research shows that early education is crucially important, particularly in the first eight years of a person’s life. The period from birth to eight years represents a crucial window of opportunity for education in that it’s a time when children learn critical social and emotional skills. Exposure to positive factors, especially stable and responsive relationships with parents and other adults, and safe and supportive environments promote positive development and form a basis for continuous learning. It is, therefore, important for parents to do thorough research, ask questions, and make an educated choice which they feel will best serve their children’s interests when choosing a child care center. Here below, I made a list of what came out to be the most important factors from my research and conversations when choosing a child care center.
Starting with the Basics
MUST HAVEs
1. Licensing and Accreditation: Each country and state have their own policies and requirements when it comes to child care certification. However, in almost all countries, child care facilities are required to be licensed and inspected thoroughly to be able to accept children. Familiarize yourself with the current country’s requirements and make sure the center meets them (and hopefully even goes beyond just meeting the basic requirements).
Some things to consider / some questions to ask:
Is the center licensed from and registered with the relevant body? In Ireland, for example, TUSLA is the agency responsible for child care center licensing and inspections.
Are the carers certified and qualified? Do they have the relevant required or desired qualifications? Some qualifications you may look for can be early childhood education certificates, early childhood development and psychology diplomas, early years care certification, etc. In Ireland, all staff working with children need to have a full Level 5 qualification in Early Years care and Leaders need a full Level 6 qualification.
Are the staff trained in CPR and first aid? It’s important to have at least one staff member present at all times who is first aid and CPR certified. In Turkey, the kindergarden my daughter attended had a nurse on staff which was a big plus for us and a sign that they took the kids’ health and safety seriously.
2. Health and Safety:
All child care centers should have a clear policy protecting the child’s health and safety. The doors must be locked at all times and access should be controlled. Some facilities have double doors, some have their door handles up above so children cannot easily access them, some have passcodes that need to be punched in, some other more techy ones have fingerprint or face/retina recognition software. More traditional ones may have security personnel or receptionists letting people in and out. Whatever the routine is, it needs to be a solid, tested, and trusted one putting children’s safety first, and needs to feel right and safe for the parents.
Other things to check for and ask are:
Are there any potentially hazardous or toxic items around? Medicines, cleaning supplies, carers’ belongings such as purses, etc. should be kept away from the children. It’s important that surfaces are being cleaned before and after meals, sockets should be covered or out of reach, no exposed wires, windows should be closed and locked for safety. Outdoor areas should be secure and gates locked. There shouldn’t be anything lurking around that children can trip over, slip on, fall from. A lack of cleanliness and classroom safety is a dangerous red flag for a child care facility.
What is the center’s immunization and sick policy?
How are the staff vetted?
Where do the kids eat and where do they sleep?
What is the child care center’s sick policy?
What is the child care center's
Does the center facilitate any field trips, and if so, how is health and safety handled during time outside the center?
3. Child to Caregiver Ratio: Different countries have different legislations for child to caregiver ratio. It’s important that the center is following the local rules of the country. As a general rule of thumb though, the more hands on deck, the better. You want to see a high amount of caregivers per group of children. What I also like to make sure of is that caregivers are assigned to the room the children are in for the most part. I have noticed that some child care centers have certain part-timers come and go to cover to be able to meet the ratio requirements. While they are within their legal rights to do that, it may not always be a nice experience for the kids.
Some things to check for are:
What is the child to carer ratio?
Are the carers full timers or a bunch of part timers?
Are the kids always with the same carers / teachers?
What is the staff turnover?
What kind of staff does the child care center have? Is it only carers or do they have extracurricular teachers? My daughter’s kindergarden in Turkey had the main class teacher, two support teachers (who were shared between two rooms), two full time play therapists / psychologists, a gym teacher, a ballet teacher, a music teacher, a drama teacher, an English as a secondary language teacher. Not only was it great that kids were doing so many different activities and learning lots of different skills through play but they also were exposed to lots of different teachers / carers who specialized in their own fields, while also having a consistent relationship with their main teacher assigned to their room.
Other important factors
IMPORTANT TO HAVES
1. Openness and Communication: I have found willingness and ability to communicate effectively to be one of the most important things parents should look for in a child care center.
A. Communication with parents: Needs to be open and encouraged. Effective listening, ability and willingness to receive and action feedback, along with a two way communication about the children’s needs, wants, activities, tendencies, etc. are desired. Some child care centers hold parent-carer meetings, some have whatsapp groups or use certain apps to share pictures and notes from the children’s days, some carers and staff call the parents regularly to check in, others have digital or paper notebooks where they log activities.
B. Communication among parents: A trustworthy, professional child care center will encourage (and certainly not be afraid of) communication among parents. Creating whatsapp / email groups with parents, having parents meetings / children’s performances / outside activities where all parents are invited are some of the ways the child care center can facilitate and encourage communication between parents.
C. Communication with children: Perhaps most importantly, the child care center staff (carers and management) should be communicating well with the kids. It’s a flag if they think of kids as troublemakers who need to be calmed and managed. Treating kids as individuals, listening to their needs, wants, stories, jokes, talking and playing with them are signs of compassionate communication grounded on respect and care.
Some Communication Red Flags to watch out for:
The management doesn’t want parents to communicate with each other. E.g. they block parents from commenting in their social media groups.
The carers shout and raise their voices at kids regularly.
When parents complain, share feedback or question things in the child care center, the carers and management turn against parents and kids.
There isn’t a clear feedback / complaint management protocol
Parents don’t have a way of understanding how the kids’ day went. Carers share short, less than useful comments during pick up and drop off. Examples include “All good, today” or “Not a bother on her today” as opposed to giving details about the child's time at the child care center.
Carers don’t really know much about the kids’ day - this may be due to too many switch offs (between carers) during the day, it might be because of lack of attention to each kid, it may be due to the center not prioritizing it, but no matter what the reason may be, it should not be ok.
Carers not knowing your child’s name.
Management badmouthing a parent to another parent
Making the kids feel bad about crying, being upset, feeling left out, etc. (E.g. one of my friends’ son was asked by a carer when he approached her crying, “Are you a bad kid?” to which he shook his head “No”. The carer, then, said, “OK then stop crying and go play with your friends.”)
2. Children and Staff Happiness: Just with any job and company, if the employees are happy, getting along well with management, with each other and with their “clients” (the children in this case), chances of success are a lot higher for everyone involved. This is, of course, even more so in a child care setting.
When you visit the child care center for a tour and pop in to drop off / collect your kid, make observations:
Is the owner / are the owners involved? Generally the more hands on and involved the owners, the better. However, you might be dealing with a center that has a lot of branches or one that is connected to a primary, secondary etc. school. In that case, the owners might not be around and they don’t need to be necessarily, as long as they put in place management who feel a sense of ownership and empowerment, and are passionate about what they are doing.
How are the management speaking to the carers? Are they friendly and professional? Or are they condescending and hierarchical? Do the carers fear the management? Do you sense respect and trust at the heart of the management-carer relationship?
Are the carers smiling? Are the carers playful or do they appear to be bored, tired, and fed up?
Do they know each other’s name?
Do they know kids’ names?
In passing, in corridors or on the stairs, when you run into staff, are they happy to see you?
When you look in rooms, are the carers engaged with the kids, e.g. on the floor with them, kids on their lap etc.? Or are the kids playing by themselves and the carers are to the side watching? Do the carers seem to be doing paperwork, cleaning, looking at phones / devices mostly when the kids are playing among themselves or crawling around? Do the carers put a tape for the kids to listen to and then go to their corners and kill time?
When you are getting a lowdown of your child’s day, are they engaging with your child (even if they are a baby!) or are they just robotically telling you what happened?
Do the kids seem happy? Are they running around, playing (or strapped to high chairs or strollers, in cribs not sleeping, etc.)?
Is there a high turnover in staff? In certain child care centers in Ireland, they hire visiting expats who do not intend to stay long in Ireland (especially on a part time basis) and there is by design a high turnover. In other child care centers, they move kids from room to room, from carer to carer often, because they have lots of movement among the children. In others, carers leave often because of an unpleasant environment / low pay, etc. Whatever the reason may be, it is not great for the kids, especially younger ones, as it’s healthy for the kids to build a connection with and attachment to their carers.
Do the carers feel empowered? Are they afraid of management / owners?
3. Stimulating Environment conducive to play and learning: This is the kind of thing that parents are usually able to feel right when they walk in the door. The environment should be colorful, vibrant, creative, fun and clean. There should be age-appropriate toys, an outside space, play kits and messy play stations, books, and board games, where appropriate. It's useful to check what kind of extracurricular activities the child care center offers. Some child care centers specialize in sports, so there are indoor obstacle courses, tennis courts, basketball courts, etc. Some might have music and art classes, etc. Typically early years centers will have messy play, circle time, different themes they are learning / talking about every week / month. Some child care centers will have a method(s) they teach by. Common ones are Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, Primrose, Highscope, and Forest Schools. It's advised that parents research the different methods to better understand the principles and philosophies of each model, and see what could suit their child and family values best. Here is a resourceful article comparing the different methods.
Potential Red flags:
No to little toys
Cramped space
No outdoor space or very small space with a concrete ground
Screens (ipads, TVs, digital book reading / music listening devices,) in lieu of human contact
Cleanliness and hygiene not up to standard
Nappy changing areas not clean
Eating areas not clean
Mundane, dull colors and lack of child-friendly stations
4. Protocols and Philosophies: You want your child care provider to be aligned to your parenting styles and values on topics such as discipline, food and eating culture, sleeping and naps philosophy, etc. as much as possible.
Some questions you can ask are:
What happens when there is misbehavior? What constitutes misbehavior? How do carers and management handle mischief? Do they use punishments? What constitutes punishable behavior? What kind of punishments are acceptable? (e.g. our philosophy is one of rewarding the right behavior, as opposed to punishing the wrong behavior, therefore a child care center that uses punishment and threats as a way to discipline and calm the children was not acceptable for us)
How are overly-energetic / fussy kids handled?
When are naps offered? What happens if the baby / kid is refusing to sleep?
What kind of food / snacks are offered? What is the child care center’s eating philosophy? Can children eat snacks and sweets before they eat their main course? Do kids need to finish their plate or can they play / leave the table if they are not hungry? What happens if they did not like the food offered?
How often does the child care center use TV or other screens?
All in all the best child care centers have a combination of all the variables and also a few personal touches that you might not have been expecting but are pleasantly surprised by. I have personally experienced a few different ones on different points of the spectrum, and I can assure you the difference is most definitely noticable. I hope this blog article serves as a reference list and perhaps even an inspiration to some of you readers in making the right decision for your child and your family as well as give you the courage to give feedback to and make changes around your child care center, if you feel it is not working out.
As a final note, I want to leave you with a summary of to do's when evaluating a child care center:
CHILD CARE CENTER EVALUATION CHECKLIST:
Ensure the child care center has the appropriate licensing, vetting, and qualifications
Tap into your network, ask around for people’s experiences
Know your priorities, what you can tolerate and what is a dealbreaker
Speak to management and carers
Ask questions and challenge where appropriate.
Drop by unannounced
Check in with your child
Talk to other parents
Interact with carers and management
Trust your gut
Be open to changing to a different option, if things aren’t working out
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