Let’s Talk Daycare
Mad respect to the stay-at-home moms out there!
But its Teacher's Appreciation Week! This one's for the daycare teachers.
I can honestly say I've been thoroughly enjoying my time home with my son. I have been out of work since the shutdown. No, I do not get to sleep in until noon. No, I do not get to go for a random run if I so choose. No, I cannot binge watch whatever show everyone's talking about. My time in quarantine is different than that of my friends because I have a toddler at home with me. I wake up at the crack of dawn, just like any other workday. The difference? Time! I get to sit on the couch and hold him a little longer every morning. Those snuggles are what get me through the rest of our cooped-up day. With businesses starting to open up a little more, I must confess, this little insight into the life of a stay-at-home mom has me thinking of making the situation permanent. But the truth is, I am not built for that life. I worked so hard for the degrees I have, and I thrive on social interactions. Not to mention, our finances would suffer.
Nevertheless, someday soon, society will be opening up again, and you may find yourself preparing to head back to work. What is the plan for your little one? There is a great debate over what is better for children. Is it better to be raised at home by a parent for a family member? Or is it better to be integrated with other kids their age in a daycare? There is a strong case to both sides, but you have to make a decision one way or another.
After six years working in a daycare and having my own son enrolled in that same daycare, I hope to shed some light on the debate. And, being that this week is the one week set aside to appreciate teachers, I find it worth speaking up for the daycare side. With any luck, I can help make the decision easier for you.
Costs and benefits: First, the good news. Benefits! There is a lot to be said about surrounding a child with their peers in an engaging environment. Social skills with their peers and with adults do not come naturally, they need to be encouraged and fostered. Learning to share and dispute a disagreement with a peer is something that takes practice.
Likewise, learning to be alone needs development as well. While one-on-one interactions with the teacher are special when they happen, there are also times the teacher is busy tending to other needs. In these times, the child learns to entertain him or herself. In a quality daycare, children are encouraged to work through their issues, social or otherwise, by themselves with the teacher's guidance. Being socialized does more than build social skills. Children hear more vocabulary in a variety of languages and dialects. In exchange for all these social interactions, you get germs. Yes, they will be sick a lot. Sickness in daycare is further explained later in this post. However, all the illnesses they endure when they are too young to remember will come into play when they are immersed in a school district. Starting kindergarten is a time when you do not want your child to get sick and missing school.
As they grow closer to school age, they begin to learn the skills necessary for the classroom. They are learning to sit in circle time, follow directions, and attend to a task. All within the warmth of an environment that familiar and comfortable.
Overall, your child is learning how to be away from, well, you. It is about as heartbreaking as it sounds, but learning to be independent away from the mother is something highly valued in our culture. Therefore it is a skill that will be necessary the more they grow.
Now, let's get this out of the way: the cost. That is the first thing we all want to know, right? How must does daycare cost? This will vary greatly depending on location, age, and the quality of care you are after.
Daycares operate on a child to teacher ration that changes with the age of the child and also varies state by state. Infants are typically one teacher to every 3-4 infants. Toddlers range from 4-6 children per teacher. Preschool age ranges from 8-10 children to every one teacher.
By school age, 12-15 children are allowed for every one teacher. The ideal numbers are laid out in the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The legal amount is decided by the state. It is up to each center if they want to follow NAEYC guidelines as long as they are within the legal standards. Each center will provide their ratios with you when you tour with them. How do ratios affect the cost? It's simple! If you have 6 infants in one room, you have to staff two teachers, whereas 6 preschoolers can be in a classroom with only one teacher. Therefore, a center can bring in more preschoolers at less cost than that of an infant. As a result, infant rooms are significantly more expensive than a preschool-age child. Your child's age and the ratio in your area will make a difference in your tuition.
As for the quality of care, consider the phrase, "you get what you pay for." You may be fortunate enough to find a high-quality daycare in a local church or perhaps someone working out of their own home. Gaining certifications cost the daycare money, not being certified does not necessarily mean it is low quality. Regardless, you want to do your research. This leads us to finding the right daycare center for you and your family!
Finding the right center: A critical thing to note here is that daycares, especially high-quality daycares, will fill up quickly.
Most have a waiting list months in advance. I called to tour a daycare when I was three months pregnant. They put me on a waiting list, and I did not hear back from them until my son was 18 months old. Not all daycares are like this, but it is essential to keep I mind; get on a waiting list sooner rather than later.
There are various levels of credibility for a childcare center. There is national (NAECY here in the United States), state accreditation, and in some cases, a corporate accreditation. While a center that is accredited shows they are held to higher standards, they cost money.
Some smaller daycare may not be NAECY accredited but just as high quality. Likewise, I briefly worked in a NAECY accredited center that was terrible. A centers accreditation is something to consider, but there are other factors to look for as well.
There are lists out there with all the necessary information, including questions about tuition, ratios, meal plans, etc. While those topics are important, they will be readily available and pretty standard everywhere you go. To really get a sense of the quality of the center, I encourage you to make your own list. Which of the following attributes are essential to you? Write them down and bring them with you. Make notes on each point as you tour the center.
Outside time: What does the playground look like? How often do they go outside? In what temperature ranges do they go out? You want a center that will get outside any chance they have within a reasonable range of temperatures. Being outside in the wintertime (if the weather permits) is equally beneficial to being out in the summer. Likewise, you want to be reassured your child will not be outside in extreme summer temperatures. This type of attention to detail and opportunities to explore environments speaks volumes to their dedication to your child.
Security: What is the process for picking up your child? How do they regulate who can take your child home? Is there a code on the door to enter? If so, who has access, and how often is it changed? It will be hard to leave your child in the hands of strangers, there is no way around that. But knowing you've found a secure place will ease that anxiety.
Visitors: What is their visitation policy? Are you allowed to drop-in on your lunch break to visit your child? Do they allow anyone to drop-in? Even if you do not have the luxury of taking a break during your day to visit your child, you want to know that you have the option. An open-door policy shows they have nothing to hide at any point in the day. My center often has mothers who come in the middle of the day to breastfeed in the infant room. These mothers are welcomed to sit and watch our interactions in the classroom for as long as she liked. A daycare that exposed is confident in their care.
Teachers: When scheduling a tour, try to schedule mid-morning or early afternoon. You want a time that is most active and not during nap time or when the children are leaving. How are the teachers interacting with the children? If you can, bring your child with you! This is a great way to know read how they interact with your child and how comfortable your child feels there as well. When you walk into a room, how do the teachers react to you? Do they turn their attention to you? Do they greet you with a smile? You will want this undivided attention when you are leaving your precious cargo with them.
Ask about the continuity of care. You want to know your child will form connections with a consistent caregiver. Are the same teachers in the same room every day? How long have the teachers worked there? Not only does this question tell you how consistent the teacher will be for your child, but also what the center is like behind the scenes.
Daycare centers naturally have a high turnover rate, it is a stressful job with unfortunately low wages. Relatively new teachers are to be expected throughout the center. But if you found a quality center, there will be a few teachers in each classroom that have been around for years. This shows loyalty to the center and, therefore, a dedication to your child.
Classroom: As you tour the center, look around your surroundings. Is there up-to-date artwork on the walls? How engaged are the children around the classroom? Are the materials and toys up to date? Is there a changing theme? A monthly or weekly theme indicates new toys and art projects being revolved throughout the year. This method keeps the children from becoming bored with their surroundings while bringing new experiences to the class.
Communication: Some centers today have moved to iPads with a connected app to communicate with you live throughout the day. If there is no iPad, perhaps they have a paper system. How will you know what happened with your child each day? You will want to know what your child did each day to strike conversations with them at home and strengthen what they have learned. Is there a family newsletter? Is there a calendar with weekly themes? Family engagement encourages close staff to family relationships. It also indicates a dedication to the families. See if you can pay attention to how the staff interacts with other parents coming into the center. Do they know them by name? Do they welcome them with a smile or maybe a personal story about their child that day? As a parent of a daycare baby myself, I can tell you these little notions make a difference. There are times I walk into the building, and a teacher catches my eye. She'll stop me and say, "Hey! I was in your son's classroom today, and he..." then she'll dive into a story of something funny or sweet my son did that day. This small gesture tells me my son is appreciated and noticed. It also tells me that this teacher, who is not yet my son's teacher, knows who I am. Look for these types of interactions while you are there.
Touring is the best way to see the center in practice, so make sure you visit the whole center. If you are enrolling an infant, you'll want to see what the other classrooms look like. Your infant will be moving up before you know it! If you are enrolling a preschooler, you may still want to tour the entire center. You may plan on having more children, or you might like to get an overall feel of the staff and the practices at that center. Bring a pre-printed list if you must, but you will want to keep a few of the qualities above in mind as well. These little details you will not find on pre-printed lists, yet they are so important and cannot be falsified.
It is my hope that this insight has helped you make a decision about whether or not daycare is right for you. This is no easy decision either way, but I believe with proper preparation, you can get to where I stand today. My son loves his daycare, and so do I. I feel so comfortable with him in their care. Even still, I have days that I seem to miss him extra for one reason or another. On those days, I sit in my car for a minute after dropping him off, and I feel my feelings. Eventually, I drive away, counting the hours until I can come back to get him. I remind myself he is in good hands, and he is happy there. This is what all these preparations are for, and it is the only reassurance I need.