Trusting your 2 or 3-year-old child with a licensed Delray Beach daycare center should be easy, but it never is. As a parent, you will investigate every inch of each center and interrogate every employee to try and comfort yourself as a parent. How can you know that you are making the right choice when you choose a daycare facility for your child? Here are some tips to help you along the way when searching for a Delray Beach daycare center you trust with your precious child.
Do Your Research
Do not worry about being overbearing when trying to select a childcare center. As a parent, you have a right to want to know everything about the facility and caretakers you are trusting with your child. Look into a few different centers in the area, ask around, and do your own research. The more you know about a center, the more confident you will become that it is either not the right place for your family, or exactly the right place.
Examine the Facility
When it comes to cleanliness and safety, zero corners should be cut. Visit the facility without your child first. This way you will not have any distractions from examining every detail, floor to ceiling. Make sure there is some level of security to prevent strangers from wandering in and keep the children from wandering out. Look down and examine the cleanliness of the floors and chairs. A clean facility shows that the employees have pride in their place of work.
Find a Facility with Shared Philosophies
Take the time to understand the center’s philosophies in teaching and discipline. How are their employees expected to respond when a child breaks the rules or starts crying? A lack of consistency between discipline at home and at daycare can cause confusion and frustration for a young child. You do not want to end up in an argument with a center because they handled a situation differently than you would have liked. There is no right way to raise children, but there are a lot of beliefs and practices that should be respected. Discussing these expectations at the beginning will help determine if the center is right for your family.
Looks for Values not a Value
Daycare is one of the expenses where price is less important that the quality of the service. Understanding that families do have budgets and do need to consider the price of various centers, they should not just choose a center because it seems like a good value. Choose the center that offers the most features and qualities you are looking for, regardless of where it ranks on your list in terms of price.
Start the Search Early
If you are planning on enrolling your child in a daycare program, you should start the search approximately 3 months in advance. Especially for younger children because spots fill up fast. To ensure you get your child into the center you want, start looking early and fill out an application as soon as possible.
Ask Lots of Questions
When you call or visit a center, you are going to want to ask a lot of questions. Questions are an important way to learn about the various facilities. To prevent forgetting some of the questions you want to ask, write them down. In fact, here is long a list of questions for you to ask and the type of answers you should listen for.
- What are the costs for your daycare program? Centers often have weekly or month tuition as well as application fees. Some facilities also have additional fees for things like snacks or trips.
- Is there a waiting list? In a larger city such as Delray Beach, it is common for daycare centers to have waiting lists. This will give you an idea if they will have availability by the date you need.
- What license or accreditations do you have? The facility should be licensed by the state and caregivers should have DCF certifications. The facility needs to meet certain health and safety standards to maintain its license.
- What is the child to caregiver ratio? The state has certain limits to these ratios, but a center with smaller ratios may be better for your child. Children with certain limitations will greatly benefit from a smaller child to caregiver ratio.
- What are the philosophies of your daycare center? The employee or owner should be able to talk about how they handle discipline, education, soothing, and mealtime.
- What is your policy on immunizations? Steer clear of centers who are not strict on their immunization requirements. Unvaccinated children can be a major risk to yours for a variety of reasons.
- How long have the caregivers worded at that center and how were they selected? Employees should be selected for experience and education. High turnover rates are often a sign up underpaid, underappreciated, and undereducated employees.
- How is meal time handled? Any meals served by the center should be healthy and age appropriate.
Trust Your Gut
If you have a bad feeling about a daycare center, then trust that gut feeling. Once you have all of the facts and you have done the research, it is time to let your intuition help you decide on the best program for your toddler.
We respect and encourage parents that want to research a variety of daycare centers before committing to one, however, we also believe you will see the advantages of Get Ready Set Grow Academy. Serving Delray Beach and surrounding areas, our facility is the largest in the area, has certified and trained caretakers, superior security features, and every opportunity for your child to learn and grow. To learn more about Get Ready Set Grow, schedule a visit today.
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