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Making the Right Choice about Childcare for your Child

by Melissa Ingold

Most parents eventually have to make the decision about childcare for their child/children. There is more than one option available these days:

What are most common types of childcare?

• One parent can choose to stay home and care for the child/children
• Child/children can be put into a daycare or nursery school
• You can choose to have a babysitter come to your home
• You can have your child stay in someone else's home

Each of these options has their pros and cons, and it makes for better judgement on your part if you have all the information available on each choice.

Many mothers wish they could be the ones to take care of their child/children on a full-time basis, but most do not have the luxury. In today's society, the only way most people can survive is to have two working parents, but where does that leave the kids? As parent's we want to provide our children with a healthy, safe, and educational environment for them to grow up in. If we cannot be there for them full-time, how do we go about accomplishing our goal of bringing up our children the way we want? We all know that the best for our children would to be home for them all the time, but since that is not always possible, we have to find a childcare situation that will provide the best for our child/children.

Is a local daycare center the best choice for childcare?

A local daycare is the next obvious choice. They provide professionals who are educated in children's care, as well as having the proper first aid training. They have scheduled activities that include individual as well as group interaction. Most daycares are equipped with proper kitchen facilities and someone who is trained to meet all the nutritional requirements and diets of the children who go there. There are many positives of having your child in a daycare, but there are also some negatives. Daycares are usually filled to their maximum capacity allowed, and tend to have a waiting list. As well as being more expensive then other types of care, children do not always receive the one on one time that they need. Because the daycares are so full and have a limited number of childcare workers, your child/children may have to go without the personalized care they would receive at home or in a smaller group of children.

What about a Nursery School?

Nursery school is an appropriate choice for parents who stay home, work from home, or just want to provide children with a few hours of interaction with other children. Nursery schools usually only operate for a few hours at a time, a couple of days a week. Not an ideal choice for parents who work full-time, as most nursery schools start at about nine in the morning and finish for the day at lunchtime. Stay-at-home moms may choose to put their child/children in nursery school as a way to open up time for errands, appointments and chores. For a parent that works from home, this is a great way to give yourself some free time to get some uninterrupted work done a couple days a week and still be at home with your child/children. If your child is an only child, this is a good way to get them involved with other children without being away from home for long periods of time. They can learn how to share and interact with other children. This can go a long way towards preparing them for school. Because nursery schools only run for a short time, they are reasonably priced. However, most require that parents do some sort of fundraising to help with the cost of running the nursery school, or they can pay a one-time fee to get out of it. Depending on your family's needs, you may not be able to do the fundraising. This will have to be considered, when choosing to put your child/children in nursery school.

Should I have a neighbor or friend provide childcare?

Taking your children to a mother who does babysitting out of her home is another alternative. It can be a licensed in-home daycare, or unlicensed one. The difference being that an unlicensed childcare provider is only allowed to have five children in her home including her own. A licensed provider would have to have someone come to their home and inspect it for the safety and well being of the children who would stay there. If you know someone who does babysitting in their home, but is unlicensed, chances are you would not be too concerned about leaving your child in that situation. If you are looking for in-home childcare, and it would be with someone you did not know, chances are you will want to go with a licensed provider because of the fact that someone did inspect the premises before they were licensed. A licensed provider may charge you more money then someone who is unlicensed. A big part of choosing the right in-home childcare is by word of mouth. If you ask around, you will find out about the various pl you can take your child/children and what each place offers. You may learn that one person spends a lot of time reading, teaching, and playing with the kids. While another has so many she can't keep track. Some provide lunch and snacks, while at others you have to take your own.

Once again, it depends on what you are looking for when considering a childcare situation for your child/children. The developmental needs, emotional needs, the amount of care you need, and the money you have budgeted for childcare expenses all need to be factored into your final decision. Check out all the available options in your area, get information, go into the facilities and homes and meet with the people who would be caring for your child/children before you make a choice. You and your child/children will be the happier for it.

What do studies about childcare tell us?

Ratio of teachers to children is important

"Observed ratios of children to adults had a significant impact on quality of nursery care; the more infants or toddlers each adult had to care for, the lower the quality of the care she gave them. Mothers' overall satisfaction with their child's care was positively associated with its quality for home‐based care but not for nursery settings." - from The quality of different types of child care at 10 and 18 months: a comparison between types and factors related to quality."

Authors: Penelope Leach, Jacqueline Barnes, Lars‐Erik Malmberg, Kathy Sylva, Alan Stein & the FCCC team 1

Children who attend formal childcare are more likely to go to college

"However, heterogeneity in our sample revealed that attending formal childcare increased the probability of enrollment in higher education for children from low-income and non-employed families. This study suggests that attending informal childcare in Canada in 1994–1995 benefited all children over 20 years later, whereas attending formal childcare appears to be protective for children from more disadvantaged families."

Early childcare enrollment and the pursuit of higher education: A Canadian longitudinal study

Authors: Gabrielle Garon-Carriera, Arya Ansari,Marie-Josée Letartea, Caroline Fitzpatrick, study link, Quantity and quality of childcare and children’s educational outcomes

Authors: Jo Blanden, Emilia Del Bono, Kirstine Hansen & Birgitta Rabe

Melissa Ingold is a writer as well as a mother. She is a Early Childhood Education specialist, but has recently made the decision to be a stay-at-home mom. Her experience with children has enabled her to write articles on the various aspects of child development from a mother's point of view. She touches on the issues that concern us as parents, and provides insight and solutions to our children's many developmental stages.

Impact of Covid on Childcare

the child care sector has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many child care centers have been forced to close or limit their capacity due to health and safety concerns, while others have remained open but have had to implement new protocols to prevent the spread of the virus. The impact of the pandemic on child care centers has been significant and has caused many challenges for families, early childhood education providers, and the economy as a whole.

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