The most commonly asked question I get from my friends with children is what should they look for when in the market for a home child care provider or day care centre?
I figure if I write it all down in one place, I can just link people to the blog instead of constantly rewriting the same information over again.
Are they licensed? And if they are a centre is their license full or temporary?
All Day Care centres in Ontario must be licensed.
A temporary license will be given if a centre is found to not be in compliance with the Day Nurseries Act (Ontario legislation) and they will have a specific amount of time to fix the issues before the license is suspended.
Private Home Day Care providers can be licensed without having to use a business like Wee Watch.
Every Region/County in Ontario has a Children Services department. They have people who will come into your home and make sure you are in compliance with the Day Nurseries act, the Health and Safety regulations etc.
There is NO REASON a private home day care provider should not be licensed EXCEPT they want to dodge the ratios outlined by the Day Nurseries Act.
Why do you want your home day care provider to be licensed?
Well otherwise there is no one checking in on them to make sure they are doing what they should be doing to provide a safe, healthy and nurturing environment.
I have seen a private provider at the park with as many as 11 children of which 6 of them were 3 years old and younger.
To be clear ratios for Licensed Home Child Care are the total children in care must not exceed the following: 5 under 5, 4 under 4, 3 under 3, 2 under 2 and 1 under 1.
The provider's children count toward this ratio until they turn 6.
I have heard stories of children being stuck in front of a tv for the entire day while the provider sat on the phone talking to her friends.
Or people looking after children who have not had a criminal reference check done, a Children and Family Service Check done or have no First Aid or CPR training.
You want at least the Criminal Reference check done and that the provider has a CURRENT First and and CPR certificate. Don't take their word for it ASK to see it.
Also licensed homes must have all their pets (cats and dogs) vaccinations up to date and are guaranteed Smoke free homes.
My mom tells me a story of a woman who would take the kids to the McDonald's play place send them in and then sit and drink coffee with her friends all day.
Licensed providers are not infallible, but the chances of having glaring obvious failings and safety issues are drastically reduced.
The things to look for Centre or Home:
Cleanliness. Yes expect some dirt, there are children involved BUT things should still be relatively clean.
Centres: How long has the staffed worked there? --why you wonder? Because a centre where the staff turns over frequently (were the majority of the staff is there 2 years or less), is a HUGE sign that the centre has issues. It means that the staff are treated poorly and paid poorly. It means that the children are shuffled around like animals to meet ratios regardless of whether that is good for the child.
It means that the staff are less likely to be fully involved with the children and spend a lot of time sitting around gossiping instead of implementing programming because they don't care or are burnt out.
Why don't they care or are burnt out? They got the job because the centre was desperate. Or they were fully involved but the politics of the centre has worn them down, there is never enough of anything (toys, art supplies sometimes even food).
How many of the staff have their Early Childhood Education Diplomas? and are registered with the College of Early Childhood Educators (RECE)?
You would be amazed at the number of staff who are non ECEs. Though by Ontario Legislation each classroom MUST have one RECE at all times in it.
This is commonly found in For Profit Centres where the centre's bottom line (regardless of what they say) is about making money, not your child.
What you want to hear is that the majority of the staff have been there for over 2 years and have either their college ECE diploma or some form of Children studies/specialty University degree.
Meal Plans:
Do not assume that just because your child is at a centre that means the food they are serving your child is guaranteed to be nutritious. Sadly buying bulk, cheap no name products is one way a lot of centres (ESPECIALLY the For Profit ones) do to cut costs.
Ask to see the menu, ask to talk to the cook when you go on your centre tour. The person cooking your child's food should have had some sort of culinary training or experience.
Home day care --ask what they feed the kids and how they prepare it. Steer clear of the ones who use the box special dinners/hot dogs/KD.
And for the record Peanut Butter and Jam sandwiches is a nutritious healthy lunch especially when paired with vegetables and fruit. You would not believe me if I told you how many people over the years I have argued with over "how unhealthy peanut butter is."
Programming: aka Activities the children do
You want to hear/see that the children are doing something more then milling around engaging in free play. In Centres there should be Circle time, Science and Math centres/activities. An art centre that is OPEN all the time. If the Art centre is an area that is closed off to the kids during free play AVOID.
It means the centre is really low on art supplies OR the staff are too lazy to want to deal with the mess that generally accompanies art.
It is required that the Art centre be open during Free Play (not necessary all the art stuff, but within reason) at all times in a centre toddler age and up. There should be a sensory centre (water or sand or play dough, beads, shredded paper etc).
There should be a book centre, some form of dramatic arts (House centre or Tool Centre or Store etc).
The bins for free play should also have a variety. Feel free to go peek through the bins on the shelf.
Just because a centre has lots of bins does not mean it has lots of toys.
A centre better have some form of playground equipment, sand box and MANY balls, hoops, riding toys etc for outside play.
In a Home Care setting, there should be a variety of toys. Some form of drama centre, a quiet/book corner, a yard with a variety of toys or a really close park to play outdoors in.
Proof that Art does occur. Same with sensory (even if it is just pictures).
Circle time in home day care doesn't happen often. Partly because they don't know about it and partly because it is really hard to do a Circle (songs, stories and some form of theme related activity) with such a varying age group.
For example I have (depending on the day) a 1 year old, a 1.5 year old, a 2 year old, a 2.5 year old and a 3 year old through most of the day. The 1 and 1.5 year old and the 2.5 year old have difficulty sitting for even 1 story/song. For some the expectation has never been there coupled with each child's differing developmental and skill levels. So I end up breaking up the circle activities through the free play time doing it with pairings of the children. Though before nap time we ALWAYS read at least 2 books as a group ALWAYS.
Location:
What works best for you.
Don't judge a provider based on what you think of the neighborhood around you. (Just because I live in the student ghetto doesn't mean I can't provide good care for your child).
BUT avoid centres and places that are run out of very old houses OR have portable classrooms attached to them. OR smell musty.
Why?
Mould.
Plain and simple. Building codes were different back then.
It frightens me that the one centre I worked for STILL has its portable classroom.
The portable was 30 years old when I first worked there 9 years ago. It had leaked for 10 of those years. To my knowledge it still leaks (last I talked with someone who worked there).
Every child who had an allergy to mould developed asthma within months of starting.
I quit because I was so ill. I had constant sinus infections and my Ear nose throat specialist actually told me I had to find out where the mould issue was (home or work) and leave because it was going to do permanent damage to my lungs and sinuses if I stayed.
Really you want a place that feels inviting, is bright and welcoming.
Cost:
It varies from city to city. All I can tell you is that the most expensive is not necessarily the best. And going with the cheapest may be easier on the pocketbook, but not necessarily best for your child.
Infant to Toddler (under a year to 2.5 years old) end up in home care a lot because the cost of centre care for them is significantly more.
Pros and Cons for a Wee Watch type agency versus Private Home Day Care
First of all a Wee Watch type agency is an agency that provides a service in that they have licensed their providers through the Region (Family and Children Services). They hire their providers as contract employees. They make sure they are adhering to the Region (Day Nurseries Act) as well as their own standards with regards to programming etc.
Wee Watch is the most common one across Ontario, but there are other similar style agencies out there.
The Cons to Wee Watch are that you are limited to interviewing the providers who have space versus who is closest to your home or work.
The Pros are that they provide back up care when your provider is off sick/on holidays. You don't have to pay for your holidays as long as you provide the office written notice two weeks before.
The Cons to Private Providers are the lack of back up care when they are sick or on holidays. They generally charge 1/2 price to full price when you take your holidays. Some may even make you pay them while they are on holidays (which is ridiculous. I always maintained that parents paid me for Statutory holidays that was it). They may not necessarily be licensed.
The Pros to Private Providers are the choice. You will have more choice for location, area of town, neighborhood etc. Otherwise they will provide the same style of care as a Wee Watch agency provider.
You are more likely to find ECEs (not necessarily registered) in Private care over agency care.
Why?
Because you make more money doing private care.
So why do I use Wee Watch?
I don't want the hassle of chasing parents down for money. So I take the pay cut for Wee Watch to pay me and they collect from the parents.
Why?
Because Andrew may work a real job, but as a PHD student he does not get paid a real wage. I need to know what I am getting paid is going to be there and on time.
Also Wee Watch interviewed me and hired me within a week of submitting my Resume.
The Region (Waterloo does not have a great name for itself then or even now) finally returned my calls 6 weeks after I had started working from home.
Final piece of advice. ALWAYS ALWAYS go with your gut. If something feels off or not right, pay attention to it and go with it.
