Historical November 1982 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
For parents who work outside the home, finding a suitable day care arrangement for children can be a difficult and time-consuming task. Options vary from individuals watching children in their homes to private day care programs to franchised schools.
In selecting a situation, most parents are trying to meet a particular set of needs. Priorities usually are different for each parent, but the list often consists of the following:
— location;
— costs fitting the parents’ budgets;
— hours of child care provided daily;
— teacher-to-child ratio;
— facilities (types of equipment and playthings, degree of cleanliness, appropriateness to children’s ages, and safety); – environment, (loving, formal, unstructured, highly disciplined, etc.); and
— philosophy (emphasis on socialization, academics, discipline, language skills, etc.). Answers to some questions can usually be found through phone calls or brochures.
However, the most effective way to determine whether a provider or school is appropriate for your child is to visit and observe the program.
My husband Gordon and I have become quite skilled at observing schools.
In the past four years our two children have attended five pre-schools which required observation of about a dozen programs during our selection process, both in Phoenix, AZ, and in St. Louis.
Our first pre-school experience (when we lived in Phoenix) was a positive one for our son Ryan.
At the time, though, we did not know why we liked it.
It was not until we moved to St. Louis at the end of 1980 that we began to formulate our criteria for a pre-school program, after we naively enrolled Ryan in a school we did not observe and which we found unacceptable. Interviews with two other Rosedale Neighborhood parents surfaced similar firsttime, positive child-care arrangements. Arline and Richard Webb of the 6100 block of Pershing have sent their four-yearold daughter Erica to a neighborhood woman’s home for at least one and one-half years on a part-time basis. Like us, they found a day care situation when they weren’t looking. . Erica’s grandparents had been watching her while Arline worked outside the home.
A friend recommended the nearby provider as a means of socialization for Erica. “I called (the woman) and asked her about sitting. I thought it would be nice to have (Erica) with other kids,” Arline said.
She decided to leave Erica there part of the time and with her parents part of the time.
The sitter’s approach is school-like in that “she plays with the children,” Arline related. “They go on nature walks, sing songs.
They used to go to the library.” Arline added, “She has lots of different . things for the kids to play with, both indoors and outdoors.” Arline has her own priority, that of socialization, for putting Erica in a day care setting. “It gets her with other children.
There are none on our block who are her age. I think she would be very introverted if she didn’t go,” Arline explained. Annie Martin of the 5900 block of Waterman also is happy with the program she found for her five-month-old son, who is in a day care program at a local church.
However, unlike Arline, Annie spent four months looking. “I looked around a lot and was having trouble finding one that takes babies,” Annie explained. “I talked to people about watching him in their homes, but it’s just inconvenient.
Here (at the church-affiliated program) I don’t have to worry about people watching him while they’re trying to do house-keeping or fitting him into their routines.” For Annie the most important criteria was finding a loving environment. “I just wanted to make sure someone was going to hold him,” she said. Working with a ratio of sixteen infants to four adults, the care-givers Annie found are “cooperative and loving,” she said. “He (her son) gets a lot of stimulation and really excellent care.” How you as a parent establish the priorities for your day care needs can be different for each child in the family. Start by asking yourself what your child needs most in daily care. Try asking questions like these:
— what do I want my child to do in a day care setting? (types of activities);
— how do I want the care-giver to relate to my child? what do I see as the primary role of the care-giver? (disciplinarian, teacher, friend, etc.);
— how do I want the care-giver to relate to me? (is it important for me to be able to talk to the care-giver about my child on a regular basis; what kind of information do I want to hear, etc.); and
— what types of toys and materials do I want my child to use? (equipment to stimulate gross motor skills, like climbers, bikes, tumbling mats; paints; musical instruments; blocks; water; sand, etc.).
After you have given some thought to an ideal setting for your child, gather information about possible day care or preschool situations, either by phone or by gathering literature. Be sure to get recommendations from neighbors and friends, asking what they like most about a place and why. Of course, cost and location (is it convenient to my route to work?) are other considerations.
The next and probably most important step is to visit a few of the day care facilities while they are in operation. Stay as long as possible (a whole day would be ideal) and ask questions.
As you observe, look for answers to questions such as these:
— how do the children interact with each other (aggressively, eager and willing to share, respectfully, friendly, etc.);
— how do they interact with the caregiver(s)? (readily approach the adult, eagerly respond to her or his requests, ask questions, etc.);
— how does the care-giver interact with the children? (affectionately, attentively, spends time with each child, etc.);
— how much individual attention does each child get?
— do the children have an appropriate amount of responsibility, freedom and independence appropriate for their ages?
— do the activities seem appropriate for the children’s ages?
— how comfortable do the children seem to be about a visiting adult’s presence?
The observations of the day care setting probably will cause you to revise your priorities. That’s not necessarily bad.
A criteria that seemed important to you initially might lessen in comparison to other advantages.
This revised set of priorities, your own instinctive “feel” about a setting and your child’s response to a trial day in that setting should tell you whether you have picked the proper situation for your child’s needs and your own peace of mind.
Originally published in The Neighborhood Paper, November 1982.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1982_11.pdf, printed page(s) 5, 6; PDF page(s) 5, 6.
