5 Tips for Fathers and mothers who know best (part 2)

Share these 5 tips with parents on how to look beyond the ratings to select a high quality care and education setting that suits their needs best...

1. Parents shouldn’t confuse high-cost and pretty-looking environments with high-quality.

2. The foundation for high quality early childhood education and care is teacher-child interaction, the relationship. Centers need to be an extension of home.

3. Early care and education is not a one size fits all industry. Parents have  many choices. How do you begin?

     **What are your needs? Do you know what you are looking for? Part of the day?   All day? Evening? After school? Weekends? How many days a week?

     **Look for a NAEYC accredited center as a starting point. Accredited programs have exceeded minimum state licensing standards and meet national standards not every center can meet. Accreditation means a center’s quality has been documented and put through an evaluation process by the national association for the early childhood profession. These national standards are based on the early childhood learning standards and the research in our field.

4. Parents should VISIT the center. Although Accreditation is a stamp of quality and centers are evaluated in 10 different areas, it is how those centers implement those standards that matters:

    **For example: one of the standards talks about the number of adults that are available to be with the children (the ratios). There may be a number of adults available for children BUT are they interacting and talking with the children?

    **Parents should see the teachers on the floor or at the tables interacting with the children and talking with them, individually. This is how children build their vocabularies and literacy skills. This is how children learn turn taking through the give and take of a conversation. This is how children learn how to use words to express their feelings instead of those undesirable behaviors such as kicking, hitting and biting.

   **Environments should be clean, organized, uncluttered and inviting. The best  learning happens when it is initiated by the child, their interests, their curiosity AND are able to do it themselves without assistance. Choice is very powerful in building children’s independence and good feelings about themselves. A word about an ‘organized’ environment- this also means there is some structure and predictability to when activities happen each day.

 **There are other considerations:

           o Are parents able to visit at any time during the day?

           o Does the program keep detailed health records for every child?

           o What is the programs discipline policy for young children?

5. Most importantly, does the center support your beliefs and your parenting philosophy? Is it an extension of your home and will it be a good fit for your child?

We say what you are thinking and would love to hear your thoughts!