Motherhood Incorporated

Many parents are very cost-conscious when it comes to child care, realizing that the number of hours they need for child care can add up to quite a large chunk of their household expenses.

However, parents do well to remember that arranging child care is not like buying a new television; cost shouldn’t be the utmost concern.

Remember, your child will be with their caregiver for many hours every day or week. How a caregiver treats them can go a long way toward building their self-esteem and assurance or actually destroying it.

According to the Academy of Pediatrics, you should make sure that your child care arrangements, whether in your home, another’s home, or a facility of any type, offers:

§ A warm, nurturing, attentive, developmentally appropriate and intellectually stimulating home environment. § Small child to adult ratio, with consistent long-term adult caregivers. § Good parent/staff communication.

If you have any types of concerns regarding your child care provider, be sure that these are addressed immediately, and if you’re not satisfied with their response, you may do well to consider changing providers or making adjustments to your arrangements.Childcare Aware is committed to helping parents find the best information on locating quality childcare in their community. You can find your local Child Care Resource and Referral Agency (CCRRA) on their website, or call 1-800-424-2246. They offer a checklist of 38 research-based indicators of high-quality care.

If you are planning to work after your baby is born, you should shop around for childcare while you are pregnant. Choose several quality programs (see below) and get on their waiting lists, even if you have arranged for Grandma or a friend to care for the baby. Waits can be as long as a year and a half for daycare for babies!

Drop-in care provides supervised play on an as-needed basis (usually from three to four hours a day). You must pre-register your child and they may not attend more than 45 hours per calendar month. Staff may be professionals, volunteers, or parents. You will usually have to pay an hourly rate.

Drop-in care services are something that any family should investigate if circumstances mean that you may need to find an emergency babysitter, for example, if one of the parents has a chronic health problem where emergency trips to the doctor or hospital are common, or when you’re caring for your own aging parents who sometimes need urgent attention.

Migrant child care is for parents working in temporary agricultural jobs; the state and federal government runs free, full-time child care centers during the busiest seasons. Programs are available for children to develop their health, education, and nutrition.

“Latch-key” refers to child care after school hours and before the parent(s) picks up the child after work. Sometimes these services are offered through the school system, and some are offered at child care centers.

Head Start is a federally funded program for three- to five-year-olds from low-income families.

This type of care is provided in another caregiver’s home. While most family-care providers accept children from infancy through school age, some providers care for only one specific age group. The care may be provided in a very relaxed, nurturing, homelike atmosphere or it may be in a more structured, educational setting. Your choice of the right setting depends on you and your child’s needs.

When family child care providers care for more than one family’s children, they must be licensed through the State Department of Human Services. Depending on the number of caregivers and/or helpers, private home facilities can care for between 10 and 14 children, including the provider’s own children. Only so many of these can be under school age.