Child care in Brickell Key

With nearly 12 million children under age 5 spending almost 40 hours in child care each week, it is not surprising that child care plays a huge role in many children's growth. The quality of care children get in the first five years can affect them for the rest of their lives. It can prepare them to enter school with the skills they need to succeed. What does quality child care mean to you? You definitely want your children in a safe place. You also want your children to be in the care of a "warm" provider, where they will be happy and in a program where they are active and learning.
You consider all this when choosing child care.

Why Is High-Quality Care Important?

There are several items that will help you detect the level of quality a program offers.

1. Health and safety
   • Proper equipment will reduce safety or health risks.
   • Monitoring of visitors reduces risk or threats to children's safety.
   • Clean environments reduce illness and spread of germs.
2. Learning Environment
   • Young children need a lot of supervision and guidance.
   • Children need to develop socially, emotionally, intellectually, and physically.
3. Staff Training
   • Providers and teachers know and understand child development and how best to work with children.
   • Your child will receive care that is right for his age and skill levels.
   • Children need to form a bond with their provider and feel safe and loved.
4. Parent Policies
   • It's important for parents to be welcomed and involved in the child care program.
   • Good child care involves parents and works with parents to meet specific needs.
5. Program Administration
   • Programs with licenses have passed standards for health and safety, ratios, and equipment.
   • Programs that are accredited will have passed national standards for providing quality care.

Making Your Visit: Visiting the child care program before you sign up is a crucial step. Here are some tips to make the most of that visit:

• Speak over the phone and get basic information. Talk by phone to help you to decide if you want to visit the program. You may have to arrange a time to speak because providers may be busy taking care of children.
• Arrange for a visit.
• Take a checklist with you. Visit a program more than once, and at different times of the day, so that you can get a sense of the flow of an average day.
• When visiting a center program, speak to providers who would care for your child. Make sure you speak directly with the child care provider who would be caring for your child.
• Ask to speak to other parents using the program. Get a different view point on the kind of care provided, their experience and level of satisfaction.

Providers and Parents Working Together is Key to Quality Care

One of the most important aspects of any child care program is the relationship you form with your child's provider. When parents and child care providers work together, everyone benefits. In a good partnership, parent and provider work together to develop and achieve goals that are best for the child within the program setting. Child care programs that support positive parent and provider partnerships will have some of the following qualities:

• Parents and providers communicate on a daily basis.
• Parents trust and feel at ease with the child care program.
• Parents have many opportunities to be involved.
• Providers ask parents for their input and feedback.
• Children in the program are happy, well-adjusted and learning.

Choosing a high-quality child care program for your child takes time and patience. No child care program is more important than the care a parent gives. But, a good program can hep you to make sure your child is getting care that provides a solid foundation to lead a happy and successful life.