Let’s be honest – you as a parent tend to get busy, owing to many family responsibilities. Added to this, if you have a child who has just been discharged from the hospital from an illness, taking care of your child can become a massive headache.
Even a normal child needs proper care and guidance. Remember, your child is at a fragile age – what he/she will learn or experience at this tender age may stay with them forever. So, they need to be treated with love, care and need to enjoy every single day.
So, what’s the way out?
Professional pediatric home care services. Not only are they experts in taking care of your child, but they also know the nuances of dealing with critical situations like child injury when you’re not around or taking care of your loved child who is just discharged from the hospital after a chronic disease.
So, what should you look for before hiring a child care agency? We have shared some important tips. Have a look.
Attend & Inspect
You want your child to have a positive environment and a caregiver who will provide a safe and nurturing place. You want a center that not only has a high staff-child ratio but teachers who are dedicated and professional.
The biggest fear when it comes to choosing a child care center is the uncertainty of how your child will be treated at any given time. Many parents are too afraid to step foot into the place that is supposed to be taking care of their child, which is why visiting the child care agency’s location and observing how they treat the kids is a vital step in the process.
Pro Tip: different states have declared different staffing numbers for child care agencies. However, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there needs to be at least one adult for every three babies who are under 12 months or less.
| Age | Maximum Child-staff Ratio | Maximum Group Size |
| 12 month-old | 3:1 | 6 |
| 13-35 month-old | 4:1 | 8 |
| 3 years | 7:1 | 14 |
| 4 years | 8:1 | 16 |
| 5 years | 8:1 | 16 |
| 6-8 years | 10:1 | 20 |
| 9-12 years | 12:1 | 24 |
Data courtesy: AAP.
Request Commitment
It is important to ask for at least a year’s commitment for an in-home child care specialist. This is to ensure that the child gets continued care and love from the same person. Children tend to form a quick emotional bond with people, so changing the child care professional may negatively affect their mental and emotional health.
Align the Policies (and the Philosophies)
The child care professionals are like second parents to your kid. So, they must share the same parenting policy as you do. Pay attention to the below parameters:
- Food: Is the food offered to babies and kids healthy and fresh? Also, what type of food is offered?
- Rules: Do the adults use scoldings in the name of facility rules?
- Sleep Timings: What are the sleep timings, and how are babies who cry a lot put to sleep?
- TV: Timings when the television is on.
Spy as You Pass By
You must not always inform the facility adults of your arrival. Chances are, they will be extra sweet to kids in front of you.
It’s okay to spy (look from behind the walls, maybe) as to how they treat kids when you aren’t watching. This can be the best reality check of that facility.
You can also visit the place at unannounced times to see how the kids are playing with toys, how they are treated, and whether the childcare routine is followed as promised or not.
Taking this step will either confirm that your child will be best-taken care of or might as well – open your eyes.
Final Word
There is no doubt that choosing a childcare center is an important decision for parents to make. You want your child to have a positive environment and a caregiver who will provide a safe and nurturing place.
Don’t follow the word-of-mouth advice and take cues from the steps mentioned in this article to choose the right care for your precious child.
Throughout the year, our writers feature fresh, in-depth, and relevant information for our audience of 40,000+ healthcare leaders and professionals. As a healthcare business publication, we cover and cherish our relationship with the entire health care industry including administrators, nurses, physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, and more. We cover a broad spectrum from hospitals to medical offices to outpatient services to eye surgery centers to university settings. We focus on rehabilitation, nursing homes, home care, hospice as well as men’s health, women’s heath, and pediatrics.
