Child Care: The Best Practices

Author

Synopsis

The need for child care in the United States is clear. Sixty-two percent of mothers with children younger than six are in the workforce (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2004). Twelve million preschoolers—half of them infants and toddlers—are in child care every day (Children’s Defense Fund, 2005). The quality of child care varies considerably as does the impact of this care on the developing child.

Children in good-quality center day care show greater math and language skills, stronger thinking and attention skills, and fewer behavior problems than children in lower-quality programs (Carnegie Corporation of New York, 1994). For children from low-income families, high-quality child care can yield greater school success, higher graduation rates, lower juvenile crime, decreased need for special education services, and lower adolescent pregnancy rates. Poor-quality care at home or in a child care facility has been shown to have negative effects on language and social development as well as on later school performance (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2005).

Many organizations have shared research results to develop lists of indicators of good quality programs. Although some details differ, all organizations agree that child care should be consistent, developmentally sound, and emotionally supportive (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2005).

The transition from homecare to child care is a significant one in the lives of children and their families. One of the most important indicators of quality child care is the caregiver’s ability to connect with children and families through the formation of meaningful relationships. Children learn best when they are in a setting that helps them feel safe, secure, and nurtured. Therefore, caregivers need to get to know each child and become responsive to children’s individual personalities and developmental needs. In practice, this can be seen when caregivers are careful observers of children and when caregivers get down to a child’s level, converse with children in a warm, meaningful way, and help children to feel included with peers.

Play the video to observe the strategy of primary caregiving in action.

Play the video to find out more about the advantages of continuity of care as an element of best practices in child care.

Question 1.

In the activity below, match the correct description with each strategy for developing relationships between caregivers and children in child care. First, select a Term, and then select its Description. Keyboard instructions: Use the tab or arrow keys to scroll through the items, and the return key or space bar to select an item. Use the escape key to exit the matching activity at any time. Enter the matching activity.

The establishment and maintenance of secure relationships with children should begin with the child’s family. Quality child care settings recognize that family is the child’s first teacher. Child caregivers work closely with families to establish a strong home-school connection. Home-child care collaborations help to meet the individual needs of children and send home the message that the families of children are valued. To establish relationships with families, caregivers need to be respectful of diverse family structures as well as cultural and linguistic differences among families in either family day care or center day care. Parents should be welcomed into the program, and their input should be solicited and considered.

Play the video to view how these caregivers develop strong relationships with children and their families.

Quality child care is not babysitting. It is designed with the enhancement of the whole child in mind. This means that the curriculum engages children socially, emotionally, physically, cognitively, linguistically, and creatively. The careful and thoughtful planning of activities helps children to develop skills in all developmental domains to prepare them for later school success. Careful planning does not mean forcing all children to do the same activity at the same time throughout the day. Curriculum should be individualized and set up within the child’s zone of proximal development (ZPD). Quality programs can achieve this by creating activity centers throughout the classroom (art, science, math, literacy, dramatic play, gross motor, the use of manipulatives, and so forth) for children to explore at their own pace and to interact with in a way that suits their developmental level and interests. Programs should balance group and individual activities.

Caregivers watch how the children are engaged with the materials and gauge how to adjust and extend the children’s play. In this way, curriculum is co-constructed with the children because the children and caregivers are both involved in the exploration and planning of daily curriculum.

– Quality child care begins with relationships with children and families.

– A successful and stable child care program includes a solid administrative infrastructure of well-trained staff with adequate compensation, low staff turnover, low teacher to child ratios, and a clear philosophy.

– In quality programs, curriculum is co-constructed and based on observation and documentation that includes input from children and families. The curriculum is individualized to meet the needs of the whole child so that he or she is engaged.

– In quality child care programs, teachers use a variety of different teaching techniques to build an environment that is developmentally appropriate.

– Most importantly, a child care program should facilitate a sense of wonder and joy and a love of lifelong learning.

Congratulations! You have completed this activity.Total Score: x out of x points (x%) You have received a provisional score for your essay answers, which have been submitted to your instructor.