Finding Childcare: Balancing Price & Quality - Essay Sample

Introduction

Who will take care of the child after you are back to your place of work? This is the question that lingers on the minds of many parents across the globe immediately after childbearing. Depending on the location that one is in, finding affordable and quality care can prove to be an uphill task. In developed nations, the cost of childcare can be strain the parent as they try to strike a balance between cost and quality. On the other hand, parents in the developing nations have the challenge of ensuring security, hygiene, and safety of their young ones despite the cost being low, science daily states that two out three parents find it hard to get childcare services that meet their health or safety standards. In the essay, an analysis of the need for parent involvement, daycare quality, and what to look for in childcare will be explored.

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Parent Involvement

Parent involvement is an essential aspect since they are the primary decision-makers; a child cannot decide the ideal caregiver. In this case, the parent may opt for a full-time caregiver or a daycare center. Today, it is much easier to get a facility as an online search will bring all the centers within your location. From here, it is easy to pick out the best facility to place your child. It is essential to look for the facilities long before bearing the child. There is a need to visit the places and understand how they work, as most of them may be busy or have strict policies regarding visitation. Before the visit, one ought to call the centers and schedule an appointment.

Centre identification should be based on the parent's requirement. One the parent has settled that their child will be placed at a center, early searching will help reduce the disappointment that may come from rushed decisions. Recommendations from family and friends are ideal since they may be speaking from experience. Childcare experts are also excellent sources of recommendation since they often associate with parents. Close to this, a qualification checklist will help the parent settle on the ideal facility. Important things to look out for include the qualifications of the caregiver, it tells a lot about the level of expertise to expect from the caregiver. For instance, caregivers with an understanding of early childhood development are in a position to offer better services compared to others. Since there are continuous research and development of knowledge, a caregiver who undergoes regular training may be in a better position to handle the child. Understanding the caregivers is an essential part of the parent's assignment is looking for a care facility.

Due to the cost or daycare proximity, the adult to child ratio may be unfavorable. Getting an understanding of the ideal adult to child ratio is important since children need to be watched at all times. Psychology today states that a perfect center should have one adult for every three to four children. For children above four years, one caregiver can be in charge of a group of ten. Besides this, the number of hours that the caregivers work is essential in determining the quality of care that the child will receive. Long hours means exhaustion and possible low service care to the child. When the caregivers are changed often, there is the possibility that the child's growth will be negatively impacted. This is because they will have a hard time bonding with their new caregiver.

Daycare Quality

After a center has been identified; the parent should ensure that the parent and child attachment remains paramount. Recent research has focused on the risk of non-parental care for the child. From the available data, it is evident that there is little impact on the child-parent attachment, and healthy growth is not disrupted by daycare participation. Home variables, including maternal sensitivity, are essential for parent-child attachment, including daycare involvement. On the other hand, externalizing behavior is an integral part of a child's growth. The socio-emotional development of a child such as irritability, negative interactions, and rule-breaking is greatly linked with the daycare center. A parent ought to understand the behaviors of their child and how the facility will handle them.

Regular training of daycare caregivers is essential in the right development of a child. Cognitive and language development is greatly influenced by the quality of care that focuses on well-structured education service. Quality education has been shown to bring about improved language or cognitive growth. The children at risk or those from deprived backgrounds will have the most noticeable impact. On the other hand, the physical health of a child should remain to be a top priority for parents. Research on the child physical illness and daycare attendance has shown that there is a higher risk of daycare acquired infections. Issues include infectious diseases, flu, or ear infections. On the other hand, there are no documented long term illnesses.

What to Look For In Childcare Services

When eventually settling on childcare, either a home caregiver or a care facility. The parent should be well versed with the most common policies. Common policies include the disclaimer policy that sets the boundary between the obligations of the care facility and that of the parents. If a home caregiver is opted for, the parent ought to create policies that will take care of the child and ensure the freedom of the chosen caregiver. The confidential policy is also essential as it helps protect the child from discrimination. The caregiver may have sensitive information regarding the child, including terminal illness; a policy will help to protect the child in case of any eventuality. The sick child policy is also essential in ensuring that parent can know when to take care over from the caregiver; it also obligates the caregiver to give the best care at all times.

The problem-solving skill is an essential part of any caregiver, either in a daycare facility or the home-based ones. It is difficult to avoid conflicts completely, and you can be sure that at one time, you may have a general misunderstanding. Being at loggerheads with a caregiver is risky since they are in charge of your child, they may end up venting their anger on them. In such a case, it is essential to find someone who addresses issues right away and avoid them from growing out of proportion. To get the best childcare, it is essential that one becomes open to change. If things fail to work out in one situation, have an alternative that you can switch to. Even though the parent desires the best for their child, it is essential to understand that babies are resilient, as long as they get quality care, they will be fine.

Final Thought

Non-parental care is no longer a custodial issue or a women's issue; neither is it a trend that will soon go away. Childcare is an essential social responsibility and an important economic issue. Although there may be no perfect facilities to oversee care as the parent desires, there is an array of options that can be adapted to ensure that children receive the best. Parental involvement remains to be the biggest determinant of the care received. The ability to settle on a quality daycare, ensure quality relations with the caregiver, and having quality time with the child will determine the care that the child gets. However, parents should not cancel out childcare since it does not alter the development trajectory.

References

Dowling, D. W. (2019, July 24). A Working Parent's Survival Guide. Retrieved August 5, 2019, from https://hbr.org/2019/07/a-working-parents-survival-guide

Michigan Medicine. (2017, November 20). Two out of 3 parents struggle to find childcare that meets their health, safety standards. Retrieved August 5, 2019, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171120085445.htm

Noam, P. (2018). Nonparental Daycare: What The Research Tells Us. Retrieved August 5, 2019, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/insight-therapy/201710/nonparental-daycare-what-the-research-tells-us