What Type of Child Care is Right For Your Child?

Many kids spend their early years in day-care of some sort. Large centers, small centers, registered day care homes, a neighbor or a relative's home-quality child-care can be found at any of these locations, so how do you decide which is best for your child?

Large centers offer a lot in the way of convenience. They are typically open longer hours, which is helpful for parents who have to be at work early in the morning, such as nurses, or for those who work late.

Extra enrichment classes such as gymnastics or swimming are often available at the larger centers, which typically have small busses to transport the children. Sometimes both large and small centers bring in teachers for music, dance or language instruction. There are day-care homes which also offer these extras.

If your child is with a neighbor or relative who is willing to transport them, you can enroll him/her in various classes or sports. These can be good opportunities for the child to mingle with other kids and make friends and play-dates. One disadvantage to care provided by an individual is that there may not be opportunities for peer socialization.

For children in day-care, consistency of care is an issue. Unfortunately, there tends to be a lot of turn-over in day-care workers. Add to this the fact that most centers group children by age and arbitrarily move them to a new teacher each year, and you have the potential for anxiety in many children. Studies have shown that children who are cared for by the same person through their early years benefit from the stability. This is especially true for kids who tend by nature to be shy or clingy.

Day care homes have a big advantage here. Because it is a home and the children are a variety of ages, many of the benefits of staying at home apply. The child has the same primary care giver for several years. Older kids act like big brothers and sisters, helping the younger ones.

The biggest indicator of the value of the care in any of these is the person or persons who spend their days with your child. If your child is with a teacher who loves them, values them as individuals, and takes care of them in a competent and loving manner, then your child will thrive.