How do you care your children?

I know what a scary thought of taking your child to a sitter can be. Being a chil care provider (teacher/director) I can suggest a few things. One of the first things you will want to do is ask friends of a reputable child care center or family home day care that they might know about. Make sure to get a list of 2-3 places. You wwill want to take a tour, and make sure to get a handbook of rules from each place you tour. You will want to know what their policies are on inclement weather, holidays, or days when schools are closed. You will want to know about rates, and time payment is due (all of this should be included in the handbook) Other important details to look for would be a center that has an open door policy (meaning you can stop by and visit your children throughout the work day) I would be wary of any center that does not allow this. Also, make sure the center is licensed and find out what their discipline policy is. These are the important issues that I can think of right now. Lastly...you will want to make sure your child is engaged in activities, has other children to play with, and there is some kind of educational structure within the program.

When my daughter was small, I was a working mother and we ended up having our daughter in daycare for a time and after that we had her staying with a private sitter because of a bad experience with the daycare. Well, when my son was born, my husband and I decided that the best decision for our family was to sacrifice the income that I was making to stay at home with our children to know for sure that they were safe. I know that there are many people for whom this is not a feasible option, but it works for us.