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Who
is Caring for Your Children?
Parental
Guide to Safe and Nurturing Child Care Facilities
Child
Care Associates/CCPO
Child Care Associates
400 Oak Street
Abilene, TX 79602
Review
this checklist and look for these features:
- Is
the staff willing to let you go through the facility to
see the children's activities?
(Be sure to tour the entire facility inside and out)
- Are
parents welcome to visit anytime?
The
Physical Environment is important for the health and safety
of your child. As you walk through the facility make these
observations:
- Do
the rooms and equipment look clean and safe?
- Are
the bathrooms and kitchen clean and sanitary?
- Are
there enough toys both indoors and out?
- Are
the toys washed or sanitized frequently?
- Is
there at least 30 square feet of space per child?
- Do
older and younger children play on the playground at the
same time?
(Your younger child's safety is better served if older children
have a separate outside time.)
- Can
you see anything that might be hazardous to a child? Broken
or faulty equipment? Open heaters?
In
order to choose the best care for your child, you should spend
an hour actually observing a caregiver's class in order to
answer these questions:
- Are
there enough people to care for all the children?
- Are
the children supervised at all times?
- Are
there daily activities that will challenge your child, stimulate
creativity and develop social skills?
- Does
the caregiver alternate quiet activities with physical activities
in order to keep the children from getting bored or restless?
- Does
the caregiver appear to have well planned and prepared activities
that flow smoothly and keep children busy and happy?
- Does
the caregiver call the children by name, give hugs or praise
them often?
- Does
the caregiver interact with the children?
- Does
the caregiver seem warm and understanding?
- The
caregiver will be a very important person in your child's
life. Caring for a group of children is different from raising
your own child.
Spend
a few minutes with the caregiver and ask these questions:
- How
long have you worked here? (A high turnover rate means your
child may not receive consistent care.)
- What
kind of training do you have?
- Do
you follow a daily schedule? (Ask to see it)
- If
you take field trips, how is transportation handled? Do
the children wear tags with the facility name and address?
(To protect from strangers a child's name should never be
on the tag.)
- How
do you handle emergencies? Is the parent called?
- Is
there a weekly menu? (Ask to see it)
- Who
is responsible for cleaning the classrooms and kitchen?
- How
long are children down for naps? Are they allowed to play
quietly if they awaken early?
- Is
TV used as a learning tool on special occasions or routinely
as a time filler?
- Ask
about the license or letter of registration. A license indicates
that the facility met minimum standards when last inspected.
Ask to see the last inspection report.
- Does
this facility have a license or registration certificate
and is it posted for public view?
- Was
the facility cited for anything in the past inspection report?
- After
you have read this information, evaluate your answers. Put
yourself in your child's place; is this a place where you
would like to spend 8-10 hour of your day?
If
not, you should:
Discuss
your concerns with the caregiver or facility director.
Look for
another facility for your child
Report
unsafe or suspicious situations to the Texas Department of
Protective and Regulatory Services
Child
Care Licensing Office
325-691-8232
Your Call
will be kept confidential!!
For more
information call
Child Care Associates/CCPO
800-542-4045
325-795-4283
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