Child Care Issues Regarding The Care, Feeding, Nurturing, Bonding, Educating and Development Of Your Child Are Among The Most Important Topics A Parent Will Ever Decide Upon.
Child Care is one of the few Parental decisions that will literally influence and leave its mark on the remainder of your child’s life. This is one decision that must not be rushed and which should not be influenced by those outside of your immediate family. We have all heard of ‘Keeping up with Joneses’ which is a manifestation of adult peer pressure in action. We must NOT allow outside influences to affect our decisions regarding Child Care, as the consequences of whatever we decide are simply too great for the children we love; OUR children. This is a decision that must be made in all personal honesty and with the best interest of your child in mind. To be brief, the central questions which every Parent must answer once a baby is on the way are simply: Who is predominantly going to raise my child? Who is predominantly going to be the Primary Care giver for my child? Who is predominantly going to be there for my child’s first steps, my child’s first words, possibly my child’s first everything? Your child's first this and first that usually happens in the Parenting Toddler phase of our parenting lives, and it is an exciting and rewarding time for both parent and child. Parents often confuse the issue and make it seem more complicated than it really is, but in a nut shell this issue boils down to the above three questions. In essence, is the mother going to be the primary source of care, nurturing and support for the child or are these tasks going to be assigned to the best Child Care situation possible? These questions take true internal Parental courage to confront and to answer. There is no one right answer for every family. Share Your Favorite Child Behavior In Action What has YOUR child done? There are good, sound, logical and moving arguments for both options. The real question is ‘which option’ is ‘the BEST’ option for you, your child and your family? With every choice comes a unique set of pros and cons, pluses and minuses, and no decision is a perfect decision. If we were all independently wealthy then it seems almost inconceivable to me as a parent that any mother would choose to not be the primary care giver for her child. Who can love a child as well and as deeply as the mother? Who can be as patient and as engaging towards a child as the mother? Who can protect and care for a child better than the mother? If a child were allowed to choose with whom it spent almost every waking moment of its young and growing life, whom above its mother would it choose? But we are not all independently wealthy, far from it, and so the decision is a difficult one to say the least. Some families choose to sacrifice some of the finer things in life that money can buy in order for the mother to stay at home and be a full-time mother to the children in the home. Some families crunch the financial numbers and decide there is no way around having the mother work outside of the home and hence needing to choose the best outside care possible for their child. Parents should talk long and hard with one another before making this most important of decisions. Whatever you decide, make sure you are making the best decision for your child based on the best of Parental reasons you have to work with. Will you still be happy with your decision 20 years down the road? Is it really the best decision for you, your family and for your child? I offer no answers, only tough questions to help move you towards the right decision for you and for the ones you love.
This section will briefly discuss what Child Care options are available to parents who choose to have someone other than the mother provide it. I have ranked these options in their order of perceived desirability according to how I view the Parenting world. Your rankings may vary and that’s all well and good. No one knows your situation as well as you do. 1. Family or Close Friends Child Care provided by loving relatives and/or close friends would be my first choice. Adults that already have a close and loving interaction with your child would make a great choice, especially if the daily care could be provided in an environment that is already familiar to your child, such as in your own home or in a home familiar to your child. 2. Nanny or Au Pair This type of Child Care consists of one person, specially chosen by you, to come into your home and care for your child while you are not there. This choice allows minimal interruption to your child’s routine and surroundings and allows you the opportunity to ‘hand pick’ the one person who will exclusively care for your child during the times you are not able to. 3. Family Child Care This is care that is provided in the home of the child care provider, and usually entails a very few number of children being cared for at any one time. This option allows ‘a home away from home’ feel for your child with a small group of other children, all of whom are affording individual attention and interaction on a daily basis. 4. Child Care Centers This is a nonresidential setting where children are cared for according to age groups in a classroom setting, with many care givers helping to ensure each age group is lovingly and appropriated cared for throughout the day. Child Care Centers are almost always regulated by State licensing requirements and vary widely in their approach and execution of the actual services provided. It should be noted that State Child Care licensing regulations can apply to both options #3 and #4 above, so Parents should Google these regulations for the States in which they live and become familiar with these regulations, at least on a general level.
If you have decided that outside Child Care is the right answer for you and your child, please keep in mind a few of the following questions to ask and suggestions to consider in helping you make the best possible care choice available to you.
• Is the environment warm and nurturing? • Is the environment intellectually and developmentally stimulating? • Is the child to staff ratio small enough for individual attention throughout the day? • Is there a free and open parent to staff communication? • Do you agree with the style and type of child discipline provided? • Is the facility clean and orderly? • Is the staff well trained and experienced in dealing with your child’s age group? • Have thorough background checks been performed on all staff members? • Does the Child Care facility have a disaster plan in case of emergency? • Are staff members trained in CPR and first aid procedures? • Are the playground and play areas safely fenced? • Are the toys and play equipment age appropriate and safe? • Are the food choices and meal times consistent with your child’s needs? • Are Parent references available upon request? These are just a few of the considerations in helping you to make the absolute best decision for your particular family and child needs and requirements. Don’t rush the process of choosing your Child Care provider as its importance cannot be overstated. There is a lot more parenting wisdom to share. Here is another Child Care thought: Take the time and muster the courage to decide independently, thoughtfully and deliberately on what method will best serve your child, your family, and you as the Parent of a child you so dearly love. Be the parent who can answer confidently that the decisions you make are in the absolute best interest of your child at any time, for any reason, over and over again. Child Care Decisions Are Among The Most Important And Impactful Decisions You Will Ever Make For Your Child. Take Your Time To Be At Peace With What You Decide, And Get It Right.
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