If your child is below the age of five you could be looking for a nursery to take care of him or her to allow you to go back to work or further your education. This can be difficult to do in some cases as there are times when big waiting lists are against you.
You could start research very early as your baby turns one or two to get an idea of what is available to you. Check out the tips below to see what to look for when trying to find one of the nurseries to watch over your child.
Ask friends that are mothers on their opinions or recommendations of the nurseries that they trust with their children. This is an ideal way of learning what other mothers think as they have first-hand experience of a particular place of child care.
If you are In the United Kingdom you can check Ofsted's inspection records on the nurseries. This organization inspects the nursery in question, as well as other of Great Britain's nurseries.
The employees should be well qualified. They are going to be taking care of your precious child at one of these nurseries and you deserve to know he or she is being watched over by caring, qualified people.
There should be policies and rules established that allow the nursery to operate in an organized manner. These should have to do with child safety and what to do in emergencies.
The environment offered should stimulate the children to learn various age-appropriate skills. This could be simple eye-hand co-ordination exercises to learning how to spell. There should be a set curriculum for the ones who are old enough with the proper guidance in place.
The nursery's surroundings need to be safe for any of the children trusted to its care. It should also have a high level of cleanliness, so it is sanitary for the children.
For each age group of the children, there should be adequate supervision at the nursery and with the under-two group, there should at least one employee for every three.
The nursery is required to keep licenses and/or registration current.
Prices that are charged should be the going rate. You should not go bargain shopping for nursery care. However, this does not mean you need to pay higher than the going rate for competent care for your child unless there are some extras being offered. Additional activities could be an extra at a higher-priced establishment.
You should ask to observe the daily activity. If the establishment has a problem with this, look elsewhere. It could be trying to hide something. Also, drop in unexpectedly to see what is going on in the place.
You could start research very early as your baby turns one or two to get an idea of what is available to you. Check out the tips below to see what to look for when trying to find one of the nurseries to watch over your child.
Ask friends that are mothers on their opinions or recommendations of the nurseries that they trust with their children. This is an ideal way of learning what other mothers think as they have first-hand experience of a particular place of child care.
If you are In the United Kingdom you can check Ofsted's inspection records on the nurseries. This organization inspects the nursery in question, as well as other of Great Britain's nurseries.
The employees should be well qualified. They are going to be taking care of your precious child at one of these nurseries and you deserve to know he or she is being watched over by caring, qualified people.
There should be policies and rules established that allow the nursery to operate in an organized manner. These should have to do with child safety and what to do in emergencies.
The environment offered should stimulate the children to learn various age-appropriate skills. This could be simple eye-hand co-ordination exercises to learning how to spell. There should be a set curriculum for the ones who are old enough with the proper guidance in place.
The nursery's surroundings need to be safe for any of the children trusted to its care. It should also have a high level of cleanliness, so it is sanitary for the children.
For each age group of the children, there should be adequate supervision at the nursery and with the under-two group, there should at least one employee for every three.
The nursery is required to keep licenses and/or registration current.
Prices that are charged should be the going rate. You should not go bargain shopping for nursery care. However, this does not mean you need to pay higher than the going rate for competent care for your child unless there are some extras being offered. Additional activities could be an extra at a higher-priced establishment.
You should ask to observe the daily activity. If the establishment has a problem with this, look elsewhere. It could be trying to hide something. Also, drop in unexpectedly to see what is going on in the place.
