Child Care: Finding the Right Fit for Your Baby – Part 2

Today, in part 2 of our series on child care (to read part 1 click here), we’ll share some important questions to ask when researching child care programs.  Choosing a child care program is an important decision that will shape your child’s development. We’ve talked in the past about positive caregiver-infant interactions, and this is not only important for parents, but for other caregivers taking care of your baby on a regular basis. In another past post we shared tips for choosing a childcare provider (LINK), and now we’ll share some more specific questions to ask. The best way to answer many of the questions below is by observing the child care setting itself. Here are a few things to consider.

• Are you welcome to drop in at any time?
  
• Do caregivers talk to the infants? Do they sing and read to them?
• Are caregivers flexible enough to help with adapting your baby's feeding and sleeping schedule to their own, or to find a compromise? Can you find out these schedules before your baby starts child care so that you can begin transitioning your baby?
• Are caregivers patient with babies’ needs?
• Are the babies’ needs met in a timely manner?
• Do the caregiver’s feeding style and beliefs match your own?
• Is the caregiver flexible enough to let you provide input on your baby's naptime routine?
• Does the caregiver seem to enjoy working with children?
• Would you feel good about leaving your child there?
• What training do caregivers have in infant development?
• Do caregivers watch for and feed babies based on hunger and fullness cues or on a tight schedule?
• Are babies fed by a caregiver or left to drink a bottle alone?
• Does the caregiver make eye contact with the babies? Do they hug and cuddle them?
• What does the caregiver do when a baby cries?

We hope you’ve found these questions useful! Next time we’ll explore more about the transition from home to child care.

For other questions to ask when choosing child care that we gathered in a past post, click here.

 

Child Care: Finding the Right Fit for Your Baby – Part 1

Today we’ll be starting a series on child care about finding the right fit for your baby and easing the transition from home to the child care setting.  First, we’d like to share some tips on matching your baby’s specific temperament to the right type of child care. This information is based on the handout “Matching Your Infant’s or Toddler’s Style to the Right Child Care Setting” by Zero to Three, a nonprofit organization focused on early child development. We spend a lot of time finding the right caregiver for our babies, but do we think about what setting is the best fit for their personalities? While we realize that your choices may be limited for child care options, especially if you live in a small town, here are a few things to consider about your baby’s temperament when choosing child care.

• Personal Style: How would you describe your baby? Is she adaptable/flexible, cautious or intense? If your baby is adaptable, she will probably do well in a large group setting with lots of social interaction. If your baby is more cautious, look for a smaller group setting that’s less stimulating. And if your baby is very intense in her emotions, whether the setting is large or small, make sure she has a primary caregiver that will get to know and understand her specific needs (of course, this is best for all babies!

• Sleep needs: Does the setting allow individual schedules, separate sleep areas, and a quiet sleep environment? Since in reality this is not always possible in large centers, it’s important to find out if the provider will work with you to facilitate ease of transition in your baby’s sleep patterns. Find out ahead of time what the center sleep schedule is and you can gradually transition your baby closer to their schedule.

• Social vs. slow to warm up babies: If your baby is very social she’ll do great in a group setting that allows her many opportunities to play with others. On the other hand, if your baby likes to take it slower and tends to be shy around strangers, find a setting that allows your child to gradually transition from alone play to playing with one other child or a small group as she warms up. Responsive caregivers will be sensitive to your baby’s temperament and support her in slowly warming up to her new environment.

• Tolerance to change: If your baby is sensitive to changes and challenges, a setting with children the same age as her will be more comfortable.  A baby that adapts more easily to change will do well in either a mixed-age or same-age setting.

We realize that you may not always have a choice as to what type of child care setting you choose. You may live in an area with only large centers, or you may live in a rural area with no large centers. Either way, it’s important to consider your baby’s personality when choosing a caregiver and child care setting and find the best fit that’s feasible for your family.

No matter what your baby’s temperament, it’s important to find a caregiver that is willing to adapt his or her approach to meet your child’s needs.  Responsive caregivers treat each child as unique. While all babies show similar cues, they each have individual temperaments and personalities. For more information about temperament read these posts:

Babies with Personality! How Temperament Influences Babies' Relationships (Part I)

Babies with Personality! How Temperament Influences Babies' Relationships (Part 2)

Next time we’ll cover important questions to ask when researching childcare programs.

Reference

Matching Your Infant’s or Toddler’s Style to the Right Child Care Setting” by Zero to Three. http://www.zerotothree.org/early-care-education/child-care/matching-your-infants-child-care-setting.html