5 Tips for Choosing a Quality Day Care Center

There are basic things to keep in mind when choosing a day care center. To ensure that you make the right decision on this matter, we’ve compiled a list of helpful tips to help you size up a potential facility.

1. Drop by the site.
   Observe how the staff treat the kids. Have a look at the areas your children would be playing in and check if they are safe and clean. It’s one thing to view photos online and another to really see how things are for yourself. You need to see for your own eyes that your decision to partner with a center won’t be one you’d regret.
2. Find out if the staff is committed.
   Young children need consistent, structured care. And it is through this kind of care that they are able to form secure attachments with their caregivers. Don’t hesitate to ask the day care facility you’re considering how long their caregivers have been working there. A center with a high turnover rate is not one you’d want to choose.
3. Drop by unannounced.
   When you receive word-of-mouth referrals from other parents, telling you all the good things about a particular center, sometimes it’s not enough to just take their word for it. You have to do some spying on your own. We’re so used to role-playing with our kids, that playing 007 for a day shouldn’t be too much of a stretch. Drop by unannounced and see what really goes on in the center when there aren’t any parents around. Pay attention to how the caregivers interact with the kids. Ideally, you’d want to see them playing with children in a gentle way.
4. Trust your instinct.
   We parents know when something just doesn’t feel right. We might not be able to pinpoint what it is, but it’s there, and it’s something we need to take heed to. Parents may be raving about a particular center that you just don’t feel comfortable leaving your kids at. When you get that feeling, move on and look elsewhere.
5. Accept and understand change when necessary.
   We unconsciously marry ourselves to people or situations because it’s what we’ve been taught to believe growing up. However, change is constant, and sometimes things we always thought would work on our kids, no longer apply. So if you find yourself not completely agreeing to the ways of a center, but somehow see the point of its implementation, have a sit-down with the staff and ask them to open your eyes to such an approach. You see, even when you don’t acquiesce to a particular method of child care, evidence may strongly suggest that you should give it a chance to let it grow on you. It’s easier to be open to change, more importantly, when that change benefits your child.

Choosing a day care center is more than just listening to what other people have to say. It’s more than just following a trend and enrolling your kids in the most popular facilities. To find the right center, you have to take matters into your hands and investigate for yourself, do the necessary research, and open your mind to the child care approaches that work. Alphabet Academy, a renowned provider of child care in Denton, Texas, may just be the answer you’re looking for. Feel free to get in touch with us today!