A Parent's Guide to Ensuring your Child has a Good Child Care Experience

Good quality child care services provide a safe, healthy environment for the children in their care. They support the physical, emotional, social and intellectual development of children. Parents choose the kind of program that best meets the needs of their child and their family. Each child care centre or home has its own unique approach to educating and caring for children.

As a parent, once you enrol your child in a child care service, you will want to be sure the placement is a good experience for your child. Working together, you and the caregiver can ensure the health, safety and well-being of your child. There are several ways that you, as the parent, can help make your child's child care experience a positive one.

Establish a good relationship with your caregiver

Frequent, informal communication between you and your child's caregiver are an important part of building a good relationship. Taking a few moments to talk briefly with your caregiver when you drop off and pick your child up can keep the lines of communication open and can make sharing information about your child a matter of routine. Should concerns arise, a good relationship can make it easier to arrive at a solution. (For more information about establishing a good relationship with your caregiver, refer to the brochure entitled "Building Effective Child Care Partnerships").

Talk things over with your child

If your child is old enough to talk, you might take the opportunity each day to share information about his/her day. Chances are if you encourage your child to tell you about new friends, new skills, new abilities and accomplishments and what happened at child care, your child is likely to share any concerns he or she might have as well. If your child appears unhappy or upset when you pick him or her up from child care, you might gently question your child about what is wrong. Sometimes it is only later when he or she is feeling secure and protected that your child will volunteer what the problem is.

Look around

As you become familiar with your youngster's child care program, you will get a sense of how well it meets the needs of your child.

You can generally feel secure if:

• caregivers welcome you to visit and observe the program or take part in activities at any time;
• caregiver(s) are actively involved with the children;
• caregiver(s) seem warm and genuinely interested in the children;
• there is spontaneous laughter, hugging and eye-to-eye contact with the children;
• caregiver(s) are gentle, but firm when necessary.

Your child

• your child is relaxed and happy after the initial adjustment period;
• he or she appears to be physically well taken care of;
• you are informed promptly of any minor accidents or incidents and told when your child isn't feeling well;
• children seem involved with constructive activities;
• your child gets some individual attention each day.

The child care service

• the facility or home is clean, attractive and appropriate for the ages of the children being care for;
• you are informed of outings and excursions in advance;
• your child is transported safely, and only with your permission.

Things that might cause you to be concerned include:

• you are not encouraged to visit the facility or must arrange your visit in advance;
• there appear to be times when there is no adult supervision;
• caregiver(s) scold, command or yell at children;
• caregiver(s) are rough with children or permit rough play between children;
• the facility or home is dirty;
• you observe things in the centre or home that are not safe;
• your child is consistently unhappy when he or she is left at the facility or home and this unhappiness continues over a period of time;
• your child has bruises or injuries which the caregiver(s) cannot explain;
• the children seem bored, angry, frustrated or wander around aimlessly; or
• the caregiver(s) cannot ensure appropriate and adequate supervision because of the number of children attending.
  

For more information about child care in Saskatchewan, please contact the Early Learning and Child Care Branch office nearest you:

Regina - 787-4980
Saskatoon - 933-6071
Prince Albert - 953-3612
Moose Jaw - 694-3644
Weyburn - 848-2497
Yorkton - 786-5770
Meadow Lake - 236-7692
Swift Current - 778-8531
Melfort - 752-6164

or contact the Saskatchewan Early Childhood Association - www.skearlychildhoodassociation.ca/

The following brochures are available from the Early Learning and Child Care Branch:

• A Parent's Guide to Choosing Child Care Services
• A Parents Guide to Ensuring Your Child has a Good Child Care Experience
• Building Effective Child Care Partnerships
• Caring for Children in your Home: Limiting the Number and Ages of Children
• Child Care Licensee Manual (pdf)
• Child Care Program
• Child Care Subsidies (pdf)
• Guide to Developing a Child Care Centre (pdf)
• The Child Care Inclusion Program
• The Family Child Care Home Program, Information for the Provider (pdf)