Choosing a quality child care provider can be one of the most important decisions parents make. A few of the questions to be asked  include information about the quality of the program, curriculum offered at age appropriate levels, location, convenience, price, and other features.  Parents need to investigate the quality aspects of a program first and ask the important questions.   Remember, the environment strongly influences a child’s early brain development and kindergarten readiness with life-long impact.  The best advice to parents is to be sure to do your homework and gather the necessary information.  Your child’s learning potential and future depends on it.

High quality environments include professional staff with formal training in early education and care and on-going training,  environments rich with age appropriate materials, hands-on activities and room for children to explore; the ratio of adults to children, and over-all program management and structure.  Ask if the program participates in external evaluations of quality such as Kentucky’s STARS quality rating system or national accreditation.

These days many parents get information about their child care options online or from friends.  There are options of center-based care or family child care homes certified by the state. Both environments must have quality and offer curriculum to promote physical, social-emotional, cognitive and language development.  For all ages, the environment must be much more than just a safe place.  It must promote learning and development.  Ask if the program knows about and follows your state Early Childhood Standards. Learning begins at birth and critical learning areas are addressed in these standards.   Are there materials that promote language and reading, math, science, large and small motor skills?  Do teachers build social- emotional strengths in children and help them feel confident and competent? What formal, nationally recognized curriculum is used? Is it traditional methods, like High Scope, or Montessori? Are there arts and music to enhance learning in the classroom? What is the credential of the staff or caregiver? And the questions go on.

There are non-profit organizations like 4C for Children that are dedicated to helping parents answer these questions and find the right care for their child.  249smiles.com is also a local website that highlights providers in Greater Cincinnati.  Ask these agencies for information on programs that have quality- ratings.  There are also online communities like momslikeme.com that provide a plethora of information about local child care providers.

To better understand quality, visit national accreditation websites like the National Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Programs (NAC) or the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). These entities examine quality based on child-to-caregiver ratios, program curriculum, child care staff training, program regulatory compliance, personnel policies and more.  Kentucky’s STARS for Kids Now Program awards a 1 to 4 Star rating based on these variables.  Ohio has a similar system called Step Up to Quality that is also a voluntary quality rating system. Both state and national quality accreditation programs recognize child care providers for their dedication to the well being of children and their services offered to their community and are a great indicator of quality.

Even though choosing child care for your children may be a difficult decision, there is plenty of information to help guide a parent’s choice. At Children, Inc., nationally accredited, STAR rated early education and care if offered.  Traditional early education or Montessori curriculum is available.   Curriculum follows the Kentucky Early Childhood Standards.  In addition, there are 8 quality curriculum components that include music and the arts, health, formal assessments of children completed in the fall and spring to guide teachers’ daily lesson plans, interaction with children and more.  Children, Inc.’s child care programs offer affordable high quality child developmental care throughout Northern Kentucky for the families in our community. Virtual tours of centers are also available on our website.  Feel free to ask some tough questions, tour our programs, and check us out.  Our staff loves to talk about the quality of their programs!

There are numerous studies that report the advantages of all-day kindergarten when compared to half day kindergarten. Children, Inc. is a large supporter of all-day kindergarten, especially for the most at risk children in low income households. We applaud Ohio for their efforts in ensuring that children have access to the most effective care and development.

Three fourths of the school districts in Ohio already offer all-day kindergarten to some or all of their students so for most schools, this mandate will have a minimal impact on their operations. For the 25% that don’t yet offer all-day kindergarten this mandate could come with some challenges, mostly funding the necessary staff, supplies and even locations for these added programs. However, even though it will be a challenge, Children, Inc. strongly believes in the positive outcomes and effects of all-day kindergarten and insists that the positive effects on children absolutely outweigh any negatives.

As elementary schools and districts throughout Ohio begin to prepare for this mandated care, Children, Inc. encourages them to look at the most cost effective way to provide this important program for their students. Children, Inc.’s In-School Preschool model and Extended Educational Care program takes existing classrooms in elementary schools and works with the school to provide all-day education for preschool and kindergarten students throughout Northern Kentucky. Schools value these programs because of the added assets of on-site, convenient, low-cost, extended day education offered to their families as well as the developmental opportunities that are provided for their students. Children, Inc. is able to provide this program because we want to offer developmental all-day education for children that otherwise wouldn’t have it. Partnering with schools for the use of their facilities is a very cost effective way to offer all-day care.

Children, Inc. uses the parent teacher relationship to help develop the children in our child care programs at home as well as in the classroom. Parent teacher conferences allow us time to talk about your dreams, goals and concerns about your child and how we can work together to achieve them.  Our daily communication lets us share how your child’s day was, what they were interested in and what developmental skills they are working on.  When teachers and parents work together to establish respect and build trust children have a higher chance at success in school.

www.PBS.org/parents has some outstanding articles and resources for parents. There is an active community to get involved in and great information about your child’s development and tips to ensure school success.