parent services...using childcare
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10 Standards of High-Quality Early Childhood Education ( NAEYC)
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is
helping families make the right choice for their kids by giving them
a tool to know whether child care programs, preschools, and kindergartens
meet the mark of quality. NAEYC has 10 standards that define excellent programs
for young children and an accreditation system to measure whether programs
meet those standards. Now NAEYC has created a Quality Checklist of characteristics
parents can look for when choosing a program.
“Choosing the right child care program or preschool can seem
overwhelming,” says Mark Ginsberg, Ph.D., executive director
of NAEYC. “NAEYC wants to help families feel good about the
choices they make. The Quality Checklist is a helpful tool for parents
as they begin their search.”
NAEYC’s Quality Checklist provides families with a shorthand
way to know whether or not a program provides excellent care and education.
High-quality programs should meet the following standards, as outlined
in the NAEYC Accreditation system:
- Promote positive relationships for all children
and adults
- Implement a curriculum that fosters all areas
of child development – cognitive, emotional, language, physical,
and social
- Use developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate
and effective teaching approaches
- Provide ongoing assessments of child progress
- Promote the nutrition and health of children and
staff
- Employ and support qualified teaching staff
- Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with
families
- Establish and maintain relationships and use resources of the community
- Provide a safe and healthy physical environment
- Implement strong program management policies that result in high-quality
service
For more than 20 years, NAEYC has measured the quality of early childhood
centers and schools through its voluntary accreditation system. Child
care centers, preschools, kindergartens, and other programs serving
children from birth through five years are eligible to earn NAEYC Accreditation.
In 2004, NAEYC began a thorough process to revamp its accreditation
system to reflect new research and understanding of high quality early
learning and to better meet the needs of centers and families. As a
result, NAEYC’s new system is more effective, more credible,
and more reliable than ever before.
“For decades, NAEYC worked tirelessly to help programs improve,” says
Kim McClennahan Means, Senior Director of the NAEYC Academy for Early
Childhood Program Accreditation. “Our new accreditation system
has been improved as well, responding to programs that wanted a more
clear and efficient structure and families that wanted a way to feel
comfortable that they were choosing a good place for their kids.”
To earn NAEYC Accreditation, child care centers, preschools, and kindergartens
must complete a rigorous four-step review process to prove that they
are meeting the NAEYC standards, including an on-site visit by a highly-trained
NAEYC assessor. There are more than 400 criteria that programs use
to demonstrate that they are meeting the standards. NAEYC Accreditation
lasts for five years, during which programs must submit annual reports
and are subject to unannounced visits to ensure they remain in compliance.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children is the
largest and most influential organization of early childhood educators
and others dedicated to improving the quality of programs for children
from birth through age eight. Founded in 1926, the organization now
has nearly 100,000 members, and a national network of over 300 local,
state, and regional affiliates. NAEYC and its affiliates work to improve
professional practice and working conditions in early childhood education,
and to build public support for high-quality early childhood programs.
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Easing First Day Anxieties
New experiences are a part of growing up. But the experience of getting
to know new people, new places, new routines, new rules, new food,
new napping arrangements, in short, almost new "everything" can
be overwhelming and anxiety producing. However, if the change is handled
well, your child’s anxiety can be reduced by:
-
Acting positively about the new experience. Your child will pick up
on your feelings.
- Talking about and practicing the new departure routine
by role playing.
- Asking your child to choose a favorite toy, blanket,
or family photo to take along.
- Transitioning slowly by planning a few
short visits before you begin full-time.
- Saying good-bye the same way
each day. Sneaking out is not advised. Explain that you are leaving
and when you are expecting to return. It
is common
for a child to cry or fuss when you leave. To feel more at ease,
call for a status report when you get to work.
Some children will adjust to a new child care situation almost immediately.
Others will take several months. If your child is having difficulty
adjusting, yet you feel confident in the provider, keep working with
the provider
to make your child’s day as comfortable as possible.
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Keeping Your Child Healthy
Children in child care have the right to a healthy and safe environment.
Unfortunately, when children are in close and constant contact, one
child’s germs can easily affect others. Young children are especially
vulnerable because of their immature immune systems. This means that
they are more likely to acquire and pass on illnesses to their own
parents and siblings, caregivers and peers at the child care program.
They can average 8-10 colds per year.
Because children will become ill, it is important that a plan for alternative
child care be arranged in advance. Recruitment of friends or families
who can pick up and care for an ill child will give you and the provider
peace of mind. Parents must understand the program’s policies
on ill children and the exclusion guidelines identified by public health
authorities.
Parents have the responsibility to:
-
Know and follow the program’s illness exclusion guidelines.
The provider should supply you with a copy at enrollment.
- Assess
their child before they are taken to child care for symptoms of
illness.
- Be available (or have a friend or family member
as a back-up) if called by the provider to pick up an ill child.
- Report
contagious diseases within 24 hours of diagnosis to your child care
provider (even if the child is kept at home)
- Keep your child's
immunizations current. For children in child care, the chickenpox
and pneumococcal vaccines are recommended
to prevent
the risk of complications or the loss of the parent's work time.
Providers have the responsibility to:
-
Follow the highest standards for diapering, food preparation, disinfection
of toys and equipment and routine cleaning.
- Wash their hands before
food preparation, after diapering or toileting a child, after wiping
a runny nose and after handling pets, etc.
- Oversee the children’s
hand washing as the children start the day in the child care setting,
after toileting and before meals.
- Distribute illness policies to all families upon enrollment.
- Enforce
the illness policies.
- If a child in the program has been diagnosed with
a contagious disease, alert other parents to watch for similar signs
and seek medical
advice when necessary.
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Immunization Schedule
As mentioned above, it is important to keep your child's
immunizations current. For children in child care, the chickenpox
and pneumococcal vaccines are recommended
to prevent
the risk of complications or the loss of the parent's work time.
SC Day Care Immunizations Guidelines can be found here:
http://www.scdhec.net/health/disease/immunization/immunizations.htm.
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Childhood Obesity
Obesity in children and adolescents is a serious issue with many health
and social consequences that often continue into adulthood. Implementing
prevention programs and getting a better understanding of treatment
for youngsters is important to controlling the obesity epidemic.
Many parents are rightly concerned about their child's weight and how
it affects them. What are the best strategies for prevention? For more
information contact, the American Obesity Association http://obesity.org/subs/childhood/.
Color Me Healthy
(http://www.eatsmartmovemorenc.com/colormehealthy/index.htm)
is a program developed to reach limited-resource children ages 4 -
5 with
fun interactive learning opportunities on
physical activity
and healthy eating.
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The Business Side of Child Care
When you enroll your child in care, the provider will ask you to review
her program’s policies and procedures and sign a business contract
that identifies financial obligations.
Policies and contracts might cover:
- Policies regarding child rearing, discipline, transportation, nutrition
and field trips.
- Hours of care, fees, payment dates, overtime fees
and vacation payment policies.
- Exclusion guidelines for ill children.
- How to terminate care arrangements.
- Permission for transporting
children.
- Read all contract terms carefully and make sure you understand everything
before signing. You may suggest additional items to be added
to the contract
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Keeping Your Child Care Program
Once your child has adjusted to the new child care setting, you will
want to build a trusting relationship with your caregiver with
honest and open communication.
Establish good communication by:
-
Setting aside a few minutes at the
beginning or end of each day to talk with the caregiver about your
child’s day.
- Sharing concerns as they arise. Noticing potential
problem areas in the beginning makes it easier to discuss them
and, if necessary,
negotiate changes.
- Sharing family events that may impact your child’s behavior
such as a move, any change in sleeping or eating habits, exposure
to contagious
disease, or the death of a family member or pet.
- Notifying the provider, in advance, of changes in your child’s
schedule.
- Showing the provider your appreciation for what she
does for your child and your appreciation for the profession she
has chosen.
Make sure things go smoothly by:
- Arriving at the designated time or calling if you will be late.
- Paying on
time.
- Bringing personal items (a change of clothing, diapers, formula, required
forms, etc.) as requested by your provider.
- Dressing
your child appropriately for outdoor play.
- Bringing medications in
their original containers.
- Arranging, in advance, back-up child care
should your provider not be able to provide care due to vacation or
illness.
- Following your provider’s illness exclusion guidelines. If
your child becomes ill at daycare, be prompt when making
arrangements to pick
up your ill child.
Show your support by:
- Saying, "thank you" on a regular basis,
particularly when the provider does extra—washes out soiled
clothes, celebrates birthdays or gets your child off to school
or
special events.
- Remembering her with candy, cards or small gifts
on special occasions.
- Donating services or time. Bring special
snacks, assist on field trips, donate paper and art supplies, collect
junk art supplies, etc.
- Respect the provider’s policies and procedures.
By state law, a provider cannot do the following even if parents
have requested it and have granted their permission:
- Spank or physically punish a child
- Withhold food or force feed
- Place an infant on a waterbed or soft
mattress
- Leave children unattended at any time
- Bite a child who is biting
others
- Put children to bed with their bottle
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Concerns and Complaints of Licensed Child Care Programs
If a disagreement or a concern arises, set a specific time to meet with
the provider to talk about it. It is best if children are not present.
If complaints cannot be resolved, CCR&R will assist you in finding
a new child care program.
If you suspect the program is violating licensing regulations, contact
the child care licensing specialist in your area
(http://www.state.sc.us/dss/cdclrs/offices.html).
If you feel your child or other children are in danger, immediately contact
the county licensing specialist or the child protection office of your
county social services office (www.state.sc.us/dss)
If in doubt about whether or not a situation is serious enough to report,
call the licensing specialist with the information. County social service
offices will respect your privacy, and they appreciate the opportunity
to address parent complaints and concerns. You will not only be looking
out for your own child, but all of the children in the child care setting.
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