Daycare, What Every Parent Should Know

    * Daycare plays a major role in your child's emotional, intellectual, and physical growth. Poor care can stunt your child's ability to do well in school.
    * Low standards of hygiene and safety in a poor child care setting can lead to injury and illness in children.
    * Many child care settings are unregulated. Even where regulations exist, they may not be enforced enough to ensure quality.
    * Inadequate care causes parental stress. As a result work performance suffers.
    * Poor arrangements often fall apart, resulting in absenteeism or tardiness at work, irritating some employers.

Quality Child Care

Quality daycare promotes a child's full development through:

    * a happy and safe environment;
    * opportunities for active and learning play;
    * nutritious food.

Quality daycare helps children develop:

    * confidence;
    * creativity;
    * coordination;
    * problem solving skills;
    * and healthy relationships with others.

Most of all, quality daycare has caregivers who relate well to children and care about their well-being.

Locating the 'right' child care setting takes time, effort and careful planning on the part of the parent.