Parenting: Child Care

Finding the right childcare for our children is an important and often difficult task. What is right for my child? What do I need to know in selecting childcare? What are my choices? These are only a few of the questions that the following articles address.

Our rating system for these Parenting articles is:

• - Best, in depth and most helpful overall
• - Very Good, but more specific in focus
• - Good reference material

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	Are The Children Home Alone? Would you like a checklist of questions to ask and steps to do to ensure the safety and well being of your child who must be home alone? Then this helpful article is for you!
	Child Care Safety Checklist for Parents and Child Care Providers U.S. Consumer Protection Agency (CPSC) reports have shown that many children have been injured in child care settings. Here's a good checklist to help you to evaluate the safety of a child care situation.
	Emergency Illness And Injury Procedures When parents enroll their child, they should provide child care provider with the contact information and consent that they will need if there is an emergency involving that child. A sample "Child Care Emergency Contact Information and Consent Form" is included in this section, along with first aid measures one should take under different situations.
	Emergency Illness And Injury Procedures When parents enroll their child, they should provide child care provider with the contact information and consent that they will need if there is an emergency involving that child. A sample "Child Care Emergency Contact Information and Consent Form" is included in this section, along with first aid measures one should take under different situations.
	Helpful Information for You and Your Baby Sitter Contains a checklist for parents, and a form for parents to complete and give to their babysitter.
	Nutrition and Foods Brought from Home - The ABCs of Safe and Healthy Child Care Parents and childcare providers must know the proper food safety, nutrition and food handling guidlelines. This will ensure that children in a childcare enviroment will have safe food and will receive proper nutrition.
	Selecting a Child Care Facility With a Safe Playground There are many options to choose from when selecting child care. There is a lot that goes into the decision, yet one thing that can get overlooked is ensuring the playground area is made as safe as possible. This article offers parents helpful information regarding playground safety when parents are selecting child care facilities.
	The Super Sitter In this guide written for use by your baby sitter, you'll find a wealth of information, checklists and safety tips. It was prepared by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and is a must have article for all parents. If your sitter doesn't already have this article, give it to him or her.
	Escherichia (E.) coli In The Child Care Setting Escherichia (E.) coli bacteria are found in the digestive tracts of most humans and many animals. Usually, these infections are harmless and may even be beneficial. Not all E. coli are alike and, in a few cases, illness may result from infection with particular strains. One strain, E. coli O157:H7, causes one of the most serious digestive tract infections in the United States.
	High-quality child care: Luxury option or standard equipment? To ensure all children receive the kind of care and education they need to thrive, early childhood programs and centers must fully meet criteria of high quality. The author reminds us that 'option packages' do not exist when it comes to a high-quality early childhood education.
	Tracking Down Quality Child Care Can Be Time Consuming and Expensive In this informative article from The Bradenton Herald, you'll learn about finding quality child care. It includes a good list of helpful tips.
	When babies and toddlers are in child care, accreditation is a key to quality New research on brain development underscores the importance of the first few years of life for children's development and learning. New studies also confirm that when very young children are in child care, quality matters. With roughly half of all children younger than age 3 regularly participating in non-parental care arrangements, the quality of these settings is even more critical.
	Approaches to School-Age Child Care School-age child care includes almost any program that regularly enrolls children from kindergarten through early adolescence during the times when schools are traditionally closed. This includes programs operated by schools, family day care providers, recreation centers, youth-serving organizations, and child care centers. Ultimately, good school-age child care must be understood as both a mediating influence that may prevent damage to children, and as an investment in the well-being of children and their families.
	How does infant and toddler care measure up? The Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers Study measured the details of quality of early childhood programs around the country. The study's results helps practitioners take an objective look at how well they are meeting the needs of the children in their care. Here are their findings related to infant and toddler programs.
	Illnesses and Child Care Illness, young children, and child care are facts of life. Young children get sick more frequently than adults because their immune systems can not fight disease as well. Considering the large number of children in child care, both parents and child care providers must learn to recognize whether children should attend child care, or stay at home.
	Infant Child Care Close to half of all mothers of children under one year of age are now working outside of their homes. Their children are cared for by relatives, by in-home caregivers, and in family day care homes and centers. This has raised many issues about the effect of such care on the long term development of these children. This research article addresses these issues and provides a list of additional references for future reading.
	Infant Day Care: The Critical Issues Parents often agonize over the decision about care for their infants. This article discusses the development of attachment (between mother and child), the effects of early separations, parent characteristics and family circumstances that may contribute to insecurity, and the potential benefits of secure attachment to a caregiver. It also discusses infant care quality and the debate on infant attachment.
	What Is a Quality Preschool Program? Increased numbers of working mothers of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds have created a need for preschools for today's young children and are concerned about the quality of these preschools. As a result, parents are searching for guidelines for selecting a good program for their children. This article contains answers to commonly asked questions.
	Girl Scouts Offers After-School Activity Tips Children's involvement in after-school activities increases the quality of life for those children, and parents can "team up" with their children to choose activities that help children grow, while having a good time. Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. offers parents these tips in helping children choose safe after-school activities wisely.
	Ready or not...Preparing young children for the classroom Just when you've settled into the routine of the school year, it's time to think ahead to next year. With many preschools and kindergartens now taking applications for next fall, parents may find themselves asking: Will my child be ready? Will he measure up?
	An Important Bond: Your Child and Caregiver Have you ever seen a child cling to a caregiver when his parents arrive to pick him up at a child care center? How about a child who greets her parents happily then returns to her activity, in no rush to go home? While such close attachments to caregivers and child care settings may make some parents initially uneasy, these bonds are an important part of children's development and learning. Working together, parents and caregivers can ensure that children see their educational settings as safe places where adults other than their parents support and care for them.
	Child Care Consumer Education on the Internet Child care consumer education provides helps parents choose the best possible care for their children. This article will help parents use the Internet to access an enormous amount of useful information.
	Johnson & Johnson Introduces Pediatric Institute to Help Translate New Science about Babiess Johnson & Johnson today formalized its century-long commitment to parents and healthcare providers with the introduction of the Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute. The Institute is a new resource established to work inpartnership with pediatric leaders worldwide to develop and deliver a wide range of programs to help healthcare professionals and parents improve the quality of care for infants and children.
	National Child Care Association Urges Parents to Carefully Screen and Select Child Care Ask working parents to name the most important decision they've made about their child's welfare, and one answer will surface time and again: Choosing a quality child care provider. Licensed child care providers are working to ensure parents are asking the right questions -- and using the right criteria -- to select quality care for their children.
	First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton Joins CPSC to Release Child Care Safety Checklist First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton joined U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Ann Brown today to kick off a national campaign to alert parents and caregivers to safety hazards in child care settings.
	Go Back to Work and Continue to Breastfeed? Yes, You Can! If you are getting ready to return to work shortly after the birth of your baby, you might be concerned about how to continue to breastfeed. Don't worry. With some advance planning, it is possible to successfully combine work and breastfeeding.
	Look Beyond the Obvious for Telltale Signs of Child Abuse The eyes may be the window to the soul, but the face offers the most telling glimpse behind the closed doors of child abuse. In a comprehensive study of 371 children who were suspected of being abused, injuries to the head and face accounted for 28% of 892 soft-tissue injuries.