Children's AgesChild-to-Staff RatioMaximum Group Size Birth-12 mos. 3:1 6 13-24 mos. 3:1 6 25-30 mos. 4:1 8 1-35 mos. 5:1 10 3 years old 7:1 14 4 years old 8:1 16 5 years old 8:1 16 6-8 years old 10:1 20 9-12 years old 12:1 24 (The two oldest groups typically apply to facilities providing before- or after-school care.)

Find out, too, about the staff's experience and qualifications—as well as the rate of turnover. Day care jobs are generally low paying, and some centers have high turnover rates. Try to find one with a stable staff, because changing caregivers is upsetting to a young child.

Features to look for

Safety Savvy

All centers must meet minimum standards for licensing, but some exceed them. One sign of quality is a center that has voluntarily sought and earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the nation's largest organization for early childhood professionals. For a list of accredited centers in your area, visit NAEYC's Web site at www.nayec.org, or call 800-424-2460, ext. 601.

A Safety Checklist

When you tour a center, notice whether it has the kinds of safety features that you read about in Safety in the Nursery, Child-Proofing the Bathroom, Child-Proofing the Living Room/Family Room, and Child-Proofing the Kitchen.

Some important features to look for include:

Notice whether the toys are age-appropriate, clean, and in good condition. Make sure there are no small toys or parts that could choke children.

If your child is an infant, see if babies are put to sleep on their backs, and if the cribs with napping babies are free of soft bedding and toys. Check whether highchairs and infant seats have safety straps and that they are used consistently. Infants should be fed while sitting up.

Centers should have written policies regarding discipline. Ask to see a copy, and discuss with the director any questions you have.

Watch Out!

Some day care centers in cities don't have room for play equipment, so they use public playgrounds nearby. It's quite likely that some of this equipment is too big for pre-schoolers. Visit the playground when the day care center kids are there so you can see how well the caregivers restrict them to age-appropriate play structures. Also check the condition of the equipment and surfaces underneath.

Playgrounds

A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that about half the injuries occurring in day care centers happen on the playground. Give this area close scrutiny, noticing especially whether there is cushioning material under the equipment (such as wood chips or mulch, sand, or a rubberized surface). Falls, most often from climbing equipment, are by far the most common cause of injury.

Notice whether the play equipment is well maintained and is appropriate for the age groups using it. Also notice whether the playground is free of broken glass, loose rocks, and poisonous plants. If there is a sandbox, it should be kept covered when not in use to prevent animals from turning it into a litter box.

As you observe children on the playground, notice whether the center has rules for playing safely and if the rules are enforced consistently. A child who shoves others can cause serious harm to his classmates if left unchecked.

Ideally, the playground should have some shade in the summer. Even so, you should put sunscreen on your children or send in hats and other protective clothing.

Mealtimes, emergencies, field trips, references

Watch Out!

To prevent the spread of germs, caregivers should wash their hands before and after serving meals and should have the kids wash, too. The caregivers also should wash their hands every time they change a diaper or help a child go to the toilet.

Happy Mealtime

When you visit a center to check it out, join the kids for lunch. Notice whether the caregivers make sure the kids don't eat hard, round foods (refer to the list in Choking Hazards). Babies and toddlers should have food cut in small pieces. Also, a caregiver should always be with the children while they're eating in case a child chokes. Ask if all the caregivers have been trained to administer first aid to a child whose airway is blocked.

Check out the food preparation area for cleanliness. Also look at how food is handled. For example, perishables such as meat, poultry, milk, and eggs should be kept refrigerated until just before they're used.

In an Emergency

Is there a written policy manual for handling emergencies at the center? There should be, and all staff members should be familiar with it. See that it includes procedures for handling a medical emergency as well as phone numbers for fire, police, ambulance, and the nearest hospital. There also should be a well-stocked emergency kit.

Find out if the caregivers have been trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and pediatric first aid. Adult first aid is not an adequate substitute because, for example, the procedure for handling a choking baby is different from that used for treating an adult. Also ask about the center's fire evacuation plan and how often drills are conducted. Is syrup of ipecac available in case of poison ingestion? And is the poison control center number posted by the telephone?

On the Road

If the center takes children on field trips, ask about safety provisions, especially for transportation. You'll want to make sure that every child is restrained in a safety seat approved for his age and weight and that the staff takes an emergency first-aid kit with them.

Safety Savvy

For a double-check of what centers should be doing to protect children's health and safety, visit the Web site of the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care. It's got detailed guidelines for writing child-care regulations, which are used mostly by state licensing agencies but which can be helpful to you, too. Look for “Stepping Stones” on the Web at http://nrc.uschsc.edu.

Checking References

Don't rely solely on your observations. Ask the center director for the names and phone numbers of a few parents who use the center. When you call them, understand that they may be inclined to paint a totally rosy picture and not be forthcoming with complaints about the facility. After all, they've put their own child there. The best way to elicit an honest appraisal is to ask open-ended questions, especially what they like best about the center and what they like least. The latter is likely to surface any nagging concerns they may have. These may be minor and have nothing to do with safety, but the responses will give you a fuller view of the facility.

If you like what you see and hear, and decide to enroll your child, your assessment job doesn't end there. You have to keep monitoring the quality and the safety of the care.


Previous:

Next:

Day Care

Finding a Safe Day Care Center

Staff-to-child ratios

Finding a Safe Day Care Center

Many parents assume that, because states license day care centers, these facilities are safe and don't need parental scrutiny. Wrong!

Requirements vary from state to state. Some state codes are more stringent than others, and there are safety measures that aren't addressed by codes at all. Carbon monoxide (CO) detectors, for example, are recommended for all homes—and should certainly be in all day care centers—but most states don't require them in centers.

Tales from the Safety Zone

Some parents spend more time choosing a car than selecting a day care center. The Child Care Connection, a resource and referral agency in Montgomery County, Maryland, conducted a survey of childcare providers—both family day care and day care centers—and reported that 75 percent of parents spent less than an hour observing a program before enrolling their children. More than 11 percent signed up their children without even visiting the program first!

Enforcement varies, and inspections may be spotty. Even if a center passed its last inspection, that's no assurance that it's still in compliance. That could have been two years ago! All these are reasons you should check out for yourself the center's safety features before leaving your little one there. After you've enrolled your child, stay alert to how well safety measures are followed, and don't hesitate to speak to the director if you suspect they aren't.

A thorough evaluation of a day care center takes time. Plan to make at least two visits at different times of the day. That way you'll see how well the children are supervised during class time, mealtime, and outdoor play.

If all this seems like an enormous time commitment, think of it this way: If you invest the time upfront to find the right place, you'll be less likely to have to go through the whole process again because you made a mistake the first time!

How Many Kids Is Too Many?

Staff-to-child ratios are an important safety consideration. If a caregiver has too many to look after, the risk of injury is increased. The size of the group in a room is also important. Too many kids in one area creates more noise and chaos, making supervision more difficult.

Every group of children in a center should have at least two caregivers. The national health and safety performance standards published jointly by the American Public Health Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics provides these guidelines for desirable child-to-staff ratios:

How Many Caregivers Are Enough?