Choosing a Child Care

Selecting a child care centre is a difficult task that a lot of parents and carers end up facing at one stage or another. The decision to leave your child with complete strangers, qualified or not, is not one that a lot of parents take lightly. Unless of course you are like me, and are desperate for a day of sanity and peace with little concern given that these carer's are often very qualified. However, I was blessed with the good fortune of an easy going personality and previous experience working in child care - so I didn't have as much anxiety as a lot of parents would. Having been on both sides of the fence - both a parent and an educator - I think I have a solid foundation on being able to provide advice on selecting a child care centre.

My first tip would be this: do not be fooled by the shiny features. As the competition increases in the Australian child care sector, with more first time owners and large companies continuing to build centres in answer to the rising demand from parents - these services are forever becoming more and more sleek. Gone are the days of brightly coloured walls and posters filling a centre - now we have plain whites, creams, browns and soft greens. No more are the brightly covered plastic planes, cars and trains we used to zoom around preschool with. Instead we have polished but loose bits of wood, yarn and plain blocks in the name of 'open ended but environmentally responsible play'. Now I take no issue with being environmentally friendly, it is important as a society in general to reduce waste. No, my point is do not discredit a service that still has faded bright pink walls and second hand plastic toys. Often these centres may luck the funding that larger brands are blessed with. The toys and furniture at these shiny centres may be expensive and give a boutique feel - but this may not be something your child is overly engaged with.

Now onto a point that can be a sore spot for some parents: things get lost. Yes, even if you iron on a label you bought from Stuck on You or Hippo Blue - shit gets lost. Why does shit get lost? Because your beautiful babies will sometimes go rooting through the lockers - not just their own bag but their friends as well. You think you're the only parent with the new Bluey bag from Big W? Negative - we have several other identical ones, and while educators know to look for name tags - unfortunately even Kindy children do not. So just be prepared to only send items to preschool and day care that are expendable. And this doubly includes when messy play is scheduled. Most children will love water play or messy play - so prepare for this as much as you can with extra t-shirts from Kmart thrown into the bag.

What I think is most important when looking at a potential child care centre - even family day care - how do the educators look? Children and educators alike have bad days, and that small toddler screeching and throwing toys in a corner may be teething, and the tired educator who is glued to their side may be trying to prevent a third bite for the day. But do the educators seem happy? How well do they interact with the children? Do they get on their level when they speak to them? Do they kneel down if the child is upset, and cuddle them when needed? Trust your gut, and try to feel the vibe in the centre. If the educators seem stressed and unhappy, then likely this will unintentionally rub off on the children. This is absolutely not a criticism of educators, as the job is demanding, exhausting and sometimes without thanks.

Be prepared for things to be missed, for mistakes to happen, and for accidents to occur. No centre and no person is perfect - including us as parents. Be understanding, and try not to assume the worst in all scenarios (advice we could all apply to life). But when looking at potential child care options, let your child engage and then see what vibe you get from the atmosphere. Shiny toys, pristine buildings and decked out resources do not guarantee a perfect service - the dedication and wellbeing of your educators do.