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Child Care Guide

You may be concerned about the level of attention your child receives during their stay at a day care center, especially if the center is a popular one running at full capacity. Your child could also be very quiet and not one to push forward which can often be a problem especially if the center has three or four particularly boisterous children. So how do you know your child won’t get left out and miss out on activities?

What you can do to help your child

Before your child attends child day care sit down and talk with your child, explain where they are going and who will be taking care of them and make sure that they understand that they can take part in any activities they want and play with any toys they want just as they would at home.

Explain to them that they will be around other children of the same age and encourage them to make friends, talk with your child about sharing and playing with other children make it sound exciting.

Take your child to the day care center before they are due to start and spend the day there together this way you can see first hand the centers routine and the various activities they provide for children.

Walk around the center with your child and point out various areas within the center such as the reading corner, explain to your child that this is where stories will be read and that they can pick books from the shelf to look at.

Most day care centers have an area for water play; this is usually a large shallow sink where children can play together with toys such as water wheels and funnels and is usually a very popular activity. Encourage your child to put on an apron and roll up their sleeves and join in the fun.

Day care centers will usually have tables set out with various activities such as crafts; building blocks and colouring take your child to each table and show them what the center has to offer explaining that they can take part in each of these activities during their stay.

Encourage your child to make something for you. Talk with the head carer and find out if they have set times for activities and if the child has to take part or can they do something else if they prefer.

What the day care center can do to help you and your child

If your child is not very good at mixing with other children or is a very quiet child then make sure that the staff know this beforehand, a lot of children who are quiet will often come out of their shell while in child care once they have settled down and have got used to being with other children.

Staff will watch a child who isn’t mixing and is reluctant to join in activities often pairing them with a child of similar nature, they will quite often take a child and encourage them to try something different from the usual activity, or activities will be on a scheduled basis, for example 15 minutes at the water activity then moving on to others.

All children should be encouraged to take part in various activities throughout the day and will also be taught the value of sharing with others.

What can I do if I think my child is left out?

Talk with your child about their day at the center; ask them what they did during the day, what they played with. Ask them what the story was about and what they painted or made. If you suspect that your child is missing out on activities then talk it over with your child’s carer, usually children are given the same carer and it is the carer’s job to ensure your child takes an active part in all activities.

Express your concerns that your child might be missing out on activities, quite often young children forget what they have taken part in during the day and this could be the case with your child. If you have any concerns and are not happy then ask if you can sit in on one or two sessions to observe your child during the day and encourage them to move from activity to activity while you’re there.