Sunday, December 20, 2015

How Can You Know That A Child Care Centre Is Good Or Bad For Your Child?

Every parent should be particularly cautious when selecting the right day care facility. As much as these centres have the potential of providing immense benefits to your children, selecting the wrong centre could cause harm to your child that would last for a long time.

The negative impact of a bad day care centre is highlighted in a study carried out at the University of Minnesota. In this study, it was revealed that bad care practises such as intrusiveness of care providers and over-controlling behaviours, led to elevated cortisol levels (a stress hormone) in about 40 percent of the affected kids.

From such findings, you can clearly see why free play is so important for young kids. Hence, when evaluating the right facility for your child, you must check whether they have ample opportunities for free play. It would definitely be a plus if the centre has both indoor and outdoor setups.

Perhaps, if you have already enrolled your chid in a facility and you still doubt how well they are caring for your child, you can check on certain signs which will help you figure out if anything is amiss. The University of Minnesota study revealed that young girls in poorly run centres exhibited an anxious and vigilant behaviour. On the other hand, young boys became aggressive and angry. Hence, if you see such signs, you should definitely check in on the centre just to see how things are being run.

The necessity to take action as soon as possible cannot be overstated, considering the fact that the adverse effects on your child may last for a long time, even up to his/ her teenage years. This is an issue that was highlighted in a study published in the Child Development Journal, whereby children went on to exhibit impulsive behaviour and risk-taking at 15 years of age. This was related to the fact that the particular group of teens had spent much longer hours in day care, something that didn't occur with children who spent fewer hours in day care.

A good facility for your child would always exhibit a supportive environment with all care providers showing affection and warmth to the kids. This is necessary in building up the emotional and psychological growth of young kids. This would be complemented by an environment that provides sufficient cognitive stimulation.

A Child Care Centre Is Just As Good For Moms As It Is For Kids

If you thought your job was tough, try raising a child. Well, perhaps you already knew that. But scientists went even further to actually prove this.

In a 2012 Gallup poll, it was revealed that stay-at-home mothers who weren't employed experienced far more depression than both employed mothers and employed women without children. Actually, the unemployed mothers fared worse than the other two groups in literally all emotional measures, including anger, stress, sadness and worry.

So What Does This Have To Do With Child Care?

Well, if you do have the opportunity to go back to work and your child can join a day care facility, it would definitely be a God-send opportunity that would benefit both you and your child. Just makes sure that you enrol your child only in a well-organized facility run by well-trained personnel.


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If you want a centre that will adequately prepare your child for a smooth transition to the 'big school', visit http://www.madchildcare.com.au/centres/beacon-hill/centre-page/ the right place for your child. This centre is located within Beacon Hill Public School grounds, sharing regular activities together.

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Child Care - Developmental Needs Of A Child

Child care services are gaining more importance since they are more in demand today than ever before. The pressures of life are pushing families to seek the services of child care centers. Some parents have to work, others have decided to go back to school, and others have other activities they need to attend to. It is for this reason that centers offering quality services in child care have come up. All you need to do is take your time to identify a center that will cater to your needs.

Childhood programs

Most childhood programs are mainly focused on both care and education. The educational component was added to child care programs due to many studies that were conducted. The studies found that the early experiences of children have a great impact on how they develop and even on their future academic success. A center that is offering quality in child care should have programs that include activities and materials that take care of the cognitive, social/emotional and physical developmental needs of the child.

Physical development

The best indicator of physical development in a child is the growth of the child. A healthy and nutritious diet is important for the growth of the child, while genetic factors also have a role to play. Motor skills are physical actions that are learned by a child to produce movements that are well organized and coordinated. Gross motor skills are larger and include walking, running, crawling and rolling. Fine motor skills include hand and eye coordination, drawing and coloring. The care center you select should have activities that will develop the motor skills of your child, as well as providing a healthy diet.

Cognitive development

The cognitive development of the child has to do with the development of language skills and the ability to evaluate a situation and determine action. The child is able to recall past experiences and can retain information and make comparisons. A small percentage of cognitive skills come from within the child; however, most of the cognitive skills have to be learned.

Cognitive development should take place naturally and in a healthy environment. If this does not happen, a child will develop a shortfall in cognitive skills which are difficult to correct at a later stage. A quality child care center will have a program that encourages experimenting, discovering, listening and speaking skills.

Social/emotional development

Caregivers have a good opportunity to enhance the healthy social/emotional development of your child. Positive social experiences in early childhood result in emotional maturity in later stages of the child's life. A child may forget their childhood experiences; however, these experiences still play a big role in influencing the child's emotions, personality and social/emotional health as she continues to mature.

Care centers should ensure that children work in groups that are not too large so they can interact comfortably with their peers. They should help the child in developing decision making skills, and provide an environment that allows them to grow and learn.

Decision

It is important to select a center that addresses all the developmental needs of your child in order to give them the best start in life and prospects for academic and social success in the future.


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Carolyn Leis is fully dedicated to helping children prosper in every area of development. She offers the best care in Making a Difference chidcare centres. Whenever you visit MAD child care centres you're sure to be impressed by how well children are taken care of. To learn more about Making a Difference Child Care in Frenchs Forest, please visit http://www.madchildcare.com.au/centres/frenchs-forest/centre-page/ .

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Child Care - What You Need To Know

It is a great joy for a parent to watch a child grow from infancy to a level where they can communicate verbally and are actively involved in different activities. The proper development of your child does not happen by accident, but it is the result of the environment in which the child is growing.

If you have to take your child to a child care center, it is important to ensure that the center's environment will encourage his or her personal development. You should ensure that your child will get the level of attention and care that they need to develop skills that will be used throughout their lifetime.

Early learning

Learning has been known to be most effective when it starts when a child is young, and it should continue into adulthood. Care and education for your child can be offered at a child care center. Early learning should have the loving, nurturing aspect but should not leave out learning experiences that will promote your child's physical, cognitive and social/emotional development.

Child development

The physical development of your child has to do with the child's growth and the development of motor skills. A child's proper growth can be enhanced through a healthy and nutritious diet. Motor skills involve the proper coordination of movements by the child. These can be developed through activities like drawing, coloring and sufficient play time. Cognitive development involves language skills and problem solving skills; the child care center should have activities that encourage your child to experiment and discover. The child should also have sufficient time to practice their listening and reading skills.

Social/emotional development is where your child is able to relate with familiar adults and peers in an appropriate way. Your child should be able to interact with peers in a group and should be able to express themselves well without causing any harm to objects, themselves or others. A child care center should provide a healthy and favorable environment for your child to enhance his social/ emotional skills. These early experiences will go a long way in shaping his personality and emotions throughout his lifetime.

Selecting a center

Finding a child care center that is suitable for your needs can be a challenging affair. It is therefore important to start hunting for a care center early enough so you will have time to make an informed decision. One of the best places to start is by asking your family and friends to recommend child care centers that they have used and were happy with. You can also get a list of child care centers that will be suitable for you from child care experts in your area.

Center details

You need to visit potential centers and find out the adult to child ratio. The less the children per adult, the more attention your child is likely to get. You also need to find out the qualifications of the caregivers, who should have specialized training in child care. In addition, find out whether the center offers lesson plans so you can know what your child will be up to the whole day. A lack of structure may be detrimental to your child's development.


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Proper child care services will have a positive effect on your child that will last a lifetime. Please visit http://www.madchildcare.com.au/centres/frenchs-forest/centre-page/ to learn more about a center that offers the best child care in Frenchs Forest.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Academic Excellence Isn't The Only Benefit Of Child Care

Modern society tends to place greater emphasis on academic and financial excellence, with less concern on social and personal development. In fact, from such a perspective, you would assume that academic and financial excellence would easily make up for any deficiency in social and personal development. However, this is not the kind of lop-sided perspective that you would find in a professional child care facility.

Such a well-organized facility would always have a balanced emphasis on all aspects that are pivotal in all-round development of young children. Indeed, proven research has clearly shown the indisputable link between emotional development and financial/ professional success. This is clearly seen from a study by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) that shows just how powerful this aspect of emotional development is, to the extent of being even more valuable than IQ and experience.

As you can clearly see, an early learning centre must provide a conducive environment for all-round development of all kids. This means that ample opportunities must be created for children to socialize and build their personal and social skills, apart from receiving well-organized academic training.

Don't Feel Guilty About Taking Your Child To Daycare

For working families, early learning facilities would offer a much-needed service. It would definitely be a challenge for both parents to remain committed to their jobs while taking care of their kids.

Moreover, such child-minding facilities are so well-organized that your kids would derive even more benefits from them as compared to what you might be able to offer within your own home. The exposure to a social environment, combined with educational guidance by professionally trained personnel will ensure that your child gets the best start in life.

Considering all these benefits, you shouldn't feel guilty as a parent having to take your child to such a facility. You might feel that you have failed your child in some way by not being the one to guide your child in his/ her early years; however, you should realize that the trained professionals may offer your child much more than you are capable of. Hence, instead of being a sign of failure, it would be the best thing to do for your kid.

Daycare Is Super-Flexible

Just because you've decided to place your child in the care of someone else, doesn't mean that you wouldn't have any way of influencing exactly how your child is treated or the experiences he/ she goes through. On the contrary, there are a whole host of things that you can do to ensure that your son or daughter gets exactly the kind of care you want him/ her to get.

If you don't really want your child to spend whole days in daycare, you can actually look out for facilities that offer flexibility in the hours children spend under their care. Perhaps, you just need your child to be there only in the afternoon or morning hours, or you might not want it to be a daily arrangement. This might be the case if you normally have your child under your care, but would need a bit of help once-in-a-while if you happen to get some appointment.


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Making a Difference Child Care, Northern Beaches is fully dedicated to the well-being of your child. We believe that every child is unique and special; hence, we ensure that our learning environment fosters development of your child's special abilities. Contact us at http://www.madchildcare.com.au to learn more about our services.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Day Care Center - Nurturing And Educating Your Child

A day care center is a place where you can take your children to be watched while you go to work, school, or attend to other activities. You may need a center where you can drop off your children early in the morning and pick them in the evening, or you may just need the day care services for a few hours per day. It may even be that you only need the day care center occasionally when you have something you need to attend to. Whatever your needs are, the day care center you choose should provide you with quality care for your children.

Early Education

It has been established that early childhood education should have a loving and nurturing component, together with learning experiences which enhance your child's physical, cognitive and social-emotional development. Quality early education for your child will be determined by the caregivers, the quality of the program offered to the children, and the teaching approaches used.

Quality Of Caregivers

Caregivers should be well qualified and should have specialized training in child care. They should also be creative and nurturing in order to accommodate the individual needs of the children. It is important for you to find out the adult to child ratio at the day care center. A small adult to child ratio is preferred since your child will be able to get sufficient attention.

The turnover ratio of caregivers should be low since a high turnover may mean that the caregivers are not well compensated or they may not be working in a positive environment. It is important that your child has the same caregiver for at least a year since children take time to adjust to new caregivers, which slows down their learning process.

Teaching Approaches

The teaching approach that is offered in a quality day care center should provide a curriculum that has learning goals for the children that are specific. The curriculum should also include aspects from current research on early childhood education that may be relevant to the children. Planned activities for the children and the materials used should promote the development of the children.

The physical development has to do with the growth of the child and the development of motor skills. Cognitive development is the development of problem solving skills and language skills while social-emotional development is the ability of the child to interact appropriately with others. A quality day care center should have a program that enhances all the development aspects.

Selecting A Center

A good place to start when you want to identify a good day care center is to talk to your family and friends who can recommend to you centers that they have previously used. You can also get a list of quality day care centers from child care experts in your area. You will then need to do a background check of the potential centers to identify one that will cater for your needs.

A good day care should have structure and you can request to see the lesson plans for the children. You can also find out the level of education of caregivers and if you will be allowed to drop in anytime to check on your little one.


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Carolyn Leis and her team of early childhood educators will guide your child in developing all his/her intellectual, social and cognitive skills. To get in touch with a day care center in Narraweena that offers the very best in child care, please visit http://www.madchildcare.com.au/centres/narraweena/centre-page/ .