More than 80% of young kids in this country are in some sort of day care arrangements or another. This number is quite similar in a majority of other countries. Normally, kids are placed in daycare centers because both parents are working, meaning that they are unable to take care of their kids themselves during specific times of the day.
However, parents are highly recommended to opt for professionally run daycare facilities for the safety of their kids. That being said, enrolling your kids in a good day care promotes positive development since they are in an environment that best suits them. Since parents have hundreds of questions to ask in regard to what constitute the best day care in Vaughan, it is only in order to identify some of the common assumptions and the effects they have on their young kids.
Children enrolled in day care perform better than those cared for at home
This is quite untrue according to a study done by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. According to this study, children cared for majorly at home do not develop any differently from those that are cared for at day care centers. So we can comfortably say that kids who attend day care have the same outcomes as those that are cared for at home by their parents or family members. Whether a child attends day care or does not, it is the parents that have the most impact on his or her development according to the same study.
Day care centers are better for kid’s development compared to home based care settings
There is both some truth and falseness in this assumption. Children that are cared for at day care centers have somewhat better language and cognitive development. Moreover, they have better pre-academic skills involving numbers and letters than home-based kids. They also have fewer behavior issues at ages two and three compared to their counterparts that are cared for at home.
It does not matter which day care center a kid goes to since they are all equal
This is quite untrue. Although most of the day care centers do provide a warm and supportive environment that protects the kid’s safety and health, a number of them are not able to offer this. However, there is evidence that some day care centers are quite inclusive in the kind of services they offer, meaning they welcome and accommodate kids with special needs. So choosing the right kind of a day care center is something of a paramount importance. High quality day care centers largely provide positive caregiving, which means that teachers or caregivers:
• Ask questions
• Discourage negative interactions
• Encourage and advance the kid’s behavior
• Read books and sing songs
• Quickly respond to the kid’s vocalizations
• Show a positive attitude
• Have a positive physical contact with the kids
All in all, parents should never assume that all day care centers offer high quality services but should look for those that offer what is referred to as positive caregiving.
Licensed or regulated day care centers offer better quality child care services
This assumption is quite true as day care centers that are regulated are able to meet the set standards of care. These kinds of centers have been able to meet the minimum standards that have been outlined by the government. Regulated day care centers are the ones that have met factors such as child care provider’s training, group size and adult-to-child ratio.
Kids who attend high quality day care centers have better learning developments
This is actually true. Children in better and high quality day care centers are able to demonstrate better school readiness and cognitive, social and language development. That’s it is important to choose a high quality day care center than just choosing a center because of its proximity to your home.