Tuesday, February 11, 2020
What’s the cost of full-time daycare and what to look for?
2000 Days Pre-Kindergarten
5728 1 St SW, Calgary, AB T2H 0E2
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For working parents, daycare centers are the basic need. With more people into jobs and businesses, daycares have understood that their services are more of a need than a luxury now. Daycare centers are the most reliable option as no nanny is going to take days off, no matter what the reason. Also, daycare comes as a better choice because your child can explore a variety of opportunities than what he can do at home.
He can paint, play, interact, and learn a lot of skills. Another benefit is the sense of satisfaction you achieve. You know that your child is in safer hands. He is on a positive path of personality development. But there’s one thing that might make you give a second thought to send your child for fulltime daycare. Yes, the cost of fulltime daycare!
What’s the cost of fulltime daycare for my child?
The simple answer is, 'it varies.'
Daycare for babies and toddlers costs more than daycare for older kids. This is because younger babies need fulltime supervision and require an on-duty childcare provider in the room all the time. At times, there is more than one.
According to the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), the average cost of full-time daycare in the United States is $972 a month. According to the area, it might range from $300 to $1200 a month. However, some states have higher daycare costs, while others offer more affordable daycare.
Some of the most expensive daycare states include New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Colorado, California, and Illinois.
The services you require for your child also contribute towards the cost. The level at which a private daycare is operating is also an important factor.
However, you need not send your child to daycare every day a week. If you have the weekend off from work, it can make a significant difference to what you pay for daycare at the end of a month (or start, as per the policy requirements).
Factors behind the cost of fulltime daycare
So when calculating the cost of fulltime daycare for your child, you need to look into different factors. Only then, you can calculate the average cost and determine if that's affordable. Following are some factors that count in:
1. Location
Again, the very first thing is the location. If you live in one of the six expensive states mentioned above, prepare yourself for paying higher childcare costs. But if that's not the case, you can search for different daycare centers in your area and compare the average costs.
2. Food provided
Some daycare centers offer food to your children two to three times a day. Others require parents to send a lunch box with their child. If the daycare center offers food service, it is obviously going to add to the cost. See if you can opt-out of that option.
3. Extracurricular activities
Daycare centers that provide extracurricular activities such as art, sports, gymnastics, karate, language learning, etc. charge an extra fee. So if you want your kid to have a great time at daycare, going for a daycare that offers extracurricular activities is a good option.
4. Educational programs
While some daycares offer extracurricular activities, others follow a full-fledged educational program for toddlers. Accordingly, the cost varies.
5. Health and medical facilities
Basic health and medical facilities such as first aid or high-end medical facilities, if unfortunately your child had an accident and requires emergency medical assistance, come with a cost. So if a daycare provides such services, it is definitely going to add that to monthly costs.
6. Transportation
If you cannot pick and drop your child, you need to go to a transportation facility. Daycares often offer bussing service to pick and drop toddlers safely.
7. Luxury factor
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Another important thing that counts is the luxury level you need for your child. Elite families often go for a complete daycare institution with furbished walls and furniture, high-end facilities, and so. However, if you are an average earning parent, going for an average daycare is good enough for your child.
What to look for?
When you are choosing a fulltime daycare for your child, you need to look into several things. The cost is not the only important factor. If you have to send your child to daycare, be satisfied with daycare philosophy, environment, staff, facilities, etc. All of this will eventually contribute to the personality development of your kid.
So, some significant things to look into are:
The core theme and the idea of daycare
Some daycares just offer care and protection for your child, while others have a unique core theme. For some, it's faith-based growth. But mostly, it's skill development or education-based learning.
Before sending your child to daycare, you must have thought what a daycare means to you. Also, what you want daycare to do for your child. So when looking for a daycare, see if the major service goes with the cost you are going to pay, rightly.
Environment
The environment of a daycare contributes to the cost, but more importantly, it puts an impact on your child, positive or negative. A healthy and positive environment will make your child learn a great deal. The environment takes in the aesthetics of the place, the behavior and attitude of staff, and the people or other kids your child is going to interact with.
If the contrary, your child is growing in a negative environment, which is a bad influence.
Facilities
As facilities decide the cost, make sure you are not compromising on any basic facility just to save yourself a few dollars. Know that food, extracurricular, and medical facilities are very important, especially for toddlers.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to daycare for your child, the cost is definitely something you will have to worry about. Every middle-income parent does. It might be difficult to make a room in the budget for childcare costs. However, calculating the cost based on significant factors can help you greatly.
Friday, February 7, 2020
Does Child Care Make a Difference in Child Development?
Does Child Care Make a Difference in Child Development?
Putting your child in a daycare center can be a highly difficult task and requires a lot of resilience on the part of the parent. However, before you actually go ahead and put your child in daycare, you should know what effect child care has on child development.
It is quite obvious that if you put your child in a daycare center, he or she is likely to spend a few hours there as you probably have to work or run errands during the day and cannot leave your child at home or take him or her along. Spending so many hours at a daycare center will obviously mean that child care will have a significant impact on different aspects of your child's life, and depending on how good, or bad the daycare is, the effects can be of good or bad nature.
Myths about Child Care and Development
Before indulging in how child care affects development, it is important to understand the myths about the effect. The following myths are false and require debunking as they give child care centers a bad reputation:
Anyone Can Care for a Child
Many people believe that caring for a child is the easiest thing in the world because there are only a few things that they need (food, sleep, and someone to clean up after them). However, this is completely false, and any daycare that exhibits this mantra should not be on your list of top daycares to send your child because this means that they probably hire anyone off the street to work at their center.
Notice how first-time mothers struggle to take care of their child, and this is because it takes training and understanding to take care of a child effectively. Similarly, daycares should hire trained or qualified experts for their staff as this will ensure ease in the care of the multiple children that will stay at the daycare.
Daycares are Better than Home-Based Settings
This is completely false and has been proven in research as well. This is because, in the home setting, parents can control the environment. However, they want. Daycare centers may not provide you with the same amount of control. Also, you may find that many daycare centers do not have similar priorities as you, and that may be another contributing reason to why this myth is false.
However, for home settings where the parent is not in good health or cannot provide the child with the attention and time they need for some reason, daycare centers may be a better option, and they might provide better care than the home-based setting.
The Domains Affected by Child Care
The main developmental domains that child care will affect, including the following:
The Social Domain
The social domain can be greatly affected by child care because the environment provided by a daycare center involves a lot of interaction with other children from many different backgrounds. This can be a positive effect when the daycare ensures complete supervision, and the children are kept busy. In such a case, the child will learn how to interact with their peers appropriately, and he or she may even pick up a few good habits.
However, it can also be negative in cases where the daycare does not provide supervision and leaves the children to roam freely and do whatever they want. In such a case, your child can learn bad habits from others.
The Nutritional Domain
Child care centers generally have a snack or lunch time in their schedule, and if you do not have the time to pack a special lunch for your child, you will have to rely on the food provided by the daycare. If the center provides your child with a variety of options, and he or she gains the needed nutritional exposure required at their age, then your child will be positively affected by child care.
On the other hand, some daycares choose to take the easy route and simply provide junk food or packaged goods that are high in sugar but low in any nutritional value. In such a case, your child will develop bad nutritional habits, and instead of thinking of such foods as an occasional indulgence, they may start craving junk food daily.
The Physical Domain
Child care centers usually schedule a lot of physical exercises and outdoor activities, which allow your child to have a good outlet for all of their energy. Such exposure can allow your child to grow at a better rate as they will be given a chance to play outside, run around, and explore their environment. Such exposure can also have a positive impact on how strong your child's immunity system (and even other biological systems) become as your child will have the chance to play in different places with their hands, walk around, climb, etc.
The Socialization Domain
Child care can have a great impact on the socialization and upbringing of your child because it is likely that your child will learn a lot of things from the daycare. You should find a daycare that has similar values to your own so that it is easier to care for your child. Putting your child in a daycare that has conflicting beliefs would make it difficult for you to handle your child. Such beliefs can range from religion, how to treat others, and how to interact with the environment.
Final Thoughts
Child care can have a significant impact on your child's development, and this is why most parents take a lot of time and put plenty of consideration in their choice of daycare centers. Your child will spend a good chunk of the day in child care, so such effects are completely expected. But make it easier on yourself by finding a daycare that suits your needs, do not simply go for the most expensive or highly reviewed daycare.
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