One of the most stressful and contentious issues parents face is the decision of placing their children in childcare centres or homecare. Adding to the confusion are the numerous findings from multiple research studies about this topic.
The numerous research studies all found that home-based settings work best for infants and toddlers during the first three years of their lives. Fewer behavioural issues, less stress, and less illness are experienced by these very young children in home-based childcare settings.
However, it is not always possible for parents to provide a home-based childcare setting especially when both are working out of the home. Hiring a disinterested nanny or being an impatient parent makes childcare centres a better option for both the child and parents.
Childcare centres offer formal and structured environments for children. They are often large learning centres that provide multiple programs and activities meant to instil social, emotional and literacy skills to very young children.
The advantages provided by a good childcare centre include:
Exposure to peer interaction
It can be a good thing to expose your child to the larger class sizes of childcare centres. Playing with kids of the same age allows your child to learn important social skills such as conscientiousness, making friends, sharing, compromising, and learning from others.
Studies have shown that children often form long-lasting friendships with their peers they get to know in childcare centres. Bonding with peers at an early age plays a significant role in the way children form friendships later in life.
The development of social skills provided by childcare centres is beyond priceless. Learning to share, compromise, and taking turns are skills that encourage children to become better adults.
Well-staffed
Good childcare centres are well-staffed. This ensures their dependability when it comes to taking good care of your child. The numerous caretakers contribute to making a good childcare centre consistent with their planned goals and activities. Parents also benefit from the consistent business hours provided by reputable childcare centres. This allows them peace of mind knowing that their children are in good hands while they are at work.
High-quality childcare centres also hire the best teachers. Most of the staff holds early-childhood education degrees, making them effective people to teach pre-literacy and pre-math skills to children under their care.
Structured environment
Young children feel safe and secure with structured schedules in a structured environment. The consistency provided by childcare centres fosters a feeling of home-away-from-home in children which is very important for their growth and development.
The regulated schedules for naptime, playtime, and mealtime provide children an expected outcome every time they walk in. Studies have shown that regimens are good for children when it comes to their learning and development processes. It can be said that very young children thrive on schedules and regimens in structured settings.
These structured settings and schedules encourage young children to learn better organisational skills. Encouraging the kids to clean or put away things when done with a task helps them to acquire clean and healthy habits.
Knowing the child-proofing equipment and programs used by potential childcare centres is the best way to get the right one for your child. Vetting child care centres in your local area before entrusting your precious child to them is the smartest way a parent needs to do.