Choosing Childcare For Dummies [Paperback]

Ann Douglas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 21, 2003

The demand for child-care spaces is huge. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, approximately 13 million children under the age of six spend some or all of their day being cared for by someone other than their parents.

The child-care shortage is everyone's problem – for parents (whether you work outside the home or not), employers, and the children. The prospect of choosing the right childcare can be overwhelming. Put your mind at ease with Choosing Childcare For Dummies. This reference guide is brimming with practical advice to help you find high-quality childcare for the child in your life – whether he or she is a biological child, stepchild, grandchild, foster child, or the child of your significant other.

From figuring out affordability to knowing what to do if you suspect neglect or abuse, Choosing Childcare For Dummies covers it all. Inside the book you'll find out how to

• Weigh the pros and cons of your various child-care options
• Determine high quality childcare
• Evaluate out-of-home childcare
• Hire a nanny or a relative for in-home care
• Get guidance on the legal issues of being an employer
• Conduct a reference check
• Determine if you need a "nanny cam"
• Recognize the ten signs that your child-care arrangement is in trouble
• Ease your child into a new child-care arrangement
• Find back-up childcare

Because the United States has no countrywide child-care “system” in place, we’ve ended up with a patchwork quilt of regulations that don’t quite mesh the way they should. This is why so many child-care programs are exempt from the child-care legislation that’s intended to protect children. The bottom line? You can’t count on anyone else to guarantee your child’s health, safety, and well-being in a particular child-care setting. Like it or not, the buck stops with you. That’s why you owe it to yourself and your child to read books like this one that show you how to be a savvy day-care consumer.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Research and evaluate what kind of child-care arrangement works best for you

Discover how to cut childcare costs with tax credits and subsidies

Finding high-quality childcare is no easy task. The best daycare centers often have long waiting lists and cost as much as college! Thankfully, Choosing Childcare For Dummies will set your mind at ease with practical advice on finding reliable childcare ? whether you need family daycare, a daycare center, or even a nanny.

Praise for Choosing Childcare For Dummies

"Ann Douglas?s latest book with its great insider tips on finding the best childcare based on your unique child and family needs will save parents dozens of hours in this often frustrating quest."
—Stacy DeBoff, author of The Mom Book: 4,278 Tips from Moms for Moms, founder, www.momcentral.com

Discover how to:

• Evaluate health and safety practices
• Transition a child into day care
• Assess a child?s needs for a caregiver
• Interview caregivers
• Notice warning signs

About the Author

Ann Douglas (Peterborough, Ontario) is one of North America's foremost pregnancy and parenting writers.  She is the author of 18 books including The Mother of All Pregnancy Books, The Mother of All Baby Books, and co-author of the highly popular The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby  and many more.  Her books have been spotlighted in such magazines as Parenting, Parents, Working Mother and Good Housekeeping.

Product Details

• Paperback: 354 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (November 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764537245
• ISBN-13: 978-0764537240
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #290,881 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm the author of numerous books on pregnancy and parenting, including Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler (2006); Mealtime Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler (2006); The Mother of All Pregnancy Books (2002); The Mother of All Baby Books (2002); The Mother of All Toddler Books (2004); The Mother of All Parenting Books (2004); The Mother of All Pregnancy Organizers (2004); Choosing Childcare for Dummies (2003); The Unofficial Guide to Having A Baby (2nd edition -- 2004); Trying Again: A Guide to Pregnancy After Miscarriage, Stillbirth, or Infant Loss (2000); and The Unofficial Guide to Childcare.

My husband and I have four children (ages 10-19). I have also experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, and infertility.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My advice: Read all the books about child care before choosing a day care., March 12, 2011

By 

Bridgette H. "bridgetokindergarten" (Alabama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Choosing Childcare For Dummies (Paperback)

Here it is 2011 and so many parents have no idea what "quality child care" actually is. Busy, overwhelmed and stressed working mothers are still blindly believing the spiels that these savvy center directors are delivering. Sure, there are many, many child center directors out there who may visionary managers who strive to provide the best care possible for these precious children. On the other hand, there are plenty of center directors out there who don't seem to have the children's best interests at heart. These misguided directors are pushed by the owners to keep costs way down so that they can maximize their profits. Since the youngest children in their care don't have voices of their own, it is so easy to exploit their vulnerability. If you have a child in day care who is under the age of three, you must educate yourself about how to recognize poor to mediocre quality child care. Children over the age of three are more likely to tell you, or demonstrate to you via body language, that they're not happy with the care they're receiving at day care. The younger ones may not be able to express to you that they're not receiving the best possible. They may not be able to tell you that they're being mistreated or neglected. Lots of times, the problems with poor quality child care are not easy to detect. Even those of us who are very savvy consumers and smart business women may not be able to tell if a child care center is offering the best quality care for our precious children.

Here is a very, very important clue to look for in a quality child care center. It involves how parents can monitor their child's classroom without being detected by the day care teacher or her students:
1. Does your center have state-of-the-art intercoms in the classrooms? These are the intercoms where the director can listen in from her office while on mute. They're usually small white plastic wall-mounted devices with several capabilities for announcements and two-way conversation. These intercoms are used for monitoring teacher-child interactions without the classroom occupants knowing they're being monitored. If your center only has the old-fashioned big brown boxes mounted high on the wall where the principal can make crackly announcements, then you should be very wary. If your child's classroom does not have a way for you to monitor your child via audio without being detected by the day care teacher, then you should be worried. In this day and age of tiny video cameras, Video Barbies, Nanny Cams, and more; shouldn't your child care center be equipt with technology where you can listen-in on what your child's day care teacher is saying to her class? Wouldn't you want to know what your child's day care teacher is saying to him when they don't think you're listening in? What if your child's day care teacher is controlling him with threats? Wouldn't you want to know about it? What if she's saying, "If you don't sit down in your chair right now, I'm going to give you a spanking." What if the day care worker is "spanking hands" when the kids touch things in the room that she doesn't want them to touch? Children under the age of three may not report this to the parent. They may be too scared to say anything to you about it. They may not know that there is anything wrong with an adult saying this to them since they believe they're supposed to "listen to the teacher". My point is this: If there isn't an intercom in the room for undetectable remote audio monitoring from the director's office, then you should be asking some questions or you should wonder why they don't want you to hear what the day care teacher is saying to these children.

Here's another clue about the policy of cell phone use by staff members while on duty at child care centers:
2. Does your child's day care center allow the day care workers to keep their cell phones on their person? Have you noticed the day care workers texting or calling on their phones when they're supposed to be watching the kids? Day care workers should not be allowed to have their cell phones on their person at all. The phones are supposed to stay in the purses which should be kept in a locked closet or in their locker. Many top-of-the-line child care centers will issue a written warning to a staffer who is using her phone while she's supposed to be managing her students (seriously!!!). These day care teachers are pretty savvy. If a parent and the director are standing out in the hall listening-in to your class, then it's really easy to know they're out there. Usually another day care teacher will see them coming down the hall and the teacher will send a text message or will call the teacher next door. The next day care teacher will pass the message along down to the next day care teacher. Everyone knows if the director and a concerned parent are on the hall since they use their personal cell phones to pass along important news. If your day care center tells you that they have made arrangements for parents to be able to observe their child's classroom without the day care teacher knowing about it, then you need to ask some additional questions. If these observation opportunities involve you standing outside the classroom door in the shadows, then the center director is either lying to you or she's absolutely wrong. The day care workers spread the news to each other like wild fire by text message. Everyone knows you're out there observing and I promise that they'll put on a really good show for you.

I won't spill the beans about all the advice and tips that the author has included in her book. I just want to say that if you really care about quality child care, then you must read this book.