The difference between an exceptional childcare facility versus a less reputable one can make a tremendous difference in the quality of life of your child. Some places are understaffed or don’t always put the child’s welfare ahead of collecting fees and tuition. Therefore, it’s incumbent upon any parent, who needs important childcare resources, to research everything thoroughly before any type of enrollment.

These are a few important factors (mistakes you should avoid) to guide this important child-care decision.

Common Mistakes While Selecting a Childcare Program

• Failing to Notice Insufficient Social Proof – Social proof is a modern parlance of “organizational reputation.” In other words, you should identify whether a childcare service has the approval of other parents, along with business watchdog groups. The former you can find by reading other parents’ testimonials and reviews. Then the latter involves checking a childcare facility’s reputation with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and other accreditation boards. Do they even HAVE accreditation or some other regulatory stamp of approval? If not, then you may have trouble trusting your child with them.
• Not Checking on Staff Turnover – Whenever teachers leave an educational institution quickly, or in large numbers, that should raise red flags. It may, however, take some probing to uncover this. So, when you schedule a visit to tour a childcare center, always ask some teachers how long they’ve been at the childcare center or school. Chances are, if everyone is brand new, there may be some institutional problems, even if everything else appears fine.
• Not Touring the Childcare Facility – Speaking of childcare tours, you’d be amazed at how many parents don’t take the time to do this. While there’s a lot you can glean from a program’s website and online resources, that doesn’t supplant the responsibility of viewing the physical premises. You should see for yourself whether a childcare facility is sanitary, free of safety impediments, and offers a pleasant living and learning environment.
• Forgetting to Review Their Curriculum – Yes, many childcare providers offer academic programs, but it’s not necessarily the case everywhere. If the educational curriculum is an important component to you, then you’ll want to go over this with the owner, perhaps while touring the facility.

Those are arguably the most essential elements of a quality childcare program. You should also ensure they possess sturdy safety and emergency response procedures since this is who will watch and care for your children for several hours a day.

ABC Ault Child Development Center aims to exceed your expectations regarding all these quality criteria. We believe you should not have to second-guess your decisions when it comes to important child-care services. If you’d like to learn more about our childcare programs, for toddlers through grade-school ages, contact us anytime at 970-352-2222.