Child Care Checklist

FINDING A CHILD CARE PROVIDER

Finding child care providers:

Ask neighbors and friends for recommended providers (You can also call the State DHS and they can provide you a list of approved providers)
Ask for references
Contact references
 

After finding a potential child care provider:

1. Ask other parents how they like the provider

2. Observe the behavior of other children the provider cares for (Take a day and spend there to see how your child reacts to the environment)

Once you hire a provider:

1. Arrange for your child and care provider to have as much interaction as feasible with other children and providers (to help ensure proper care is being provided)

2. Leave phone number(s) at which you can be reached and the address(es) you'll be located at (make sure to included an emergency contact in case you can not be reached)

Regularly:

When return to home or when pick up child:

Ask lots of questions, not just "how'd it go?" to help determine if proper care has been provided, e.g., no hitting
Ask for daily "Repost Card" to let you know how much they ate, if they had a bowel movement, if they napped etc.

Courtesy of Moms Who Think - http://www.momswhothink.com/