Child care
Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child, childcare typically refers to the care provided by caregivers who are not the child's parents. Childcare is a broad topic that covers a wide spectrum of professionals, institutions, contexts, activities, and social and cultural conventions. Early childcare is an essential and often overlooked component of child development.
A variety of people and organizations can care for children. The child's extended family may also take on this caregiving role. Another form of childcare is center-based childcare. In lieu of familial caregiving, these responsibilities may be given to paid caretakers, orphanages, or foster homes to provide care, housing, and schooling.
Professional caregivers work within the context of center-based care or a home-based care. The majority of child care institutions available require child care providers to have extensive training in first aid and be CPR certified. In addition, background checks, drug testing at all centers, and reference verifications are normally a requirement. Child care can consist of advanced learning environments that include early childhood education or elementary education. The objective of the program of daily activities at a child care facility should be to foster age appropriate learning and social development. In many cases the appropriate child care provider is a teacher or person with educational background in child development, which requires a more focused training aside from the common core skills typical of a child caregiver.
As well as these licensed options, parents may also choose to find their own caregiver or arrange childcare exchanges/swaps with another family.
Access to and quality of childcare have a variety of implications for children, parents and guardians, and families. Child care can have long-term impacts on educational attainment for children. Parents, particularly women and mothers, see increased labor force attachment when child care is more accessible and affordable. In particular, increased affordable child care opportunities have economic benefits for immigrant communities and communities of color.
Types
In the child's home
At home, care is typically provided by nannies, au pairs, or friends and family. The child is watched inside the home. Depending on the number of children in the home, the children utilizing in-home care could enjoy the greatest amount of interaction with their caregiver, in turn forming a close bond. There are no required licensing or background checks for in-home care, making parental vigilance essential in choosing an appropriate caregiver. Nanny and au pair services provide certified caregivers and the cost of in-home care is the highest of childcare options per child, though a household with many children may find this the most convenient and affordable option. Many nannies study towards childcare qualifications. This training is intended to teach a carer how to create a safe and stimulating environment for children to enjoy and thrive in. Typically, au pairs or nannies provide more than routine child care, often providing assistance with daily household activities, which include running errands, shopping, doing laundry, fixing meals, and cleaning the house.The most common way to find a nanny is online on dedicated websites specializing in child care services, or through a nanny agency. Nanny agencies may provide a more thorough check of an applicant's references and run a criminal background check on the candidate. Depending on local prices, a nanny could be cheaper than putting multiple children in a daycare setting full-time. Proponents believe in-home care may provide stability for the child, due to the fact supervision takes place in an already familiar and comfortable setting for the child. Nannies may also provide care for sick children whereas nurseries typically do not. This enables working parents to continue working instead of leaving to pull a sick child out of day care, which may make in home care ideal for parents who work jobs that they cannot leave, such as nurses. Depending on local laws, some carers can be subject to visits from their local childcare regulatory bodies.
In the provider's home
Family child care providers care for children in the provider's own home. The children could be in a mixed age group with a low adult-to-child ratio. Care can also potentially be personalized and individual. The hours may be more flexible and the provider may offer evening and weekend care for parents who work shifts. The cost of family child care could be significantly lower on average than that of a center.Child care facilities in the US have the option of becoming accredited. An outside organization is in charge of setting and enforcing this standard. In centers, National Association for the Education of Young Children institutes it. For family child care providers, the National Association of Family Child Care Providers award the credentials.
Licensed or unlicensed home daycare is also referred to as family child care or in-home care. It refers to the care provided to a group of children in the home of a caregiver. State laws differ regarding rules for licensed versus unlicensed care. In Canada, most home daycares are unlicensed, and this is completely lawful. Licensing home daycares in Canada can help greatly with oversight, but at the cost of a large portion of the daycare provider's pay. Family child cares are small in size and also have the benefits of flexible hours, lower costs, accessibility, and cultural compatibility. Home-based providers can give more individualized care. In addition, family care generally has a smaller ratio of adults to children in care, allowing for more interaction between child and provider than would be had at a commercial care center. The providers are able to communicate each day with parents on a personal level and share information about the development of the child. Providers care for multi-aged groups of children, allowing children to remain with one caregiver for many years, which helps children develop a sense of trust and security. Multi-aged settings allow children to learn from one another and allow siblings to stay together. Some family child care providers may offer parents more flexibility with hours of operation such as evening, weekend, overnight, and before and after school care.
Center based childcare
In a childcare center, teachers focus on the physical and mental developments of their students. In order to have a greater understanding of the student, teachers in centers must incorporate a relationship with their students that benefits their wants and needs while pushing them toward a higher set of values. This type of teaching with a caring relationship will improve a student's moral and incidental learning.Commercial care center also known as daycares, are open for set hours and provide a standardized and regulated system of care for children. Parents may choose from a commercial care center close to their work, and some companies may even offer care at their facilities. Parents may decide the child care facility based on their mission statement and learning objectives they find necessary to be addressed. The child care provider must see how these objectives are most fit for the child and mend them case by case to their specific needs. In setting up activities for these objectives, both indoor and outdoor activities must be taken into account. The parents tend to give their input on what they deem as necessary when the needs of their children may be different. Parents are able to communicate with the staff of these facilities because workers who speak the same native language or language of preference must be available for these conversations.
Active children may thrive in the educational activities provided by a quality commercial care center, but according to the National Center for Early Development and Learning, children from low quality centers may be significantly less advanced in terms of vocabulary and reading skills. Classes are usually largest in this type of care, ratios of children to adult caregivers will vary according to state licensing requirements. Some positive aspects of commercial care are that children may gain a sense of independence, academic achievement, and socialization. Not only is this age crucial for the improvement of their social skills, but also it begins the stages of understanding a classroom setting. Childcare is seen as a reasonable option because it is different from parenting, since it can be seen as more of a routine for the child. Children are placed into centers of socialization and learn many similarities and differences from one another from a very young age. Children are also placed into settings to develop their linguistics and cognitive abilities, which can be measured through observations.
Pre-school is often the term used to refer to child care centers that care primarily for 3 and 4-year-old children. Preschool can be based in a center, family child care home or a public school. Older children, in their turn, in most countries are cared in an educational setting, usually a primary school environment. The children are supervised by a teacher who is responsible for their physical, intellectual, emotional and social development. In this regard, most western countries have compulsory education during which the great majority of children are at school starting from five or six years of age. The school will act in loco parentis meaning "in lieu of parent supervision." In many locales, government is responsible for monitoring the quality of care.
Staff
For all providers, the largest expense is labor. In a 1999 Canadian survey of formal child care centers, labor accounted for 63% of costs and the industry had an average profit of 5.3%. Given the labor-intensive nature of the industry, it is not surprising that the same survey showed little economies of scale between larger and smaller operators.Local legislation may regulate the operation of daycare centers, affecting staffing requirements. Laws may mandate staffing ratios. Legislation may mandate qualifications of supervisors. Staff typically do not require any qualifications but staff under the age of eighteen may require supervision. Typically, once the child reaches the age of twelve, they are no longer covered by daycare legislation and programs for older children may not be regulated.
In Canada, the workforce is predominantly female and low paid, averaging only 60% of average workforce wage. Many employees are at local minimum wage and are typically paid by the hour rather than salaried. In the United States, "child care worker" is the fifth most female-dominated occupation. In the US, staffing requirements vary from state to state.