How Children Benefit From Childcare - written by Alex F Nowell

Ever since women entered the workforce, the great daycare debate has raged on. Parents, scholars and politicians have argued the pros and cons of external childcare facilities until families are absolutely certain placing their child in day care results in either an infant prodigy or a teenage delinquent.

As with any issue, the truth has been found to be somewhere in between. Day care can be a tremendous opportunity for a young child to learn social skills, expand their vocabulary and learn to function as an individual away from their parents; constant interaction with their peers allows them to develop a respect for the opinions and emotions of others, learn the value of teamwork, and to form friendships that will often carry into their school years. They are also given an opportunity to learn basic academic skills at an earlier age, and adapt to the more rigid structure of a classroom environment prior to entering Kindergarten, easing what is often a difficult transition for children who are kept at home in their preschool years.

On the flip side of the coin, not all day care providers are able to give the high quality of attention and education necessary for growth and adjustment. This is often due to an inadequate amount of staff for the number of children a facility cares for.

Many times by the time a child reaches preschool age there is only one teacher responsible for up to fifteen students, if not more (licensing guidelines state that there should be no more than fifteen students per teacher at the four and five year old level; however, a fluctuating population of drop-in students may cause this number to be nothing more than a myth).

You can also surprise your child and stop by during your lunch break and offer to eat lunch with him, read a book or just play with him. If your child care provider has a website or a newsletter that is sent home, you can plan ahead to attend one of the events they have scheduled, such as a field trip to a museum or a park. Just spending some time with your child is important and meaningful while he is spending his day in child care.

Child care can also mean a family member watching your child. There are still some vital guidelines, however, to follow if this is your child care situation. If the relative is an older person, you certainly want to make sure that they are capable of handling any type of emergency that might arise. Also, if the relative has to take any medication while he is providing child care to your child, the medications should be unavailable to the child. No matter what age a child is, it is strenuous activity at the least.

Falling back on television as an activity is frowned upon; however, some children's television shows are all about learning and should be allowed. This also gives the caregiver time to catch their breath! If your relative is of the younger generation, they may not need to take time out to catch a breath, but they certainly need to be coached in what you are requiring of them.

The teachers should display a genuine love for the children, with experience and training in child development and psychology, allowing them to quickly detect a problem with a student before it becomes uncontrollable. Parents should remain in contact with the child's teacher, receiving progress reports and observing classroom behavior on a regular basis. Any instance in which a parent is deliberately left "out of the loop" in their child's education, even at this early stage, is cause for concern, and should be considered an immediate warning sign that all is not as it should be. In this case knowledge is power, and allows a child to quickly be removed from an unsuitable situation before damage is done that is irreversible.