Choosing Quality Child Care

Choosing child care is one of the most important decisions a parent/guardian will make.
It can be hard to find and choose the best care for your child. There are different options for licensed child care programs for children 0-5, including:

• Child care centers
• Home-based family child care programs
• Preschool programs

There are benefits to all of these different types of care, but the signs of quality for all of them are the same.

Quality child care means a program is a safe, healthy, caring and educational place for young children to learn and grow. It supports all areas of a child’s development and wellbeing.

What is quality child care?

Quality child care means a program is a safe, healthy, caring and educational place for young children to learn and grow. It supports all areas of a child’s development and wellbeing.

Why does quality child care matter?

• Kids in quality care do better later on, in school and in life.
• Quality care supports their physical, social, emotional and mental growth.
• As a parent, it lowers your stress, because you know your child is well-cared for.

Signs of Quality

Teacher-Child Interactions
Providers that talk, play, read, laugh and interact positively with the kids in their care. Through interactions, providers help develop children’s critical thinking skills, language, and curiosity.

Ratio and Group Size
Small group sizes and a small number of kids to every adult.

Learning Activities
A variety of creative, fun and developmentally appropriate educational activities that are right for a child’s age, meet children’s individual needs, and help them learn new skills and information.

Staff
Caring and knowledgeable staff who have a lot of training and enjoy what they do. Providers have taken classes or earned degrees in Early Childhood Education.

Environment
A rich learning environment with varied materials, activities and routines. Areas are healthy, clean and safe.

Program (or Curriculum)
Providers have a schedule and activities/curriculum to meet learning needs and may hold parent-teacher conferences.

Parent/Family Involvement
The child care program encourages family participation, allows parents to visit, keeps parents informed their child’s day in child care, and may hold parent-teacher conferences.

Child Health & Development
Providers make sure children receive health screenings and that children are developing on track.

Here are some links to useful checklists and additional information on what to look for when selecting the best provider for your family:

• 5 Steps To Choosing Care
• Keys to Quality Child Care Checklist
• Child Care Checklist
• 5 Steps to Quality Child Care
• Find Child Care

Ready to Look for Child Care?

Click here to begin your search at one of the LA Child Care Resource and Referral (R&R) agencies.