Preparing Your Child for Daycare...and Yourself Too

Sending a child off to daycare for the first time can be tough both on the parent and on the child. With good reason, parents often worry about the extremes, like the possibility of daycare abuse or neglect. They also tend to obsess about the general level of care their child will receive and if she will be upset and missing them the whole time. Children, depending on their age and personality, can have a range of worries. Fortunately, there are some things parents can do to help ease their child’s anxieties and their own.

At the top of the list of things for parents to do, should always be a thorough investigation of daycare options. Ensuring that the potential daycares are licensed with the local Children and Family Services office should be the first step. Also important is making certain that anyone who will be in contact with the child has had a background check done. Being sure to ask questions about whether or not anyone besides daycare workers will be around the children is a very good idea as well. This includes spouses and older children of daycare staff, repair workers, janitorial staff, etc. While it may seem excessive, being armed with this important information will lessen parents’ apprehension and help reduce the threat of daycare abuse.

Whenever possible, it is a great idea to take a tour of the daycare facility before your child’s first day. This allows the parents and child to become comfortable with the setting and gives parents the opportunity to see how the daycare operates and how daycare workers interact with the children. Even if only the parents are able to have a look around the facility ahead of time, it will provide good information that can be relayed to the child in preparation for his first day. If an early visit is not possible, it is a good idea for parents to stick around for a little while on the first day to alleviate some of the child’s worries and witness some of the daycare relations.

It is important that parents not feel bad about asking questions and checking credentials when researching a daycare for their child. The threat of daycare abuse or daycare neglect is a serious one. Also, it is perfectly acceptable to witness the day-to-day activities ahead of time to get a better idea of the atmosphere the child will be a part of. Experts have found that children are very aware of their parents’ worries about leaving them. If a parent is relaxed, the child will tend to have a better reaction to the situation.

Most daycare facilities provide a good standard of care and employ responsible staff. The sad reality is no matter how much preparation and investigation parents do, daycare abuse and daycare neglect can still occur. If your child has been the victim of daycare abuse you should speak with an attorney.

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