2.01 CHILD CARE 2.01 CHILD CARE PROGRAM PROGRAM

COMPARISONCOMPARISON

2.01 CHILD CARE 2.01 CHILD CARE PROGRAM PROGRAM

COMPARISONCOMPARISON

Private Home-Based Care:

• Caring for children in one’s own home; a caregiver who comes to the home

Private Home-based care

• Advantages: Individualized attention, children play with others, homelike environment, may be less expensive

• Disadvantages: No certification or inspection process; parent provides transportation to and from the center

Center-Based Care:• Caring for a child/children in a

center outside of outside of the home

Center-based Care• Advantages: Provides physical,

intellectual, emotional and social development for children

• Disadvantages: less individual attention; more exposure to illness;vary in types of activities, equipment and play areas provided

CHILD CARE CENTERS• DESCRIPTION: Purpose is provide safe

environment for children of fulltime working parents

License required by state

13+ children ages 6 weeks to 13 years

Informal play or emphasis on the whole child: physical and health, language and communication, approaches to learning, cognitive, emotional, and social development (PLACES)

CHILD CARE CENTERSADVANTAGES:

Cares for basic needs of child; concern for the child’s physical care primarily

DISADVANTAGES: • May be crowded and commercialized • High child/adult ratio

LOCAL PROGRAMS: Gingerbread; Ready or Not, Here I Grow Day School; Johnson Pond Learning Center; Goddard School; Spinning Wheels

PreschoolDESCRIPTION: Primary purpose is

provide educational services for children 3 to 5 years

• Usually scheduled for 2½ hours in the morning or afternoon

• Informal play or emphasis on the whole child: physical and health, language and communication, approaches to learning, cognitive, emotional, and social development (PLACES)

PreschoolADVANTAGES:

• Provides extra stimulation and variety of experiences

• Social skill development prior to formal education

DISADVANTAGES: • Half-day program• Inconvenient unless parents can work out

transportation and child care for the rest of the day

LOCAL PROGRAMS: • Sometimes managed by religious

organizations or owned by private organizations.

FAMILY CHILD CAREDESCRIPTION: Child care within a family residence

providing care for 4 or more children but no more than 6, except for school age.

ADVANTAGES: Homelike, low ratios (1-6 including own children)

DISADVANTAGES: • Not structured, caregiver can go about their daily

work/chores and not give total thought to your child.

• Difficult to enforce licensing and credentials of caregiver.

LOCAL PROGRAMS: Many homes

HEAD START

DESCRIPTION: Federal child care program that

helps children from low-income families enter kindergarten at a higher level.

HEAD STARTADVANTAGES:

• Comprehensive program: Government funded, meals, shots, health care, professional staff, government funded, transportation, counseling provided.

• Activities focus on building self-esteem, and helping children and families work together to solve problems.

• Programs have a strong educational component.

DISADVANTAGES: • Children may have emotional problems• Children from low-income households may

have risk factors

MONTESSORI SCHOOLS• DESCRIPTION: Self-directed learning

working with Montessori objects/activities using concrete objects and their 5 senses.

• ADVANTAGES: Skill-based, teaches self motivation and basic life skills, quiet, calm, and orderly

• DISADVANTAGES: Limited teacher/student interaction

UNIVERSTIY SPONSORED/LABORATORY SCHOOLS

DESCRIPTION: #1 goal is to teach student teachers, not the child

ADVANTAGES: Ratios low, professional curriculum, student interns are trained

DISADVANTAGES: Limited enrollment, children are observed and behaviors studied by student interns

LOCAL PROGRAMS: NCSU

EMPLOYER SPONSOREDCHILD CARE

DESCRIPTION: Parents can work near child and drop in during the day

ADVANTAGES: Promotes family togetherness; sick child care provided; parent has less sick days

DISADVANTAGES: Child may have a longer day while parents work

LOCAL PROGRAMS: Bright Horizons

Smart StartDescription:North Carolina's nationally recognized

and award-winning early childhood initiative designed to ensure that young children enter school healthy and ready to succeed

North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc. (NCPC) is nonprofit organization that provides oversight and technical assistance for local partnerships. Smart Start funds help parents pay for child care.

• ADVANTAGES: improves the quality of child care, helps fund child care, services offered depend on local (county)needs.

• DISAVANTAGES: Limited funding/Not a place

NANNYDESCRIPTION: A nanny provides care in a

child’s home. ADVANTAGES: Care for child at home is

convenient, reliable and stable care, children stay in home environment, individualized care, provides multiple services in the home to child and family.

DISADVANTAGES: Expensive, children may not have opportunities to play with others

Au Pair• DESCRIPTION: A person from a foreign

country who lives with a family and performs task similar to a nanny.

• Advantages: Provides multiple services in home to child and family, individualized attention, children can learn about another culture

• Disadvantages: Expensive, children may not have opportunities to play with others

• http://youtu.be/QZU8Hx-nMl4

Stay –at-home Parent• Description: Parent stays with child

in the family home• Advantages: Child is in familiar

surrounding, stability of one care-giver over time

• Disadvantages: Less income with one parent working, skillset for work may become obsolete or decline

Factors which influence selection of child care sites

Cost, location, and hours of operation Discipline methods used Program activities and equipment and supplies Adult-child ratios Personal qualities of caregivers Cleanliness of center & health department

rating Star rating Training and education of staff Nutrition program Transportation provided