Ultimate Family Child Care Toolkit

Ultimate Family Child Care Toolkit

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It is common for families to need extra help with their children. As a child care provider, you will assist parents who might be returning to work or those who might need help around the house.

There are many types of family child care that you can provide. You can serve as a mother's help, babysitter, nanny, au pair, family daycare, daycare center, relative care, and child care swap. Here, you will learn the ultimate family childcare toolkit.

Ultimate Family Childcare Toolkit: Policies and Procedures

Some policies and procedures are meant to regulate family child care. These policies apply to the care a child gets at home and away. The regulated areas include the type of support and assistance offered, care standards, risk management, good practice, and adequate provisions.
 
It would help if you had child protection guidelines in line with the child's rights. The guidelines should indicate actions and behaviors that are not acceptable, communication, daily schedule, and the children's record. Also, your child care program should be in line with international, federal and state laws.
 
The staff that works with the children should also be adequately trained to deliver family care support to the best standards. There should also be adequate staff supervision to prevent cases of abuse and offer quick responses in such scenarios.

Health and Safety

The health and safety of children are the top considerations any parent will make when looking for child care. Below are some areas you can work on to ensure the health and safety of the children are not compromised.

Security and Open Door Policy

Ensure your facility has front door security and a secure entrance for the front doors. You can also add the following:

  • Detailed pickup and drop-off procedures. The procedures should also be consistent.
  • Detailed guidelines on how families enter the center.
  • Policies on how visitors or those allowed to pick up and drop off kids get in. There should beverification measures to ensure that the visitors have the green light from parents to pick a kid and that no imposter will have access to any children.
  • Consider if you have an open door policy where families can drop off at any time to cuddle,nurse, or have lunch with their kids.

CPR and First Aid

The members of your facility should have up-to-date certificates and be well trained in the face of an
emergency. Ensure the points below are in check:

  • The staff has certifications in first aid and CPR.
  • The certificates are up-to-date.
  • Ensure the staff gets regular training to be prepared in case of emergency. The training should be attended regularly and a requirement for everyone.

Ratios and Supervision

You should ensure that the mandated teacher-to-child ratio in your state is followed. Ensure the
following:

  • You adhere to the proportions.
  • Ensure that child supervision is adequate.
  • Have roll call procedures and transition tracking. This will ascertain the number of kids at thefacility at all times.

Food and Allergy Management

Ensure you have adequate measures to address food allergies. Below are points you should follow:

  • How you will handle food allergies.
  • Have a sound tracking system on the kid's food to avoid confusion.
  • Have measures to ensure children receive the right food.
  • Ensure the facility is nut-free.
  • Ensure the staff can administer an EpiPen.
  • Have the proper measures for allergy-related emergencies.

Sanitation and Cleanliness

All parents will want their children to spend time in a clean environment. Ensure classrooms, offices,kitchens, and offices are clean. Below are some of the cleanliness measures you can include:
  • Proper hand washing of staff and children.
  • Proper diapering and toileting procedures are followed. Diaper changes should be done in separate areas for the purpose.
  • Proper cleaning of toys.
  • Disinfection of surfaces done routinely throughout the day and when closing.Professional cleaning services.
  • Teachers should wear gloves and sanitize the areas they conduct diaper changes.

Child Development

Child development is the changes experienced by a child as they grow older. Besides physical changes, a child develops skills, knowledge, and behavior. As a child care provider, just like the parent, you will play a crucial role in the child's development. That notwithstanding, parent engagement will be very crucial in child development. Below are some of the areas of child development areas you should be aware of.

Cognitive

This is how children understand, learn, remember, and solve problems. Ensure you have programs meant to improve a child's cognitive development. These activities may include outdoor playtime, music, asking questions, learning colors and shapes, art projects, and play pretend.

Language

This bit covers how children learn to speak words, sounds, and sentences. Language is also how children learn to use sign and body language. It is also how children learn to understand communication from others. Ensure teachers have fun with children, allow them to think, have conversations, use simple language, and repeat what they say.

Social and Emotional

Social development is how children learn to cooperate and develop relationships with friends, family,
and teachers. On the other hand, social development is how kids understand, manage, and express their emotions. It is also how they learn to respond to the feelings of others. As a facility, try to show love to children, acknowledge their feelings, allow them to play with each other, and encourage them to try new things.

Positive Guidance

Children will likely test the boundaries in social settings such as family care centers. Ensure your center
encourages children to learn constructive ways to create relationships and behave. In addition, ensure
that:

  • The discipline approaches are realistic for children.
  • Teachers interact with students in a caring and appropriate way.
  • Create a yes environment which models positive behavior.
  • Ensure you encourage children to have behaviors such as negotiating, cooperating, helping, and problem-solving.

Conclusion

There you have it, the family child care toolkit. Contact us for more information on our family care
centers’ services. You can also schedule a demo with us to learn how we can make your administrative processes seamless.

Are you looking for more child care management information? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Child Care Management.

Our child care management system makes running your child care program simple and efficient. Get back to what's most important. You shouldn't have to spend more time on the administrative tasks than you do with children and staff. 

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Or schedule a demo with us to learn more about how our child care management system, Alliance Core, can streamline your administrative processes.

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Do you run an early childhood association made up of child care providers? If so, check out our Ultimate Guide to Shared Service Alliance.

Header image courtesy of Jumpstory.

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