***Unedited by BPO staff
Checklist
for Child Care Centers
By Sally Kees-Martin
Click here to get printer friendly checklist.
You should visit several child care centers before selecting one.
This checklist will help you, as a parent, look at certain aspects
of each center. Then compare one center with another.
Before you visit, read
and be familiar with the items on this checklist. Phone the centers
you would like to visit, and set up an appointment at each one,
allowing yourself 20-30 minutes per visit. Let the director know
the ages of your children and that you are interested in learning
more about the program.
Sometimes it is more convenient
to visit without your child. However, if you do take your child
along, note if and how the adults greet the child and whether
the child finds the center attractive and friendly.
PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS:
1. Name/and address/phone number of center
2. Hours center is open
3. Fees charged
4. Ages of children licensed
for
5. Care of sick children?
6. Location easy to reach?
CHECKLIST
For the following items use a rating of:
0 Can't tell
1 No, not in center
2 Somewhat
3 Yes, center has
PHYSICAL FACILITY, HEALTH, SAFETY
___ Floors are carpeted or have nonskid covering.
___ The center is clean.
___ Adults do not smoke
in the same room with children.
___ No children are seen
in the center with soiled diapers or training pants.
___ Detergents, cleansers,
and medicines are out of reach or locked up.
___ Electrical outlets
are covered with safety caps.
___ Toys and equipment
are in good repair, with no sharp edges, splinters, or loose parts.
___ At least one adult
in the center has first-aid training, and first-aid supplies are
available.
___ Each child has an individual
space to store coats and belongings, such as a cubby, box, coat
hook, or drawer.
___ A space can be made
dark and quiet for naptime, and a clean cot is set up in this
space for each napping child.
___ The toilet is easy
for the children to get to.
___ Outdoor play area has
both a bare surface for riding toys and a soft surface, like sand
or grass, for playing
___ The center is homey,
warm, cheerful, and inviting.
CAREGIVER COMPETENCIES
___ Enough caregivers are with the children so that individual
attention can be given if needed. For example, an upset child
can be held, talked to, etc.
___ You can see caregivers
communicating effectively with children - explaining in clear
steps what they want the children to do, answering children's
questions patiently, frequently kneeling down to the child's eye
level when talking.
___ Children appear happy,
comfortable, and relaxed - laughing, smiling, involved in play.
___ Children enjoy one
another - smile at each other, hold hands, hug, help each other
more than they fight or argue.
___ Caregivers seem warm
and affectionate with the children, smiling, cuddling, speaking
pleasantly.
___ Caregivers use children's
first names or nicknames when talking to or about them. Caregivers
do not refer to children by unpleasant names, such as "smarty,"
"brat," etc.
___ Caregivers are seen
working and playing with the children more than standing back
and directing or ordering them around.
___ At least one caregiver
knows where all the children are. For example, if a parent comes
to pick up a child, a caregiver knows who and where the child
is.
___ Caregivers encourage
children to do some things for themselves, patiently giving time
and help and praise so that the child can learn to master the
skill, such as getting a drink alone, washing hands, putting away
a coat or toy.
___ The caregivers are
people you would like your child to copy or imitate. In other
words, children are apt to "do as caregivers do, more than
as they say."
PROGRAM MATERIALS
___ Attractive and well-written story and picture books are available
for the children.
___ Caregivers encourage
listening and talking through planned activities like storytelling,
word games, puppetry, doll play, and show and tell.
___ The center has materials
for quiet play, such as puzzles, and active play, such as riding
toys.
___ Children can get at
least some materials by themselves and are encouraged to take
care of and put away materials.
___ There are enough toys
and materials so that each child can participate without having
to wait more than a few minutes.
___ For at least part of
the day, children can choose what they want to do, either individually
or in small groups.
___ Caregivers encourage
both boys and girls to play with all the materials - such as climbing
and riding toys, dress-up clothes, tools, dolls, cars, and trucks.
Caregivers do not give children the idea that a certain activity
is only for boys or only for girls.
___ Children have the opportunity
to use creative materials, such as paint, crayons, big blank pieces
of paper rather than coloring books, paste, clay or playdough,
scissors, and pencils.
___ The children's art
work is displayed in the center and is also sent home for parents.
___ Three or more of the
following are available for the children's use: large and small
riding toys, pull toys, pounding toys, beads for stringing, puzzles,
small and large blocks, nested toys, small building toys like
Tinkertoys, dress-up clothes, dolls.
___ The outdoor play area
has three or more of the following: cartons or boards for building,
sandbox with sand toys, low slide, riding toys, balance beam,
tires, see-saw.
___ Children are in small
enough groups within the center so that the children appear to
be secure and "at home" rather than lost in a crowd.
___ Children may watch
only appropriate television programs if there is a TV. They are
not forced or encouraged to sit in front of the TV for long periods
of time.
HOME CENTER COORDINATION
___ Meal and snack menus are posted so that parents know what
the children are eating at the center.
___ The menus are nutritious
and contain foods your child likes.
___ If possible, ask what
the caregivers do if a child does not like a certain food being
served, and see if you agree with their methods.
___ The caregivers use
discipline and guidance methods similar to your own and are consistent
and fair with the children.
___ The center has a bulletin
board for parents and posts the program schedule and other messages.
Total Score-_____
YOUR COMMENTS AND THOUGHTS
1. Overall, how do you feel about this center?
2. Overall, how would your
child feel about this place?
The total score reflects
both how good or poor the center is and how much you were able
to observe. In general, go by the following:
100-123 points - EXCELLENT
CENTER, worth getting on a waiting list to enroll your child.
80-100 points - GOOD CENTER,
worth serious consideration.
60-80 points - POSSIBLY
ADEQUATE, think this over carefully though.
40-60 points - LOOK ELSEWHERE.
0-40 points - DEFINITELY
OUT, probably in violation of licensing requirements.
If you have a lot of items on the checklist with 0 points because
you were not able to tell, then this will lower the overall score
a lot. In this case, look at how you scored the rest of the items.
If most of your other scores
are "3's", then this could be a very good center despite
the fact that the total score is lower than it should be.
Above all, trust your own
judgement and feeling about a center. You know your child best
and can tell which center will be right for your family.
Reprinted with permission
from the National Network for Child Care - NNCC. Kees-Martin,
S. (1981). Checklist for child care centers (HE-4-81). Reno, NV:
University of Nevada Reno, Cooperative Extension.
COPYRIGHT PERMISSION ACCESS
Sally Kees-Martin
HDFS 140
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno NV 89557
PHONE:: (702) 784-6490
FAX:: (702) 784-6493
E-MAIL:: smartin@scs.unr.edu
***Unedited by BPO staff
