Child Care Resource Library

While teething is a painful rite of passage for infants, it can also create a stressful environment for childcare providers. This especially holds true for those who aren’t allowed to administer over-the-counter medications, or choose not to assume the risk of medication for something as non-threatening as teething. Numbing agents like benzocaine are often used in commercial teething gels, and while they can eliminate infants’ discomfort, the numb sensation can easily spread to the rest of the mouth and throat. Throat numbness, in particular, can increase the chances of gagging and choking for small children, which is another reason childcare providers may want to eliminate these products from their medication stores.

Overcoming daycare separation anxiety can be a trying experience for both children and their parents, leading to tears and stress for everyone involved. Helping your child to manage fear of the unknown and separation from a parent isn’t impossible, and is a necessary step along the road of eventually becoming an independent, productive adult.

Childcare providers in group settings strive to teach children the importance of sharing, but one of the things most easily shared in such close quarters is head lice. Through play and socialization, including the sharing of brushes, hats and clothing, kids can quickly spread head lice throughout a group until it becomes a widespread problem. While it’s a common childhood ailment, there is a stigma associated with head lice which can be a bit damaging to a childcare provider’s reputation if an outbreak isn’t addressed appropriately. Learning the best methods of addressing head lice outbreaks, and preventing them in the first place, is crucial to the health of your business.

The last step in the hiring process is often checking a babysitter’s references, and it can be one of the most stressful for parents who aren’t accustomed to conducting interviews. Past employers and personal references can give you a more accurate view of a promising babysitter candidate, especially if you’re nervous about leaving a relative stranger alone with your children for an extended period of time.

Once dismissed as an unpleasant but unavoidable aspect of growing up, bullying is now becoming an issue of nationwide focus. Still, it’s not always easy for childcare providers to recognize the signs of bullying among their charges unless a child is actually caught in the act of harming a peer. Victims of bullying can struggle to manage the stress and anxiety which accompanies peer torment, especially young children who have yet to develop coping mechanisms and may not have a vocabulary for the specific abuse they’re encountering. It’s up to childcare providers and parents to look out for the signs of bullying among young children, so the issue can be properly addressed.

Early education and child development programs are a powerful tool for helping children to realize their full potential, and can be especially important for special needs parents seeking the best for their children. All parents should take an active role in the education of their children, but it becomes especially important for parents to advocate for their children when he or she has special needs. By partnering with child development programs designed specifically for those with special needs, parents can help their child to reach developmental and intellectual milestones to the best of their ability. In order to be truly effective, a child development program will require parents to take an active, involved role in their child’s education

Creating an outdoor play space for children is an important part of starting an in-home daycare business, but it’s equally important for small business owners to understand common playground risks in order to prevent injury. Minimizing dangerous conditions can help home daycare provider to mitigate risks of litigation or liability, while providing a safer place for children to play outdoors.

For childcare providers who are in the process of starting their own businesses, obtaining reliable information about licensure and regulations can be a challenge. Learning which agencies and entities regulate professional childcare settings is important, and also a complicated task. Caregivers and prospective business owners who plan to comply with all requisite regulations can achieve this goal by breaking regulations into federal, state and local mandates.

For parents and operators alike, there can be many attractive benefits associated with a home daycare; depending on state and local licensing laws, however, some may also be completely unregulated. Federal law governing the establishment and operation of childcare centers is minimal, leaving the bulk of regulatory responsibilities left to individual states. Some don’t require home daycare providers to obtain licensure if their operations are relatively small, so they may not be subjected to the same level of scrutiny and oversight as a center-based daycare facility. Evaluating the health and safety measures taken by a new home daycare may fall to the operators and parents considering enrollment, which makes it imperative for all involved parties to have a basic understanding of health and safety measures.

A strong curriculum and a focus on developmental progress can be one of the most attractive features of a high-quality daycare program. Parents have the natural desire to give their children a great start in life, which is why daycare programs with a great curriculum are so attractive. Still, even the most comprehensive curriculum only reaches optimal effectiveness when parents take an active role in helping at home. Learning to supplement a daycare curriculum is one of the most powerful ways of helping your child retain new skills while continuing to grow and progress.