Child Care Options

The working parents have a challenge when deciding on a child care option. There are many factors which may help a working parent in deciding whether to use a day-care center or an in-home child care option. These factors may include the center’s location, the cost of hiring in-come child care provider as compared to the finances required in child centers and the security of the two options (Araujo et al. 2018). The discussion delves deeper into the standards which parents should consider when deciding on a child care option, the pros, and cons of the two options and the best option based on the merits and demerits.

Factors to consider when deciding on a childcare option

            The working parents should have many factors in mind when deciding on the childcare option. The first factor is the security of the option. A child’s safety should be a priority for every working parent hence a working parent should ensure that he or she decides on an option which guarantees the child’s security. An option is considered secure if it is devoid of child disappearance and child abuse. Besides, child care should have a professional schedule so that an employee can be held responsible in case of negligence or any other action which may endanger a child’s life (Greiwe et.al. 2015). For instance, a working parent should consider hiring a child-care employee from a reputable company which has all the employee information and security program of bringing the employee to book in case of negligence or child abuse.

The cost of child-care is the second factor to be considered by a working parent. A parent should consider his or her budget when choosing a child-care option. For instance, two child care centers, offering the same services, could have a difference of $1000 in their monthly fee. A working parent should, therefore, go for an option which is both efficient and effective.

The third factor to be considered is the location of a child-care center and the presence of family members. If a working class has other family members who, for one reason or another, remain back home, then the best option is to have an in-home child care service. However, a working parent can opt for a day-care center if the center is located near his or her working place which can enable him or her to randomly check on the child.

Apart from the three factors, other considerations for a parent looking for a child care option may include reference by other parents, convenience of payment options, a child care center’s reputation, staff turnover, licensing and accreditation and the ratio of employees to children. Besides, a parent may consider the meals and snacks offered at the center to make a decision.

Pros and Cons of in-home child care option and day-care center option

                        In-home child care

            According to Merz et al. (2016), in-home option involves a parent hiring an employee or asking a relative to take care of the child from the comfort of his or her home.  The option allows the child to feel easy since he or she receives a specialized treatment by the care provider. Besides, in-home care allows the parents to develop a rapport with an individual child care provider which has a positive psychological impact on the child’s care. The option is also advantageous since it relieves a parent from the strict daycare schedule since the terms of service with an in-home care provider is customizable.  However, the option has demerits such as restricting the child from growing into a social person, the possibility of entrusting a child with an unqualified child care provider and a high costs of child-care provision since the parent has to offer meals and other minor expenses to the child care provider.

                        Day-care center

            Day-care centers have many merits. When a working parent opts for a day care center, she or he will have an opportunity to interact with other parents and get child-related support on issues such as diseases; the parent will incur less cost as compared to an in-home option and can get quality services such as a holistic child development process. Besides, day care centers offer children an opportunity to socialize with other children hence allowing the children to learn social skills in addition to giving the parent flexible schedules for working parents.  However, the day care centers may expose a child to diseases which would have been avoided by an in-home option. Besides, day centers may not be able to offer individualized attention to children who may tamper with a child’s normal development (Schmitz et al. 2017).

Conclusion

            Both day-care center and in-home child care options have their fair share of merits and demerits. For a working parent who may not be able to find a relative capable of providing child care and has to rely on a professional, day-care center option would be the best suitable. However, a working parent should seek recommendations from colleagues to get the best day-care centers to avoid challenges associated with poorly managed centers.

References

Araujo, M. C., Dormal, M., & Schady, N. (2018). Child Care Quality and Child             Development. Journal of Human Resources.

Greiwe, J. C., Pazheri, F., & Schroer, B. (2015). Nannies’ knowledge, attitude, and management    of food allergies of children: an online survey. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical    Immunology:   In Practice, 3(1), 63-67.

Merz, E. C., Landry, S. H., Johnson, U. Y., Williams, J. M., & Jung, K. (2016). Effects of a      responsiveness–focused intervention in family child care homes on children’s executive         function. Early childhood research quarterly, 34, 128-139.

Schmitz, S., Spieß, C. K., & Stahl, J. F. (2017). Day care centers: family expenditures increased         significantly at some points between 1996 and 2015. DIW Economic Bulletin, 7(42), 411-   423.