How to choose the best day care for your children

Choosing a day care to send your children to can be a difficult task, but it doesn’t have to be. From government search tools to child care decision making strategies, there are a number of things that can help you narrow down where is best for the special ones in your life.

Over 80,000 four-year-old children are enrolled in Georgia’s pre-K programs, and the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning has made it easier than ever to find a day care program perfect for you by offering an online search tool. These programs are rated by the department on a number of important factors, including safety, teacher-student ratio and the quality of the teachers.

“Quality Rated is Georgia’s system to determine, improve and communicate the quality of programs that provide child care,” according to the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning’s website. “Similar to rating systems for restaurants and hotels, Quality Rated assigns one, two or three stars to early education and school-age care programs that meet or exceed the minimum state requirements. By participating in Georgia’s voluntary Quality Rated program, programs make a commitment to work continuously to improve the quality of care they provide to children and families.”

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ ChildCare.gov, there are a number of decision-making tips to take into account before making a final decision for your child’s day care. Most notably, it’s important to physically visit the day care first.

“When looking for child care, visit each setting in person to make sure the program is the right fit for your child,” ChildCare.gov recommended. “Visiting allows you to see firsthand how the program operates, what your child will experience during a typical day, and how the teachers interact and work with children. Visiting also allows you to see what the classrooms and play spaces look like and gives you a chance to ask questions.”

ChildCare.gov also offers a variety of helpful tips concerning important questions to consider when visiting a day care. Those tip sheets can be found below.