| There are many childcare options available, for | | | | another child who is upset. |
| example daycare centres, home daycares, nanny | | | | Cons |
| care, preschool, relative care and | | | | * No one-to-one attention. Daycare centres will assign |
| stay-at-home-parenting. Here's a list of The Top 3 | | | | each member of staff to several children. |
| Pros And Cons Of Daycare Centres, which I hope will | | | | Unsurprisingly, there is research which suggests that a |
| help you decide if daycare centres are for you. Let | | | | one-to-one environment is better for very young |
| me know what you think! | | | | children. As children get older, the staff to children ratio |
| Pros | | | | generally increases (for example Math Monkey sets a |
| * Better qualified staff. Childcare staff normally hold | | | | maximum ratio of 1:6), but you should always favour |
| qualifications in childcare and/or first aid, in addition to | | | | daycare centres that keep their staff to children ratio |
| having years of experience. This enables them to | | | | as low as possible. |
| better care for your child's needs, keeping him/her | | | | * Many many many germs! Daycare centres can be a |
| happy while also nurturing growth and development. | | | | great place for germs to breed. Despite various |
| * Structured learning environment. A good daycare | | | | precautions, illnesses will commonly spread among |
| centre will provide a proper curriculum for your child. | | | | children and even staff members. Furthermore, few |
| Methods vary from daycare to daycare, but should | | | | daycare centres will provide special care for sick |
| include age appropriate activities like baby signing, | | | | children. |
| sand-play, finger-painting, etc. These activities are | | | | * Picking up bad habits. Young children will imitate |
| designed to fully engage your child in a manner that will | | | | almost everything they see or hear. As such, you can |
| encourage growth and development while also | | | | look forward to your child bringing home delightful |
| enabling him/her to simply have fun. | | | | habits such as biting, throwing objects and being |
| * Opportunities to socialise. One of the key benefits of | | | | disruptive for the sake of attention. In the worst case |
| daycare centres compared to options like relative care | | | | scenario, left unchecked these challenging behaviours |
| and stay-at-home-parenting is the chance for your | | | | could turn into a child behaviour problem! |
| child to mix with other children and adults. Social | | | | How do you feel about daycare? Know anybody who |
| interaction can be very enjoyable for your child, while | | | | sends their kids to daycare? Ask them what they |
| also helping develop communication skills, confidence | | | | think! Unfortunately, sometimes both parents have to |
| and a sense of self. It's also very heartwarming to | | | | work, making daycare a necessity rather than an |
| witness your child sharing something or comforting | | | | option. |