Early childcare centres - helping your children develop mentally and socially

| Wednesday, December 14, 2011
By Jake Lei


For parents with children under five years of age, there are often considerations made to put them into child care centres. Even though it is a tough decision, but it has to be made for a number of reasons. One of the reasons is that either or both parents might want to return to work or have certain commitments to attend to. Putting the children into care provides an opportunity for the children to help them learn new things and have better mental growth. There are three main options you have when you decide to put your children into care.

The first option is to hire a full time nanny. This can be great, especially if both parents are at work. The nanny can be home all day to take care of the child without any distractions. There are also no other children present so she can provide complete attention to educate and raise your child. The downside of this decision is that nannies are generally very expensive. General price range for nannies is between $15 and $25. This might mean one parent's entire salary going towards payment to the nanny!

Another option is to take the services of a caregiver. This is usually a parent that also takes other children to their home for care. This is similar to a childcare centre but with fewer children because there is only one caregiver. This is a cheaper option than hiring a nanny. However, the problem with this option is that the caregiver might not be a qualified early childcare teacher, even though they might be very loving parents.

Lastly, you can put your child into a childcare centre. These centres are set up for providing an educational and nurturing environment for children, and giving them an opportunity to develop new skills and interests. They can have a healthy environment where they can interact with other children. Childcare centres have trained and qualified early childhood teachers giving you an assurance that your child is being taken care of by people who know how to deal with children. Most childcare centres are open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and five days a week. So, there is no need to worry about rushing to or from work every day.

The great thing about childcare centres is that they usually take part in a range of activities and excursions in the community. This can include visits to the library, Kapa Haka lessons, dance lessons, walks to the park, art classes and more. Being in an environment which offers a variety of activities means that your children can develop new interests and hobbies.

Some childcare centres work with children in age-divided-groups (i.e. a group for under two year olds and a group for over two year olds) - this means that the children will learn and develop in areas specific to their ages, so that they can work at their own pace.

If you are convinced of putting your child into a childcare centre, or a kindergarten, then have a look at different websites of childcare centres. There is plenty of information on those websites related to what the centre looks like, the teacher employed and the cost of enrolment.




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