INDEPTH: DAY CARE
Questions parents should ask
CBC News Online | October 25, 2004
The Centre for Families, Work and Well-Being has issued several reports on the state of child care in Canada, and suggests a series of questions parents could ask themselves when evaluating child care.
They conclude that a child care centre is likely to be high quality when:
- Staff have two years or more training in Early Childhood Education
- Staff are better paid (which leads to less turnover and more stability)
- Staff morale and satisfaction are high
- The centre includes student teachers from Early Childhood Education college programs. (The reports say student teachers present at the centre mean better child/adult ratios, extra supervision for the children and better training for the teacher)
- The centre receives free or subsidized rent or mortgage which frees up money for salaries
- The centre charges higher parent fees, again to support higher salaries
- The centre is run as a non-profit organization.
They say a family child care home is likely to be high quality if:
- The caregiver has more years of overall general education, coupled with child care specific training and experience
- The caregiver's own income is sufficient
- The caregiver networks with other family child care providers
- The caregiver expresses high levels of satisfaction with his/her work
- The caregiver expresses the intention to stay in the field of child care for at least another three years.
The report rated the use of child-related material in the centres including:
- Materials for fine-motor play (Lego, threading, bead work)
- Materials for gross-motor play (slides, swings, riding toys)
- Dramatic play (dress-up material)
- Problem-solving (puzzles)
- Art (paint, clay, collage)
- Literary (picture books, story books, writing and drawing materials)
- Exploratory materials (sand table, water table)
- Cultural awareness (stories and pictures about different ethnic groups)
- Accessibility and materials for children with special needs
The recommendations came with the results of three studies. The first used 1998 figures and covered wages, working conditions and practices in child care. A mail survey was sent to 848 directors and 4,154 teaching staff in all provinces.
The second studied 234 child care centres and uses 1998 figures.
The third studied 231 family child care providers and uses 1999 figures. These last two studies covered B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Yukon.
The three studies cost a total of $973,033, with funding from Human Resources Development Canada.
Among other areas the reports note:
Infant-toddler care requires higher adult ratios, a minimum of one adult to three children and thus is more costly than caring for older children.
The average annual wage for a child care worker in Canada in 1998 was, according to the report, $22,717. The report compared that to the average wage for a parking lot attendant, of $21,308. On a Canada-wide basis, 22 per cent of child care staff quit their jobs each year, and most who leave do not stay in the child care field.
Seven out of 10 mothers with children under six are in the paid workforce.
About nine out of 10 working mothers return to work within one year after giving birth.
^TOP
|
|
 |
 MENU |
|
|
| EXTERNAL LINKS: |
|
|
| MORE: |
|
|
|
CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites. Links will open in new window.
