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When choosing a daycare for your little ones, there are several factors surrounding accreditation that you need to research beforehand.

First, check the daycare is a registered business with a tax number at your local Registry of Business/Joint Stocks Commission.

Second, check the daycare has a license to care for children. This licensing information will tell you how many children this daycare is allowed to care for, along with how long they have been in business. This information should be available from your local government.

Call your local child welfare agency, and enquire if there have been any complaints of child abuse/neglect in the last two years. If there are any issues still under investigation, run! Do not enroll your child at that daycare.

Interview the daycare manager, enquire as to the certification levels of all staff. Any fully accredited day care will be pleased to show you the diplomas/degrees of any staff member. It is not enough for them, to simply tell you the staff are accredited or licensed. The daycare manager should provide you with proof that all staff members, including secretaries,janitors and cooks have clear criminal records, and clear child abuse registry checks. This is important, as people tend to think abuse only comes from the immediate caregivers. You want to know that your children will be safe with whoever they come into contact with in that specific daycare.

Why do this? In the past, daycare training was often on-the-job and daycare providers were looked upon as little more than substitue babysitters. In Canada, for example, it has only been in the last 10 years that Government insisted that any daycare provider hold at least a two year Community College diploma. Staff members having 5 or more years experience in any daycare were simply just given'accreditation'. Now, are Canadian government insists that any child day care worker must write the relevant exams, and spend a minimum number of hours getting extra training through extension courses.

This is no longe acceptable. Our world is no longer safe. Not to suggest that formerly 'un-accredited' staff were unable to provide decent care. Accreditation, simply means they meet the standards enforced by the government.

Other things to check for include how happy do the staff and children look at the daycare? What are the condition of the toys and resources? How often are new ones bought? What type of meals are cooked? Can they deal with any food allergies your child may have? Do all the staff know how to perform First Aid and CPR? Dropping in at unexpected times at any daycare, can give you the best information.

On a final note, even if a daycare meets all the accreditation standards for facilities and staff, but you get a wierd feeling in your stomach, RUN! Check out at least 3 daycares before you commit to a contract with any of them. Your child's happiness and safety is paramount.

Learn more about this author, Melissa D. Ing.
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