While there are many child care workers, who do an excellent job, often for
poor pay, there are some who do a poor job. This leaves many parents and
children with less than ideal child day care environments. Often parents
feel helpless to solve the problem(s) and when the situation gets bad they move
their child to another care arrangement hoping it will be better.
YOU HAVE MORE CONTROL THAN YOU REALIZE. Read on for suggestions on
how to improve your child's current child care environment.
COMING SOON: - A bulletin board for parents to exchange ideas on problems
and solutions.
The suggestions below are from conversations with parents who have
successfully solved child care issues and child care providers. If none of
them work and you decide to move your child then please visit our web pages on Locating
Child Care or Evaluating
Child Care Options.
Suggestion 1:
Speak with the director (owner / manager) / Child Care provider. Be
candid and explain, in as calm and non-accusatory manner as possible the issue(s).
Very often something that is a very obvious problem to you may not have been
noticed by the director or may be a problem which is currently being worked on
by the day care.
Based on your child's day care arrangement you will have to decide if it is best
to speak with the caregiver or their 'manager'. Many parents find speaking
with the 'manager' allows the conversation to be less confrontational, and a
good 'manager' can often address the situation in a way that does not indicate
the issue was raised by a parent, but rather is a constructive management
directive.
Additionally, consider who has the authority to solve the issue. Many
common problems in child care (understaffing, chronic staff turnover, etc).
cannot be properly addressed by individual caregivers. Finally, often the
manager will be able to tell you of plans underway to solve the issue, that the
caregiver may not be aware of.
Suggestion 2:
Speak with other parents. Band together for your Child's sake.
No business (and child care is a business to the day care provider) can afford
to have validly unhappy customers. Child care's, like many personal
business, live and 'die' by their reputation.
Multiple parents approaching the day care to change a practice may have success
where one parent may not.
Use this log to approach the child care provider, other parents or to file a
complaint. Many states will handle complaints confidentially.
Suggestion 4:
Write a letter listing the concerns and issues, including date & times
if possible. If you feel the issues are ones which can be solved and that
children at the day care are not in danger, then send the first letter to the
director, the owner of the center, the Child Care Regulation
Agency.
If you feel children are in danger you may want to consider sending
the letter to other parentswho have children at the day care.
If you have names of other children at the center you may be able to locate
their parents/address using online phone directories such as www.anywho.com
or www.bigyellow.com. Request these
parents also file complaints with the Child Care Regulation agency and / or
speak with the director when they see problems.
NOTE: MANY PARENTS DO NOT COMPLAIN BECAUSE THEY DO NOT KNOW
THE RULES.
Suggestion 5:
If there are violations to the state regulations you should contact the State
Child Care Regulator Agency, even if you have or will soon move your child to
another care facility.
If parents simply move their children from one child care arrangement to
another, they will simply find the new arrangements have problems too.
Because the parents before you simply ignored violations and/or moved on without
complaint.
Please be an advocate for all children and the many
child care providers who do an excellent job of caring for children. Loudly
complain about the poor ones, until they improve or get out of the field.
Do not let the few who do a bad job ruin the reputation of the many hard working
(and often poorly paid) day care workers.
FOR KID'S SAKE - A SITE DEDICATED TO PARENTS, CHILDREN &
CHILD CARE PROVIDERS EVERYWHERE - Thank you for visiting!
486 Keebler Road
King of Prussia, PA 19406 610-337-2423
