It is not easy finding an infant child care program for the apple of your eye. You have to enquire about a variety of factors before selecting a childcare centre which is capable of taking care of your child’s needs. The primary enquiry may be about the validity of the license of an infant care centre and about the fees. The monthly fee is largely influenced by the duration of care. You may enquire about the awards received by an infant care centre in order to determine its reliability. It is important to walk through the facility in order to determine its cleanliness. These are basic enquiries. It is essential to ask a few additional questions before determining the suitability of an infant care centre for your child.
- Separate Sections for Childcare & Infant-Care
In Singapore, an infant care centre is for 2-18 months old children and a childcare centre is for older children (18 months to 6 year old). Many infant care centres take care of the older children. However, a childcare centre has to remain separate from an infant care centre. The infants are more sensitive to different stimuli and are more susceptible to illnesses. They also need a separate space for playing and learning. Thus, it is essential to ensure that separate space has been allotted for the infant care centre and childcare centre.
- Care Routine
The infants and toddlers both need close supervision of adults with regards to the health, hygiene and activities. They have to follow a routine. Therefore, it is essential to enquire about the ‘care routine’ of an infant-care centre, such as naptime routine, feeding hours or steps of bathing etc.
- Activity Time
It is essential for the infants to spend some time outside the cot. They learn through stimulation and may fail to learn anything if they do not spend enough time outside the cot. Thus, it is prudent to enquire about the time for activities or how much time is spent by an infant outside the cot.
- Research Based Curriculum
It is important to enquire about the curriculum that is followed by an infant child care program. It is essential for an infant-care centre to follow a curriculum that is ideal for them based upon the research.
