India has seen remarkable shift in socio-economical life during the last decade. More and more families are becoming nuclear and at the same time both mother and father are becoming working couples. This has created a growing need for day care and after school childcare services especially in tier-I and tier – 2 cities. Looking to the situation in cities, the need of well equipped and good quality day care services will become pertinent.
If we look at the time a kid spends in the day care, its role in the overall development of the kid cannot be ignored. The day care support substitutes the warmth and care a child receives at home by the parent or the grandparents. These services are intended to provide a safe and nurturing environment for children while their parents are away. So, there are five pillars of a good and dependable day care centre.
(1) Basic Care (2) Behaviour Support (3) Educational Support (4) Fun Time (5) Emergency Response
It typically involves providing a safe, nurturing environment for the children at the day care centre. It is to see that the children can learn and engage themselves in activities that meet their individual needs. This may include reading and playing with the children, helping them with arts and crafts, and providing structure to the day with mealtimes, play times, and rest times. A good day care centre must fulfil all these requirements without any compromise.
The age group of the kids enrolled in the day care centre is mostly between 2 to 9 years. At this age, positively mending the behaviour in child is very important. The centre must be run by qualified staff who is capable to address the behaviour need of the kids. The staff should create a space where the children feel safe and can express themselves without fear of judgement or criticism. The staff must show resilience to handle the hyperactive kids.
For the school going children, environment at the day care centre plays a very important role. The major concern of the parents of this age group is how to effectively utilize the time spent at the centre to complete the homework and assignment. There must be qualified caretaker/teacher must be available to guide and support the homework requirement. Educational support can also include helping children to develop language, literacy, and math skills
Fun time plays an important role in the development of children. It is an essential tool for learning, socializing, and developing physical and mental skills. Fun activities help children develop their motor skills, problem-solving skills, imagination, and creativity. Fun time also gives children an opportunity to explore their environment and develop a sense of curiosity and exploration. The model day care centre must have sufficient space and facility where the kids can be engaged in the fun activities.
It is important that the day care centre must be designed keeping the “safety first” concept at the centre stage. The furniture must not have any sharp edges and the floor must be covered with the mat to avoid any physical damage. The overall design must be such that there should not be any accidental emergency. In such event the centre must be equipped with the first aid and there must be set protocol to inform the parent at the earliest.
As today the parents are more and more dependent on the day care centre for the taking care of their children after the school hours, the right selection of the day care centre become very important. The article surely helps to check the facility and to select the appropriate childcare centre.