Choosing a Child Care Program

By Aoife Rose Magee

For parents, finding the right child care program for your family is an important decision. Here are important things to consider when choosing where to enroll your child or children.

Category	What to Consider
Basic Family Needs	Consider the location. Look for schools that are conveniently close to your home or daily commute. Determine whether you need full-time or part-time care. Find out if the schedule and hours of operation will work for your family. Research average tuition costs in your area and determine what you can comfortably afford, keeping in mind that financial aid or state subsidies may be available.
Types of Child Care	Center-based Child Care (offered in a classroom-like setting) Home-based Child Care (offered in a provider's home) School-based Child Care (offered in a public school setting)
Visit the Program	Take a tour, observe closely, and ask lots of questions. Get familiar with the policies, philosophy of care and education, guidance strategies, special needs support, and daily routines. Ask to review the parent handbook. Make sure safety and health needs are being addressed. Look for evidence of positive relationships and interactions.
Teachers and Staff	Ask about the experience, education, and ongoing professional development of the staff. Confirm adequate teacher-to-child ratios and general supervision.
Learning Environment	An environment that is developmentally appropriate for young children will encourage hands-on play and joyful exploration. There should be adequate space indoors and outdoors for movement and activities. Check what materials and activities are available for children and whether they encourage exploration and engagement.
Family Engagement	Explore ways that the program encourages parent involvement. Ask how the program provides information and communicates with parents. Check on opportunities for families to participate in decision making and goal setting for their child and the program. Explore how home languages and culture will be supported.

After touring and reviewing your options, trust your instincts and see which environment feels like the best fit for your child's unique personality and temperament.

When in doubt, it can be helpful to ask people you know and trust about local options and their experiences.

Aoife Rose Magee, PhD, earned a doctoral degree in Special Education from the University of Oregon Early Intervention Program. Her personal and professional interests have been largely focused on the social-emotional development of young children and how positive parenting and teaching practices may contribute to healthy development, promote resiliency, and mediate risk factors. Aoife is professional development specialist for students and practitioners in the areas of Early Childhood Education, Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education and Parenting Education.  Aoife serves as a Master Trainer for the Oregon Registry and frequently provides community based and private workshops for early childhood educators, parenting educators, and other professionals. For more than thirty years, she worked directly with families as a parenting educator, and she is a former Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative Hub Coordinator for the Parenting Success Network. She currently teaches as a full-time faculty in the Early Childhood Education Program at Lane Community College. She is also the mother of a fantastic young adult son and enjoys nature and creative pursuits in her spare time.