Many parents gladly admit that raising their children was the most stressful and rewarding experience of their lives. Today, 90% of the cost of child care is assumed by the parents in the United States, meaning that many parents have to work in order to provide for their families. Child Care Aware of America found that putting two children in child care often has a cost that exceeds the median annual rent in every state. This is coupled with the fact that nearly 11 million children under the age of five are in need of some kind of childcare arrangement. Thankfully, there exist a variety of options for daycare providers whether its public, private, or corporate care you’re looking for.
The Start of Childcare Resources
The early 19th century saw numerous welfare and childcare reformations that would eventually culminate into the beginning of the daycare movement. Over the years, daycare providers would fall under a set of state standards. Many schools would go on to further define themselves by founding a teaching philosophy such as the Montessori and Waldorf programs.
Learning for Life
The first years of life are critical due to a child’s learning capacity. By the age of two, a child is adding 5 words to their vocabulary per day. At age three your child has already developed nearly 1,000 trillion connections between brain cells; this number is twice as many as the average adult. When your child reaches four years old they will ask an average of 437 questions per day. National statistics reveal that 80% of children will spend time in childcare by age four and there is research that shows the benefits of early childcare education on the academic lives of students.
How to Chose a Daycare Center
Many daycare providers have set hours that accommodate working parents, but the financial support may not be available. A growing trend is showing itself in the form of corporate daycare facilities, which are often on-site facilities wholly or partially sponsored by companies for the exclusive use of their employees. Although these are employer sponsored child care programs, many are actually run by independent contractors that use their own certified or qualified employees to staff the facility. Corporate daycare facilities are often the employee’s first choice as the company will usually aid the parents to pay for the childcare at work.
