What To Look For In An After-School Child Care Program

1 November 2019
 Categories: , Blog

Share

If you need to find after-school child care, you will want to begin to research the various options in your community. The last thing you want to do is to just pick any random child care center, as it might not be a proper fit for your child. Instead, you will want to take a little time to read through the following tips. This way, you will have a better idea of what you should be looking for when you are trying to decide which after-school child care program you should sign your child up for.

Ask About Bus Routines

If your child will have to ride the school bus and get dropped off at the child care facility, you want to know what their procedures are for getting the kids off of the bus. How far away is the bus stop from the center? Do they send someone to the bus stop to wait for the kids to arrive and get off of the bus, or are the kids expected to walk to the center on their own? If your child is young, you might want to make sure that there will be an adult there to accompany them from the bus to the after-school care center.

Do They Provide Refreshments And Stimulation

Even if your child will only be there for an hour or two after school, kids are often hungry and thirsty when they leave school. You will want to know if the center will have some light refreshments for them to hold them over until they get home. Also, do they provide activities to get the kids minds stimulated or do they help with homework? You would not want your child to just have to sit there bored until you are able to pick them up.

Take a little time to write a list of the needs that you and your child have, as well as anything that you feel is most important when you are reviewing your after-school child care programs. Call around to some of the local centers to ask them questions and to schedule a viewing of their facility. Once you have checked out a few places, you should have all of the information you need to make your selection. When you have found the best place for your child, you will want to sign them up right away. Remember that some of the best child care facilities tend to fill up fast. Since each center is only allowed to care for a certain number of children at any one time, you want to make sure that your child can be one of them.

For more information, contact an after-school child care center near you.