Also called: Also called: Day care
Children's healthy development depends on safe and positive experiences when they are very young. If you work or go to school, you want to know that your child is in good hands while you are away. You may choose in-home care, where the caregiver comes to your home. Or your child might go to the caregiver's home. Finally, there are child care centers. You need to choose the one that works for your family.
It is important to get to know your child's caregivers. They will be a big part of your child's life. The caregiver's training should involve
- Knowledge of how young children learn and grow
- Positive, consistent discipline
- Knowledge of the signs that a child is sick
- Cleanliness and safety practices to help keep kids from getting sick or hurt
- Basic first aid
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Day Care: Choosing a Good Center(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/infants/030.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/children/parents/infants/030.printerview.html
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Healthy Kids, Healthy Care(National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education) - http://www.healthykids.us/
Also available in Spanish http://www.healthykids.us/spanish/
- Child Care - Finding High-Quality Care(American Academy of Pediatrics) - http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZ3IIGC44D&sub_cat=13
- Choosing Child Care(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/child_care.html
- Is This the Right Place for My Child?(National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies) - Links to PDF - http://www.childcareaware.org/docs/38IndicatorsChecklist.pdf
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Types of Care(National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies) - http://www.childcareaware.org/en/child_care_101/types_of_care//
Also available in Spanish http://www.childcareaware.org/sp/child_care_101/types_of_care/
- Early Daycare Linked to Lower Asthma Risk(09/16/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69315.html
- All in the Family: Making Child Care Provided by Relatives Work for Your Family(National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies) - Links to PDF - http://www.childcareaware.org/docs/pubs/103e.pdf
- Child Care - Center-Based Care(American Academy of Pediatrics) - http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZPR0DYA7C&sub_cat=13
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Be Sure Your Child Care Setting Is As Safe As It Can Be(Consumer Product Safety Commission) - http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/chldcare.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/childspa.html
- Building a Relationship with Caregivers(American Academy of Pediatrics) - http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZRVMBTA7C&sub_cat=13
- Child Care for Children with Special Needs(American Academy of Pediatrics) - http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZUYSNUA7C&sub_cat=13
- Choosing and Instructing a Babysitter(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/babysitter.html
- Controlling Illness in Child Care Programs(American Academy of Pediatrics) - http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZN7CDTA7C&sub_cat=13
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Five Steps to Choosing Summer Child Care(National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies) - Links to PDF - http://www.childcareaware.org/docs/pubs/107e.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.childcareaware.org/docs/pubs/107s.pdf
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How Asthma-Friendly Is Your Child-Care Setting? Checklist
(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/lung/asthma/chc_chk.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/lung/asthma/chc_ck-s.htm - Managing School Holidays and Vacations(American Academy of Pediatrics) - http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZO53TSBAC&sub_cat=18
- Preparing for Disaster: The Parent View(National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies) - http://www.childcareaware.org/en/resources/preparing_for_disaster/
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and the Child Care Provider(Maternal and Child Health Bureau, First Candle/SIDS Alliance) - Links to PDF - http://www.firstcandle.org/FC-PDF3/sids%20&%20child%20care%20provider.pdf
- Finding Help Paying for Child Care(National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies) - Links to PDF - http://www.childcareaware.org/docs/pubs/110e.pdf
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Child Care Study(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/seccyd.cfm
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NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD): Findings for Children Up to Age 4 1/2 Years(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) - Large PDF file - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/upload/seccyd_051206.pdf
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Day-care attendance, position in sibship, and early childhood wheezing: a... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18774386&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Preschool child care participation and obesity at the start of... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18676550&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Directly observed physical activity levels in preschool children. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18651931&tool=MedlinePlus
- Child Care -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=(child+day+care+centers[mh]+OR+nurseries[mh:noexp]+OR+schools,+nursery[mh])+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+jsubsetaim[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Child Care Glossary(National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies) - http://www.childcareaware.org/en/tools/glossary/
- NAEYC Accredited Program Search(National Association for the Education of Young Children) - http://www.naeyc.org/academy/search/
- State Child Care Home Pages(National Child Care Information Center) - http://nccic.org/statedata/dirs/statehp.html
- State Child Care Licensing Agency(National Child Care Information Center) - http://www.nccic.org/statedata/dirs/display.cfm?title=licensing
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Child Care Aware(National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies) - http://www.childcareaware.org/en/
Also available in Spanish http://www.childcareaware.org/sp/
- Child Care Bureau - http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/
- National Child Care Information Center - http://www.nccic.org/
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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/
- Individual States' Child Care Licensure Regulations(National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education) - http://nrc.uchsc.edu/STATES/states.htm
- Who's Minding the Kids?: Child Care Arrangements(Bureau of the Census) - http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/child/ppl-177.html
- Preparing Your Child for Child Care(American Academy of Pediatrics) - http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZ6OJTSA7C&sub_cat=13
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Babysitting Basics(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/jobs/babysit.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/escuela/babysit_esp.html
- Tips for Having a Safe Babysitting Experience: Market Yourself Safely(American Red Cross) - http://www.redcross.org/services/hss/courses/tips.html
- Guide for Dads: Give Your Child an Early Lead in Life... Quality Child Care(National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies) - Links to PDF - http://www.childcareaware.org/docs/pubs/111e.pdf
- Child Safety - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/childsafety.html
- Children and Teenagers - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/childrenandteenagers.html