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Babysitters and Daycare:

One of the hardest decisions for a parent of a baby to make is who to pick to be your child's babysitter, or what daycare to put your child in. You want your child to receive the best care possible for what you can afford, and finding this can be a difficult task.

If you will be putting your child in daycare, a few important points to think about are as follows:

• The teacher-student ratio—how many kids there are per teacher is a very important factor when considering whether you think this particular daycare will be able to offer your child the type of care that you want them to have.

• The cost—you need to be able to afford it. After all, you do not want to have to switch your child to a different daycare because you can no longer afford the one that he is in.

• Convenience—the hours and location are obviously very important factors when choosing a daycare.

• How your child likes it—when you go in to talk to them about enrolling your child, take him with you. How your child acts during this visit can help determine how hard of a time you will have getting him to go on the first day.

• Talk to other parents and kids—when you make your visit, it is a good idea to go during general pick-up time. This way you can stop some parents and kids and ask them how they like the daycare.

If you will be choosing a babysitter for your child, there are also a few key things to pay attention to:

• Where the sitter stays—is this a babysitter that comes to your house, or do you take your child to their house?

• Are they licensed—while having a daycare license doesn't guarantee how good they will be with your child, at least it shows that they take their job seriously.

• How much experience do they have? You should ask them this question as many times in as many ways as you can. You should also get a list of references of people who have had them as a sitter before. While they could be lying and these people may just be their friends, a list of relatives is better than no list at all. Be sure to actually call these references and ask as many questions as you can think of.

• How much do they charge? This is just as important as asking the daycare this question, except it's for different reasons. Obviously, they will likely charge less than a daycare center would, but if they are ridiculously low-priced, you should look elsewhere for someone to take good care of your child.

There are many more questions you can ask and things you can do to try to ensure that you will be receiving the best care possible for your child. While it may take a lot of work to try to find just the right person or place, it is well worth it to know that your child is being well cared for.



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