Blog #9........

Personally, I plan to leave my children in some sort of home day care facility. I have worked in both private and public child care facilities and can defiantly tell a difference between the two. Since turning sixteen, I have worked in 4 public day cares and 2 private home day cares. The atmosphere of the two environments is completely opposite. Home day cares are not licensed to carry as many children as public day cares therefore, I feel as if my children will be better tended to as opposed to being in a facility that although may be appropriately staffed for their amount of children there are more children to tend to and therefor less time for each worker with each child. Within day care facilities the meal program is regulated by the government. Cooks must keep meal logs and the meals are required to provide the recommended amount of each food group as is decided by the government. By law, milk must be served with breakfast and lunch, children must be given a fruit and a bread every breakfast. The same rules apply to home day care facilities but the children to staff ratio is much smaller. In public child care facilities the child to staff ratio of 2 year old to 5 year old are 8 :1 which means that I can have 8 children ranging from diapers, to potty training, to being potty trained all at the same time. Its very difficult to balance changing ones diaper and still control the rest of the kids in your classroom. After working in a private home facility I truly enjoy it more. It is much less stressful and therefore much more enjoyable for the children as well as the staff members.