What Quality Childcare Looks Like - Emily Rogan

May 20O6 www'liParent'com
Gluality
Ghild Garc)
Does Their Program
Off,Sf What TheY Need
'{gi**n$.}Srri'
;j e :l:; :: :t-/=-t -li-rt g
I1 :l:) ]-i u t-trt J
SafetY lssues and
New Products
tnwest In
Vcrurself
Gontinuing
For Moms
Ed
Enter Our
Online Gonfest

The playground at AdeLphi
University's Chitd Activity Center
in Garden City bustLes with
preschooters throwing batts,
climbing equipment and ptaying
in the sand. Inside during circte
time, four- and five-year-olds [isten
and respond as the'ir teacher
guides them through a book
' about the alphabet and its meaning
in sign [anguage.
This is just one snapshot of
child care on Long Island, but
there are thousands more like
them. Here 46 percent of chitdren
under five years old - 74,000
chjldren - are jn preschoo[ or
child care, according to a survey
conducted by the Rauch
Foundation in May 2003.
Chitd care includes centers,
Head Start programs. pre-K programs
and fami[y chitd-care
homes, where neighbors are
licensed to care for up to six chitdren.
The search for care can be
daunting for parents; the decision-making
process often overwhetms
them. But perhaps the
biggest chattenge facing parents,
' and one they might not always
64 iTEWSDAPS PAFEIVI',IS & CHtt-OnEN www.liparent.com nay gssg

,,,li.i f 1..;,.
fltu{&d
consider, is whether the situation they choose provides quality care.
But parents may not know exactly what quatity means when it
comes to entrusting their children to someonetse - or how
'imoorlant it is.
Early chil.dhood education experts agree that quatity is much more
than simpl.y meeting state health and safety regulations. "Early brain
development sets the pace for the rest of [ife," says Dana Friedman,
Ed.D.. project director of Early Care and Education-Long Istand (ECEU),
a collaboration of experts on parenting and chitd devetopment dedicated
to improving the qual.ity of earty chitdhood services on Long Istand.
Over the last five years, Friedman says, researchers have confirmed
that. "you cannot separate intellectual. social and emotional devetopment
and that relationships in the early years are the most critical for
later schooI success."
In fact, 85 to 90 percent of brain capacity in terms of that deve[-
opment is formed by age five. Yet 95 percent of our investment in public
education doesn't begin untit after that age. says Diane Cohen.
executive director of the Long Istand Fund for Women and Girts, which
atong with the Long Istand Women's Agenda. is giving $50,000 annuat-
[y to parent education and advocacy groups for a new awareness campaign.
The Earty Years Matter: What Every Parent Needs to Know.
"Thafs why ifs crucia[ that parents selecthe type of chitd care programs
that witl best promote their chi[d's devetopment."
Ifs easy to understand why parents and chitd-care providers are
confused by the word "quatity." Pressure for students to perform we[[
in schooL and on state assessments, to be admitted to highly competitive
cotleges and the emphasis from the media on how American
students compare to their internationaI peers, has led parents and
care givers to beUeve that highty structured, academic earty care wi[[
make chjLdren better prepared for the future. Parents are swayed by
centers that promise to teach reading, writing and math. But says,
Friedman, 'You don't need an academic program for children to succeed
acaderirically later in schoot." Instead, chitdren need adutts to speak
to them and ask them questions and encourage them to ask questions.
Childre need safe, accessiblequipment to satisfy their curiosity.
And most importantly, they need to have their feelings validated and
feel loved.
To address the issue of quatity care on Long Island, Friedman, a
nationatty renowned researcher and poticy analyst, created a study with
ECELI to anatyze the current state of chitd care on Long Island and
determine where improvements are needed and how those changes
might be imptemented. While there are no avaitabte [oca|' statistjcs as
to the number of quatity care centers here, ECELI is trying to establish
basic standards that are understood and recognized by providers -
and parents - across the area. These standards include educated
staff, age-appropriate curricutum, facitity, parentat support and ctear
discio[ine orocedures.
Here's what you should see in a day care or
private chitd care setting that indicates the
program is of good quatity:
I There should be low staff turn-over to
support consistency in care.
I There should be a high ratio of adutts to
chitdren.
r Children in atl-day child care need a ptace
to curt up and relax. Is there batance between
active and peaceful time
I Are staff members really tatking to chiLdren,
rather than giving directions Are they
asking open-ended questions to eticit thoughtfuI
responses
I Chitdren aren't quiet peopte, so if the
facitity is too quiet, something is making them
that way - it couLd be fear.
I The caregiver should be at the chitdren's
tevet. If the kids are sitting on the ftoor, their
caregiver should be as welt.
I Caregivers shoutd be engaged with the
chitdren. The chitdren shouldn't be ptaying on
one side of the room while the teachers are in
a group on the other.
I Is the director accessibte and visible
throughout the day Doe she make hersetf
avaitable to parents when they have questions
and concerns
I Overa[[, there should be music, singing,
laughter and a general lightness of spirit
throughout the center.
- Rogan
66 ,VEWSDAy'S PARE TTS & CH,LDREN www.liDarent.com

Long Island Swim School
From Be$inner to 0lYmPian
Your child's first activirY should
be one that can save their life.
.-., i
Swrng$f*-#flrf#
Lons Island Swim School is the teaching
arm"of the Lons lsland Aquatic Club' a USA
Swimmine National Program of Excellence'
Classes are held year round at the:
CMS Vellnest Center Omni Building
35Earle Ovington Blvd., Uniondale
CALL US AT 516.378.8467
email: longislandswimming@hotmail'com
or register on the-web: longislandswimming'com
Nurturing a chjl.d's development begins with a know[edgeabte
and wel,l"-trained caregiver who knovrrs whafs appropriate
for chil.dren at each stage. Parents need to understand that
just because a [icensed program has met some basic heatth
and safety standards it isn't necessarity a high-quatity educational
program, says Nancy 0Lsen-Harbich, human development
speciatist at the Cornetl Cooperative Extension in
Riverhead. "High-quality programs happen only if you have
high qual.ity staff," she saYs-
That comes when the staff understands the difference
between devetopmentaL milestones on paper and developmental
mitestones of an individuat chitd, says Joann Bousquet'
executjve director of Hi-Hetto Childcare Centelin Freeport and
founder of the Hi-Hel.to Training Institute' "Ifs our chaltenge
to educate our staff as to what these milestones are so that
they can recognize when the child is going through it and
guide him to that goat," she saYs.
The staff shoul.d al,so understand that chitdren need good
experiences from which to draw as they grow, as they p[ay'
through their contacts with adutts, through nurturing and
caring and feel.ing safe and secure. says Janet Walerstein'
executive director of the Chil'd Care CounciI of Suffotk'
In addition to staffing, curriculum and how the staff
imptements it is an important element for parents to consider.
As far as infants are concerned, lVaterstejn says children
shouLdn't be teft for long penods of time' "Even during diapering
there should be conversation. Reading books even to
infants is crucia[ to brain devetopment," she says'
0tsen-Harb'ich says that a good teacher uses the interests.
curiosity and needs of the chi[dren to determine how
she's going to ptan for the chitdren. "So jf a chitd has a sib-
Ling who's sick," she says, "the teacher might set up a littte
hospital. for the child to act out how he feets"'
Dai[y routines must inctude physicat activity' "Chitdren
shoutd go outside in al't kinds of weather," says Walerstein'
"Its on the playground where chitdren learn to give and take
with their peers, as we[[ as devetop their gross-motor ski[ts"'
Hand-in-hand with curricutum is the room set-up ano
equipment. According to Walerstein the room should jnctude:
I a good btock area for chitdren to integrate story-tetting
with btock buil"ding;
I a famity-center/housekeeping corner with dress-up
ctothes;
I easets with lots of Paints and

fl*re
.Llh€A#
jii!
t a lot of good literature.
Atice Brown. director of AdeLphi's Chitdhood Activity Center
says children need to have access to these materials and good
equipment to stimutate their senses and develop thinking on a
very organic levet.
Par**ta l .:,: I ;:: *qj;' r
In a quality setting, parents wjtl have access to the program
- whenever they want. Jan Barbieri, executive director of the
Chitd Care CounciI of Nassau. says that a child-care program
should have an open-door policy for parents to come in any time,
whether announced or unannounced. In addition, the provider
should offer as much parental supporto strengthen the learning
and growth happening in chitd care each day. Conferences.
newstetters and [ending fibrariestocked with child-devetopment
books are alt importantoots to help parents.
Parentshoutd atso ask providers about their discipLine
phitosophies. "There should be a certain tone of mutual respect
between chitdren and their caregiver," says Barbieri. "With
preschooters you shouldn't heat You have to say you're sorryj but
rather questions that witl. prompt probtem sotving and elicit a so[ution
from the children."
Walerstein adds, "The caregiver shoutd know what to expect
from a two-year-otd. You shoutdn't hear, You're a big boy, don't
cry'or'Be a good boyl"
Teachers need to have realistic expectations of chitdren at
each devetopmental stage. "A high-quatity teacher needs to know
ways to re-direct a pre-verbal toddler to keep him from biting,"
says Bousquet.
A quat'ity program hetps to prepare children for their schoot
years. But schoo[ readiness doesn't come from flash cards and
math driLLs. and in fact, when an earty-care program is too academic,
children may actuatly devetop behavioral problems because
they're not capabte of listening for long periods of time.
"Many parents are lured by high-tech, computer-driven curriculum
at new, state-of-the-art chitd care centers," says Walerstein.
"They're so scared that their kids aren't going to achieve, that
they're attracted to anything that pushes cognitive development.
They don't understand what real tearning is. It comes through
experiences, reading, going to museums, going to the park and
just hanging out."
Research supports the fact that when chitdren have positive
experiences in quatity earty care, the benefits are clear. In a recent
potl sponsored by the organization Fight Crime: Invest jn Kids, 78
to 93 percent of 800 kindergarten teachersurveyed nationwide
said that children who had attended quality pre-kindergarten
programs were more tikety to:
I get atong with others and be sensitive to their feelings;
I count;
I possess problem-solving skj[ts;
I know letters of the atphabet;
t foltow directions and
I be less disruptive in class.
i i:;le i *1., f-il::,t;lci
Friedman says that what kids need in their child-carexperience
is the same across a[[ different kinds of programs. Through
her efforts. ECELI is working on innovationsuch as a Quality
Rating System. a kind of Zagat guide to quality chitd care.
Advocates and professionals have their work cut out for them, but
most are optimistic; increasingly the chil.d care industry js becoming
recognized as a significant component of our economy.
Thafs important for chitdren like Tycho Ati of Huntington, who
recites the names of his daycare friends and teachers before fatling
asteep. And for El.j Bank of Green[awn, whose caregiver knows
everything about him: what he likes and doesn't fike and when to
give him space if he's in a bad mood. And for a[[ the other chjldren
on Long Island. who. says Walerstein, "are going to be our next
generation of good thinkers and inventors, peopte who use their
imagination." 6
Emily S. Rogon is a freelance writer who lives in
Huntington with her husband and two children.
70 NEWSDAYS PABENTS & CHiI-DREN wwwliparentcom ,']i-ti' .l{.ii:'l