Quality child care is a blend of art and science. The art of child care is the ability to respond to the child-and to a group of children-in the moment, in a way that will support development. Today's children are in center based care younger and longer than ever before. The learner will lay the foundation for what it takes to begin a quality child care center in this paper. The learner will go through the steps or actions that need to take place before one opens a new child care facility, such as marketing, and demographics. The learner then will discuss the aspects of quality child care, and how it can be implemented to the benefit of the children, families, and employees.
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Table of Contents.
Table of Contents ii.
Introduction 3.
Target Market 5.
Demographic Study 6.
Market Share 7.
Competition Study 8.
Goals and Objectives 8.
Marketing 9.
System Management 11.
Legal Issues 14.
Labor Laws 15.
Community Relations 16.
Conclusion 18.
References 20.
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Introduction.
Quality child care is a blend of art and science. The science of child care encompasses knowledge of health and safety, developmental stages in the first years of life, and the temperament and other individual differences. The art of child care is the ability to respond to the child-and to a group of children-in the moment, in a way that will support development (Lally, 1995). Lally, (1995) suggest there are seven "gifts" that a good child care program offers young children, nurturance, support, security, predictability, focus, encouragement and expansion. When all of these "gifts" are present in a child care facility the program will then be providing quality child care. What can be done to insure that young children are getting the very best care? Data from the Cost, Quality, and Outcomes study (Cost, Quality, and Outcomes Study Team, 1995) suggest that several structural characteristics of care settings are associated with quality in early childhood programs.
