When I was pregnant with D, B and I started to talk about who will look after the baby after I am back to work.
1. Should I quit my job and be a Stay-At-Home-Mum (SAHM)?
2. Should we let the grandparents look after?
3. A nanny?
4. Employ a helper / maid?
5. Send him to an infant care?
6. Be a Work-From-Home-Mum (WFHM)?
There seems to be many options (well, not many lah, only 6). After eliminating a few, we were left with:
1. A nanny
2. A helper / maid
3. Infant care
We did not like the idea of a helper and we could not find a suitable nanny, or maybe we did not try hard enough. Having come from a family with many cousins who used to be in child care centres, I like the idea of the infant care ("IFC"), minus the cost of it.
So, today, many years and months after both my boys "graduated" from an infant care, I share with you on what to look out for should you decide on one. Note that the pointers are based on my personal experiences and that every individual is different on what are their priorities.
Infant care centres and child care centres are in high demand and there is often a waiting list. Check out the ECDA Child Care Link on the child care centres available at the location of choice.
1. Caregiver-infant ratio
The present guideline for the maximum staff-child ratio for infant care is 1 caregiver to 5 infants. 1 caregiver to 5 infants is, in my opinion, very challenging. I believe it should be in a ratio of about 1 caregiver to 2-3 infants. And depending on the age of the infants, which could be between 2.5 months to 18 months, there should be enough caregivers to look after the different basic needs of the children.
2. Staff / teacher turnover
Understand how long the teachers have been with the centre. By this, I do not mean interrogate! A centre with caregivers / teachers who have served a couple of years show that the place is a conducive place to work in. It is just like us, working adults. Sometimes, it is not just the job but the environment that makes us feel that the job is worth staying in. A happy teacher / caregiver = a happy interaction with the children! Of course, understand how long the caregiver / teacher has been in the infant care line as caring for infants are somewhat different from teaching and / or caring for pre-schoolers.
3. Routine / schedule
Check if there is a timetable. Yes! I believe that children needs a routine. I have seen infant care centres without a routine. Children fall asleep whenever they want and teachers are busy round the clock as some sleep while some others are playing. When children are given a routine on weekdays, it makes weekends planning easier as well as we will know when the children need their naps.
4. Refrigerator
A refrigerator? Yup. There should be a refrigerator for the purpose of keeping the breast milk, brought in by the mummies. I do not think that the ebm should be kept in the kitchen's refrigerator with all the other food stuff.
5. Visit the centre during bath times. If it is a air-condition IFC, note if they turn off the air conditioner during shower times. Usually the shower area / changing area for infants are within the IFC itself, most of the times a partitioned area and we do not want the air-conditioner to be on when the infants are bathing, do we? Side tracking… in an air-conditioned IFC, please also remember to bring provide your own baby lotion.
6. Menu
Ask for the menu. And discuss with the caregivers on specific preferences, such as weaning only after 6 months, no egg yolks after xx months. They should be open to discussions on parents' preferences - reasonable ones.
Most importantly, talk to the supervisor or in-charge as well as the teachers. As parents, we sometimes have to depend on our gut feelings on certain things. A parent's instinct is most of the time accurate - thus, if you think you are not comfortable with a certain IFC, please do not enroll your child there.
Each parent has their own set of guidelines or preferences. The points above may not be the most exhaustive list of things to note or look out for. Apart from the general safety and child-proofing requirements already laid out by the respective government agencies, the above 6 points are what I view as important when deciding an infant care centre.
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