Daycare Centers

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Day Care Center
As a social Problem
This is the report done on an assignment given by Miss Farzana for (subject) sociology. The material may not be authentic as it is collected from different sources and the view point may differ of others

Jansher Bloch
8/8/2011

Introduction
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family. Day care is typically an ongoing service during specific periods, such as the parents' time at work. The service is known as child care in the United Kingdom and Australia and child care or day care in North America (although child care also has a broader meaning). Child care is provided in nurseries or crèches or by a nanny or family child care provider caring for children in their own homes. It can also take on a more formal structure, with education, child development, discipline and even preschool education falling into the fold of services. Some child minders care for children from several families at the same time, either in their own home (commonly known as "family day care" in Australia) or in a specialized child care facility. Some employers provide nursery provision for their employees at or near the place of employment. Child care in the child's own home is traditionally provided by a nanny or au pair, or by extended family members including grandparents, aunts and uncles.

History
Day care appeared in France about 1840, and the Society des Crèches was recognized by the French government in 1869. Originating in Europe in the late 18th and early 19th century, day cares were established in the United States by private charities in the 1850s, the first being the New York Day Nursery in 1854.

Business
The day care industry is a continuum from personal parental care to large, regulated institutions. The vast majority of childcare is still performed by the parents, in house nanny or through informal arrangements with relatives, neighbors or friends. For example, in Canada, among two parent families with at least one working parent, 62% of parents handle the childcare themselves, 32% have other in-home care (nannies, relatives, neighbours or friends) and only 6.5% use a formal day care center.

However for-profit day care corporations often exist where the market is sufficiently large or there are government subsidies. For instance, in North America, KinderCare Learning Centers, one of the largest of such companies, has approximately 1,600 centers located in 39 states and the District of Columbia. Bright Horizons Family Solutions another of the largest has over 600 daycare centers. Similarly the Australian government's childcare subsidy has allowed the creation of a large private-sector industry in that country. ABC Learning Centers is a publicly traded company running about 1,000 daycare centers in Australia and New Zealand and another 500 in the USA. Another factor favoring large corporate day cares is the existence of childcare facilities in the workplace. Large corporations will not handle this employee benefits directly themselves and will seek out large corporate providers to manage their corporate daycares. Most smaller, forprofit day cares operate out of a single location. In general, the geographic limitations and the diversity in type of daycare providers make child daycare a highly fragmented industry. The largest providers own only a very small share of the market. This leads to frustration for parents who are attempting to find quality child daycare, with 87% of them describing the traditional search for child daycare as "difficult and frustrating".

Non-profit daycare
"Considerable research has accumulated showing that not-for-profits are much more likely to produce the high quality environments in which children thrive." Non-profit day cares have some structural advantages over for-profit operations: They may receive preferential treatment in rents especially if they are affiliated with a church that is otherwise unoccupied during the week, or with a school that has surplus space. Location within a school may further bring the advantage of coordinated programs with the school and the advantage of a single location for parents who have older school-age children as well. Parents are typically the legal owners of the non-profit day care and will routinely provide consulting services (for example accounting, legal, human resource) for free. (There are some

non-profits not operated by parents, but by a board of directors made up of community representatives who just want what is good for children.) Non-profits have an advantage in fund-raising as most people will not donate to a for-profit organization. Non-profits, however, are typically limited in size to a single location as the parent-owners have no motivation to manage other locations where their children are not present. They may suffer from succession issues as children grow and parents leave the management of the day care to others. Local governments, often municipalities, may operate non-profit day care centers. In nonprofits, the title of the most senior supervisor is typically "executive director", following the convention of most non-profit organizations.

For-profit daycare
Family day cares can be operated by a single individual out of their home. There may be occasions when more than one individual cares for children in a family childcare home. This can be a stay-at-home parent who seeks supplemental income while caring for their own child. There are also many family childcare providers who have chosen this field as a profession. Local legislation will regulate the number and ages of children allowed per family child care home. Some localities have very stringent quality standards that require licensure for family child care homes while others require little or no regulations for childcare in individual's homes. Some home day cares operate illegally with respect to tax legislation where the care provider does not report fees as income and the parent does not receive a receipt to qualify for childcare tax deductions. However, it is beneficiary for Day Care providers to be licensed so that they can have access to financial benefits from their state government, or the federal government. Examples of such benefits are: Free Training and Professional Development Courses, Child And Adult Care Food Program (which allows eligible Daycare providers to claim a portion of costs relating to nutritious meals served to children),and more; Family childcare may be less expensive than center based care because of the lower overhead in family childcare. Many family childcare providers may be certified with the same credentials as center based staff. Franchising of home day care facilities attempts to bring economies of scale to home day care. A central operator handles marketing, administration and perhaps some central purchasing while the actual care occurs in individual homes. The central operator may provide training to

the individual care providers. Some providers even offer enrichment programs to take the daycare experience to a more educational level.

Staff
For all providers, the largest expense is labor. In a 1999 Canadian survey of formal child care centers, labor accounted for 63% of costs and the industry had an average profit of 5.3%.[7] Given the labour-intensive nature of the industry, it is not surprising that the same survey showed little economies of scale between larger and smaller operators. Local legislation may regulate the operation of day care centers, affecting staffing requirements. Laws may mandate staffing ratios (for example 1:3 for under 18 months, 1:5 for 18–30 months, 1:8 for over 30 months, and even higher ratios for older children). Legislation may mandate qualifications of supervisors. Staff typically does not require any qualifications but staff under the age of eighteen may require supervision. Typically, once the child reaches the age of twelve, they are no longer covered by day care legislation and programs for older children may not be regulated. In Canada, the workforce is predominantly female (95%) and low paid, averaging only 60% of average workforce wage. Many employees are at local minimum wage and are typically paid by the hour rather than salaried. In the United States, "child care worker" is the fifth most femaledominated occupation (95.5% female in 1999). In the US, staffing requirements vary from state to state.

Worldwide details
Spain
Spain provides paid maternity leave of 16 weeks with 30-50% of mothers returning to work (most full-time) after this[citation needed], thus babies of 4 months age tend to be placed in day care centers. Adult-infant ratios are about 1:7-8 first year and 1:16-18 second year.[citation needed] Public pre-school education is provided for most children aged 3–5 years in "Infantile" schools also providing primary school education.[citation needed]

Australia
Australia has a large child care industry, however in many locations (especially in inner-city suburbs of large cities and in rural areas) the availability is limited and, at the worst, the waiting periods can be up to several years. The Australian government's Child Care benefit scheme provides very limited assistance with the comparatively high child care costs - the median weekly cost of centre-based long day care in 2008 was approximately AU$265 which puts it out of the reach of lower income earners.

Regulation is under the auspices of the NCAC. Ratios are 1:4 for infants, and 1:10 for pre-schoolers. All childcare workers must have the minimum "Certificate III in Children's Services" in order to work in a centre.

Canada
Canada offers both private and subsidized daycares. According to provinces and cities some shortages of subsidized openings can lengthen the time needed to find a suitable childcare provider. To counter this governments or private enterprise sometimes enable parents to look for available spaces online.

United States
State legislation may regulate the number and ages of children allowed before the home is considered an official day care program and subject to more stringent safety regulations. Often the nationally recognized Child Development Associate credential is the minimum standard for the individual leading this home care program.[citation needed] Each state has different regulations for teacher requirements. In some states,for teaching in a Day Care center Teachers must have an Associates Degree in child Development. States with quality standards built into their licensing programs may have higher requirements for support staff such as teacher assistants. And for Head Start Teachers by 2012 all Lead teachers must have a Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education. States vary in the standards set for daycare providers, such as teacher to child ratios.

Family childcare can also be nationally accredited by the National Association of Family Childcare if the provider chooses to go through the process. National accreditation is only awarded to those programs who demonstrate the quality standards set forth by the NAFCC.

United Kingdom
The UK has a wide range of childcare offered, including child minders, day nurseries; playgroups and can also include pre-school education at school. It is regulated by OFSTED (CSSIW in Wales), which operates the application and inspection process for the sector. Childcare is primarily funded by parents; however the Single Funding Formula (pre-school funding) can be used at some day nurseries, playgroups and schools for a maximum of 5 sessions per week, the term after a child reaches 3 years. The government introduced a childcare allowance (vouchers) by which employers could make payments for childcare, prior to tax, on employees wages. Median rates (2011) are approximately £4.50 per hour for childminders, £7:5-£10 net per hour for nannies, £60-100 per week for au pairs and £35-£50 per day for day nurseries.

Mexico
In Mexico, the President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa has created a Social Program named "Programa de Estancias Infantiles" that included more than 8,000 Day Care Spaces for children between 1 and 3.11 years old. This program subsides Mothers that Work and Study and also Singles Fathers in a vulnerable situation. It has a great success having more than 125,000 children over the country. This is regulated by the Social Development Minister (Secretaría de Desarrollo Social).[1]

Germany
In Germany there is a variety of possibilities for young children. A famous example is the KITA (de:Kindertagesstätte). In 2009, under the leadership of family minister Ursula von der Leyen in the CDU government of Angela Merkel, a plan to triple to 750,000 the number of day-care places is proceeding. However, there are a number of conflicts between the goal of easing the challenges of raising a family and pursuing a career, on one hand, and the goal of easing child-generated noise pollution. A report highlights an appeal pending before the Constitutional Court against the Sternipark center, brought by its Hamburg neighbors in an already rather noisy location on a

thoroughfare between Othmarschen and Blankenese. The report also reviews the issue as it has arisen around the Federal Republic, with its aging, non-self-regenerating population.

Child Day Care Problems
Problems with your child at day care, such as crying when you leave, not getting along with others, etc., let's work on this together. Are you having problems with your child going to day care or behaving badly at day care? This is totally normal, but we can do a few things to make it better for your and your child. Think about this: the reason he cries and is causing problems is that he simply wants to be home with you all of the time and because you have to work you have to have him in day care. We will already assume that you have him in a day care situation that you trust. A thought would be to try to change your schedule in the morning: maybe get up a little bit earlier and plan to spend some quality time with your child, sitting and talking about everything, but always about day care and what a good day he will have, how you love him and will be there to pick him up right on time. Reassure him that there will be days when you won't have to go to work and those days will be spent together. Try to get to the day care facility a few minutes early, maybe walk him over to a special person he likes who works there, get him interested in playing, drawing etc. Try this as it may help him in adjusting to being away from you and away from home. Tell him all the fun things he will do with his new friends there. Now you'll need a special goodbye routine, not a long one but one that is consistent every morning: hugs, a few kisses and a smile and a great wave when you are leaving him for those hours. Don't ever look sad, save those sad looks or tears until you are out of sight. Get in the car and cry if necessary, but make sure there is also time for repair if you do. Did you know that most children won't cry of fuss more than a few minutes after the parent is gone? They get busy with other thoughts and their day goes by without problems. Then probably around time for you to pick them up they'll be a little sad and upset but that too will pass given enough time. Sometimes if the day care center tells you that your child is just not adjusting perhaps you can shorten the time you are away, work part time for just a little while, but that may not ever be necessary. Children sometimes adapt to changes, but sometimes they don't and it may take weeks or even months but the adjustment will happen, so be very patient and also very confident that you are doing as you should and all should be fine. Try to arrive at the same time everyday to pick up your child: you'll be surprised at how a child can look at the clock and know it is near 5 pm. Now after you pick him up have a fun routine on the way home, talk about his day, your day, play little games, like who will see a red car first: make this time with you and your child, or perhaps children, a fun time

Study ties day care to some behavior problems
However, kids in high-quality centers had better vocabulary skills at age 10

WASHINGTON — The more time that kids spent in day care, the more likely their sixth-grade teachers were to report problem behaviors such as getting in fights, being disobedient in school and arguing a lot, according to the largest study of child care and development ever conducted in the United States. But quality of day care and overall parenting were still bigger predictors of child development. For instance, those who got high-quality child care before entering kindergarten had better vocabulary scores in the fifth grade than did youngsters who received lower-quality care. The 1,364 children in the analysis had been tracked since birth as part of a study by the National Institutes of Health. The study triggered controversy in 2001 when it found that children who were in child care were more likely to be aggressive and defiant in kindergarten. Monday’s study follows them into the fifth and sixth grades. The researchers found that the vocabulary and behavior patterns did continue, but there were no differences in math, reading or other skills. Both the negative and positive effects were subtle, said Dr. James Griffin, who oversaw the study. “If you went into one of these classrooms, you wouldn’t be able to say, 'this child, this child and this child attended center-based care,'" Griffin said. Child development expert Barbara Bowman said the findings shouldn't add to guilt parents may feel about their kids spending time in day care. “Although there is a slight difference between children who have been in child care and children who have not, we don’t know what it means or how significant it is in terms of the children's subsequent achievement and adjustment in life," said Bowman, professor and co-founder of Chicago’s Erikson Institute, a child development graduate school. "It is interesting, but it is not a big, big deal." The researchers also assessed the quality of parenting. Griffin said attention from parents is far more important to how a child turns out than day care or schooling.

Quality control In the study, child care was defined as care by anyone other than the child’s mother who was regularly scheduled for at least 10 hours per week. The researchers have measured the quality, quantity and type of child care the children received from birth until they were 4-1/2 years old. Quality child care is complex to define but includes having trained caregivers and a low child-tocaregiver ratio. “I think the bottom line on this one is that we are still showing the effects of quality, so you want to look as much as possible to make sure it is accredited, that the teachers have a strong background in child development,” Griffin said. The researchers said the enduring effect of child-care quality is consistent with other evidence showing that children’s early experiences matter to their language development. The long-term effect on behavior also may have a logical explanation, the researchers said. “One possible reason why relations between center care and problem behavior may endure is that primary-school teachers lack the training as well as the time to address behavior problems, given their primary focus on academics,” the researchers said. More research is needed to understand why behavior problems continue so many years after the actual child care, said Bowman, who is also chief executive of early childhood education at Chicago Public Schools. Children who spend more time at home may be more attuned to what adults want, she suggested. On the other hand, children who spend longer time in child care may be taught more independent thinking, which could cause problems for teachers. "What we really need to do now is identify children in preschool and follow them into [school] and see what the dynamics of the behavior problems are that the teachers are complaining about. Let’s go back and see if we can account for the behavior," she said. The study appears in the current issue of Child Development. The authors emphasized that the children’s behavior was within a normal range. Still, the differences in behavior do merit more study, particularly on classroom and playground dynamics, the authors said. “We regard (the behavior) as noteworthy and meaningful because of the large number of children in America who experience extensive and/or low-quality child care prior to school entry,” they said.

Day Care Problems Warning Signs
Survey your child's day care program to see if problems exist when you notice one or more of these common warning signs. Thousands of commercially-licensed day care centers operate successfully without taint, rumor, or scandal of a child's mistreatment or abuse. But the truth is that many problems go undetected because children are too young to speak up for themselves and parents don't always know what to look for. If you have or know of a child that is enrolled in professional day care, know the warning signs that may suggest something is wrong and warrant further investigation: 1. Your child develops new inappropriate behaviors. All kids go through stages in their growth and social skills that are manifested through new types of activity or actions. Some of these are questionable or downright bad, like biting other children or taking toys from them. But if your child starts to display extremely different behaviors that make you concerned, find out what's going on at the center. Some of these include unsuitable sexual behavior, such as touching, pointing to, or talking about his own or another person's genitals; increased physical violence that leads to fights or injuries; emotional outbursts that may include inappropriate crying, laughing, screaming, or extreme fear; and deceptive practices like lying, stealing, or misrepresenting a situation. Talk to the teacher and the director to figure out why your child is behaving in a certain way. 2. Your child appears dirty or ill kept. Of course all kids enjoy playing in the dirt or mud if allowed to do so. But if your little one shows dirty hands, muddy clothes, or torn clothing on a regular basis when picked up from day care, there may be a problem. Talk with the supervisor to get to the root of the situation. Perhaps your child needs more supervision or the center should hire another staff member. 3. Your child seems dazed or out of sorts. An emotionally distrait toddler or preschooler is not uncommon, but one that appears so several days a week is not normal. Perhaps your child needs a longer nap-time or more fluids to keep from getting dehydrated. You may even need to have his or her blood sugar checked for possible diabetes or other ailments. But discuss your concerns with the day care staff to find out if there are things going on that may contribute to your child's ill-at-ease demeanor, such as too much commotion, bullying, or access to toxic substances like mouse poison or cleaning products that may be affecting your little one. 4. Your child's classroom is unorganized and ill-kept. It's fairly typical to find a day care center classroom in disarray. But children should be taught how to pick up after themselves and put away toys and equipment under the teacher's supervision. When you arrive to drop off or pick up your child, notice whether furniture is overturned, kids are standing atop desks or chairs, and supplies or food are spilled on the floor. If these things occur regularly, it's time to chat with the director to explore ways of keeping the center neat and organized.

5. Your child's teacher manifests reckless or inadequate care of the children. If your witness a teacher using profanity or belittling a child, mention it to her politely first. Go to the supervisor if the teacher makes excuses or becomes irate. Other unsuitable teacher behaviors include leaving the children unsupervised to go to the bathroom or to another part of the building, physically hitting or pushing a child without proper authorization through the supervisory process, or fondling a child in questionable ways. Sometimes a parent must become his or her child's advocate to check out possible abuses within the day care system. If all turns out well, you will feel relieved. If there is a problem that needs to be handled, you'll be glad you didn't ignore warning symptoms.

Children in the Qur'an
Rights of Children
    

Children have the right to be fed, clothed, and protected until they reach adulthood. Children must have the respect, to enjoy love and affection from their parents. Children have the right to be treated equally, vis-a-vis their siblings in terms of financial gifts. Children have the right to education. Parents are recommended to provide adequately for children in inheritance.

Conclusion
In my view day care centers fast moving trend should be stopped because children are only near to their parents, the love which parents can give to their children cannot have any alternate. The success of the life comes by proper grooming and only parents can give full attention and proper grooming to their children.

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