What is Child Care?

Child care is defined as regular supervision and guidance of children by adults other than the parents, for a period of less than 24 hours. All child care programs, no maKer how informal, should promote a child's physical, cognitive, communicative and social development.

Facts

(Source: AAP brochure: Child Care: What's Best For Your Family?)

* The best care comes from a few, consistent caregivers who nurture and cuddle a small number of infants.

* The key to good child care is whether the caregiver can adapt to the many needs of children and families.

* Not all children of the same age are at the same level of development. Each child has unique characteristics. A good caregiver understands these personal and developmental differences and creates a program to meet each child's needs.

Statistics

(Source: AAP Healthy Kids: Birth-3 magazine, Spring/Summer 1992.)

* The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) estimates there are currently about 4 million preschoolers enrolled in U.S. child-care centers.

(Source Caring for Our Children: Health and Safety GuidelinesP MP/APHA, 1992.)

The ideal ratio of child care providers to children is as follows:

CHILD:STAFF MAX.

GROUP RATIO SIZE

Birth-12 months

13-24 months 3:1 O

25-30 months 4:1 8

31-35 months 5:1 10

3-year-olds 7:1 14

4-year-olds 8:1 16

5-year-olds 8:1 16

6-8 year-olds 10:1 20

9-12 year-olds 12:1 24

Issue Statements