Home Child Care

Interviewing and Selecting Information
The following are guidelines only. No one person or situation will meet all your needs and expectations. When choosing a child care provider, remember: be realistic as well as careful.

Your responsibility to yourself and to your child is to:

• Define your needs
• Search carefully
• Choose child care in which your child is safe, happy and involved in a variety of activities

Identify your needs:

• What hours do I need?
• What can I afford to pay?
• What location do I want?
• What kind of childcare do I want? (home, daycare setting, nursery school).
• What are my child’s needs? (Do they need structure, routines, and other children to play with?)
• Do they have special needs? (Emotional, physical or intellectual)

Initial Contact
Phone Call (possible questions to ask):

• Name
• Address
• Phone Number
• What hours do you care for children?
• What age of child will you care for?
• What is your fee schedule?

Make arrangements to visit the caregiver.
For the initial visit you may choose not to take your child(ren) with you while you tour the home. However, visit again with your child(ren) and while other children are in the home, before you make the final decision. This provides an opportunity for you to see how the caregiver responds to children and a chance for your child to see the situation and give you some feedback. Trust your instincts. What do you see, hear, and smell? If you have to sell yourself on the arrangement, find someone else. It is important that you feel comfortable in asking the provider any question that is a concern to you. You are purchasing a service, and because they will be caring for your child(ren), you want to be fully satisfied and comfortable that your child will be left in capable hands. Take a pencil and paper and write down information, so that you can refer to it later.

The following are possible questions to ask:

About the Child Care Provider:

• Why do you want to care for children in your home?
• Do you have any specialized training?
• What experience do you have?
• What references do you have?
• Have you or other adults residing in the home been charged with a criminal offence for which you have not been pardoned? Are you willing to provide proof of this? (Anyone can request a criminal investigation report at the police department, for a fee of approximately $20.00).

About the Daily Routine:

• What kind of activities and toys do you provide for children? (E.g. games, stories, crafts, outdoor play)
• How much and what kind of T.V. programming do you permit?
• What rules or limits do you set for children in your care? (It is important to set some rules so the child knows where he stands. It also helps the child feel more secure.)
• What is your approach to discipline? (Prepare a few scenarios and judge her response).
• How would you handle – a temper tantrum? Aggression (biting, hitting)?
• Explain any unique needs of your child and ask if the caregiver feels these needs will cause any challenges within the home child care program.

Operating Procedure:

• What is your fee schedule?
  • Rate:
    • a) How (cash, cheque)?
    • b) When (weekly, monthly)?
• Will you issue a receipt? (Is it to your advantage to receive a receipt for income tax purposes?)
• Do you require payment if my child does not come on a scheduled day?
• How much notice do you require if my child cannot attend?
• How many children do you care for regularly? (It is illegal for one person to care for more than five children under the age of ten years at any one time, this does not includes their own)
• What other adults will be present in the house during the day?
• Who will care for my children if you are unable to, because of illness, vacation or emergency?

Health:

• Are there any health concerns that may interfere with you providing childcare?
• Do you provide any backup arrangements if you are ill?
• Is this a smoke free environment?
• What type of meals and snacks will you provide?
• What measures will you take to ensure a clean and healthy home? (E.g. hand washing, food storage, toy disinfecting)
• What is your policy regarding a child who is ill or convalescing?
• Do you have pets? Have they had their shots? Are pet feces out of children’s reach? If there is a sandbox, is it covered when not in use to protect it from animal feces?

Safety:

• It is important to set rules with children so they know what they can and can’t touch, and what they can and can’t do.
• What arrangements have you made for safety in your home?

- What is the Child Care Registry
- Parent Information
- Child Care Provider Information
- Unlicensed Child Care Provider Registration
- Parent Waiver and Instructions
- Caregiver Waiver and Instructions