com-brparents-2016-11.html
May
12 / 96
in search of mary poppins who wouldn?t love to
find
a mary poppins to look after her
child
? she?s every mother?s dream
child
care provider. she adds a teaspoon of sugar to make the medicine go down; she?s a great play- mate, and her singing voice could lure any cranky, teething baby to sleep. the decision to leave our little ones even for a little while never
com
es easy, but once the decision has been made to go back to work, we want to know our
child
ren are being well taken care of. you see
child
care centers all over town, with their brightly colored, cheerful signs announcing ?a family center,? ?happy school? or ?best beginnings.? their advertis- ing uses
com
forting words, terms like ?state accred- ited,? ?certified teachers,? ?educational activities? and ?individual attention.? however, when the time
com
es to trust your
child
to one of these centers for 50-plus hours a week, how can you be sure you will choose the right one? as we continue to learn more about the role an environment plays in
child
ren?s early development, the choice of a
child
care facility takes on added significance. i am sure all parents will inquire about the staff-to-
child
ratio, curriculum, and cost. but according to a recent national survey, the thing par- ents consider most when making a decision about where to leave their
child
is location, location, and location. i
find
that hard to understand. parents will spend hours making sure their home is safe?they place plastic covers over electrical outlets, block the stairs with impenetrable gates and store all cleaning supplies safely out of reach, but driving an extra 15 minutes out of the way every day for the best
child
care is not an option?
find
ing
child
care in baton rouge is difficult. i get telephone calls and visits from parents weekly look- ing for suggestions on
child
care options. singing supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! as mary would do to get herself through situations won?t address
child
care issues. even singing it loud and backwards! hard work and research are the only ways parents will
find
child
care best suited for their
child
. be - sides, as mary poppins would tell you, it is hard to
find
a place for your
child
that is ?practically perfect in every way,? but it is nonetheless one of the most important decisions you will ever make. wishing all moms a happy mother?s day, stay connected enter to win free goodies and be the first to know what's going on around town at brparents.
com
the weekender receive the latest news and trends right in your inbox. subscribe at brparents.
com
facebook facebook.
com
/ batonrougeparents talk to me amy@brparents.
com
brpm app download our free app at google play or in the apple app store amy foreman-plaisance publisher/editor in chief in every issue / a m o t h e r ? s v o i c e 12 brparents.
com
| may 2016
com-brparents-2016-13.html