Simple Steps for Choosing Child Care
Who will care for your infant, toddler, or preschooler while you're at work? If you're one of the many working parents in this country, this is one of the biggest, most challenging decisions you'll have to make when it comes to your child. And, it definitely isn't an easy one. Not only can the guilt of leaving your child in the care of someone else be challenging to cope with, but when combined with the cost and availability of good child care, the process of making that choice can initially seem overwhelming.
Fortunately, there are resources out there to help you with the decision. Of course, the first thing to remember is that many other parents have found themselves in the same situation, and many of those parents have found options that work well for their families. To help you get started in your search for good child care options, we've compiled some questions to ask yourself below.
Consider all of your resources:
- Do you have reliable relatives close by who would enjoy spending time with your child on a regular basis?
- Do you have friends with young children who might be interested in sharing a caregiver and the related expenses, or even sharing child care duties a few days a week?
- Does your job offer some scheduling flexibility so that you're able to spend more time with your child while minimizing child care costs?
- Do you have relatives or friends with young children in daycare? If so, do they have any relatable experience or recommendations?
- Does the amount of income made by you or your partner outweigh the amount you will spend on child care?
Once you've explored all of your options, you should have a good idea of whether child care will work best for your particular situation. If you feel that hiring a caregiver for your child is the best choice, you should then decide on the type of care you'd like to obtain. To get started, take a look at our Consider Your Child Care Options page to review the most common types of child care.