Health, safety and physical environment. A densely populated child care space is associated with staff restrictiveness and control. Children in a densely populated child care space are often aggressive, uncooperative, and wander aimlessly. Health practices like poor diaper changing and handwashing, and food handling procedures are associated with higher rates of infectious illness. It is sometimes suggested that the principle of parental choice is sufficient to guide child care policy.
Families are selective in their child care choices.
Certain characteristics of families are associated with better or poorer, choices. Research has shown that children in home environments that may place them at environmental risk are more likely to be placed in poorer quality child care. Parents who are less stressed, better educated, or who feel in better control of their children are likely to use better quality child care. Further, research has shown that parents as consumers may be inattentive to the basic elements of care, and to overrate its quality. Excellence in early childhood programs.