Before choosing a day care environment, parents should be familiar with the state licensure regulations for child care. They should also check references and observe the caregivers with the child. Parents sometimes take their young child to the home of a person who is caring for one or more other children. The caregiver should be able to encourage social skills and positive behavior, and set limits on negative ones. Parents should be sensitive to the caregiver's capacity to relate to children of different ages.
Some individuals can work well only with children at a specific stage of development.
It is wise for parents to find out how long the individual plans to work in this day care job. High turnover of individuals, several turnovers, or any turnover at critical points of development, can distress the child. If parents think or feel the day care they have chosen is unsatisfactory, they should change caregivers. All parents have the right to drop in during the day and make an unannounced visit. Many children, particularly after the age of three, benefit from good, group day care, where they can have fun and learn how to interact with others.