Selecting suitable care for a child can be overwhelming. Parents have the obligation to protect their child and ensure that the childcare environment in which those children are enrolled in is educational, fun, and encouraging. Before selecting childcare, parents have the duty to be mindful and make choices among care options and consider the center’s reputation, academics taught, and employees’ credentials. Home-based childcare is not a viable alternative to center-based childcare because the provider may have less educational background in early childhood education, less stringent licensing constraints, and less structured learning environment.
There are different standards for the education needed for center-based and home-based childcare. Standards followed are set for by each state. In Minimum Standards for Daycare Centers and Nighttime Centers, discussed will be Alabama standards. According to State of Alabama Department of Human Resources (2009), “Child care workers/teachers who have primary responsibility for the care of a group of children shall be at least 19 and shall have a high school diploma or general education diploma (GED)” (para. 138). At least 12 clocks hours of training is needed in childcare and development. This must be completed within 30 days after employment starts. These hours can be obtained through participation in workshops, meetings, and videotapes.
Assistant teachers and aides also have to follow policies and procedures. Assistant teachers or aides in childcare centers need to be at least 16 and have an eighth grade education. According to State of Alabama Department of Human Resources (2009), “Aides/assistant teachers work under the direct supervision of a person qualified as a child care worker/teacher”. (para. 150). In respectable centers, staffs skilled in early childhood education is hired and prepared for what is expect from the children developmentally and can take care of the child’s growing abilities appropriately....