Melisa Madsen

Life Span Development 1500-401

Child Care

My major concern with leaving my child in a family day care or childcare center would
be not knowing how they were being treated. There have been many stories in the news
about family care and childcare centers mistreating kids. Every time I hear one of those
stories it makes me cringe, even though I know its not a common occurrence, the fact
that it happens at all is disheartening. The main positive aspect would be the
socialization skills theyd be learning and all of the interaction with other children. My
concerns would be different if the child were an infant, mainly because they dont need
to build socialization skills at that age. Infants also need to be fed often, soothed when
theyre crying, and take a lot of time. I know its not always possible, but I feel infants
are best left with their mother.
I would want my three ear-old to attend a child-centered preschool. Mainly because I
love how they believe that children need to follow their own interests rather than adult
direction, and they allow children to select many of their own activities from a variety of
learning areas (Berger, 2014.p.194). I love how Child-centered programs give children
choices, and I feel this is an important part of their development. My major concerns
would be if they would be prepared for kindergarten, since they are not as focused on
learning letters, numbers, shapes, and colors, like a teacher-directed program. I think
both have their advantages, but I believe Vygotsky thoughts that children learn from
other children with adult guidance (Berger, 2014.p.195), which is why I would place my
child in a child-centered preschool.

Reference List
Berger, K. S. (2014). Invitation to the life span (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.