Nelson 1

Elizabeth Nelson
Mark Jarvis
Lifespan and Growth Development (FHS 1500)
February 16, 2016
Essay Unit 3
OPTION C: CHILD CARE
If you were considering leaving your three year-old child in a child care facility (family day care
or child care center), what would be your major concerns? Why? Would your concerns be
different, if your child were an infant? Explain. Would you prefer an academic or a childcentered preschool for your child? Why?
I have looked into child care centers before. Some of my major concerns were will my
children get enough attention, will they be changed/taken to the restroom frequently, will they
stay on schedule, how the care center handles behavior outbursts, what kind of food will be given
at meal times, what will be taught and how the curriculum is taught. I feel like these are the most
important questions that should be asked by the parents and answered by all facilities. I also
believe that if any of these questions cant be answered by a care center, then your child should
not go there.
I dont think my concerns would necessarily be different if my child were an infant. I
would have more concerns than those that have been listed. Other concerns would include how
clean is the environment, how often will my baby interact with an adult or other infant, will they
follow my feeding schedule, what happens with the fussy babies and how often is my baby
napping. Parents are more protective over infants than young children. Young children need to be
able to explore the world without a parent hovering over them. It is ok to help guide them like
building scaffolding around them. Scaffolding means temporary sensitive support (Berger 2014,
pg. 185)
I think I would prefer for my child to go to a child-centered preschool. They are designed
to teach children the need to follow their own interests rather than adult directions (Berger
2014, pg. 194). As a parent, this type of teaching is similar to what I do in the home with my
child. This helps to make an easier transition. The reason I would choose a child-centered
preschool is because I feel like my child would learn a lot more than just your standard academic
practices. The child centers are modeled after Piaget, who emphasized that each child will
discover new ideas, and by Vygotsky, who thought children learn through social learning
(Bodrova & Leong, 2005).

Works Cited
Berger, Kathleen Stassen. Invitation to the Life Span. Second ed. New York: Worth, 2010. Print.