How do you know if your child is happy at Daycare School?

Daycares are pretty cool places for babies and children as they learn, grow, get hugs, interact with other kids and play with some pretty awesome toys during the day but many Parents can’t help but wonder things like whether one’s child is getting enough sleep, eating nutritious food, if the toys are clean or are the care givers paying enough attention to kids.

It is always recommended that Parents show surprise visits every so often.

A lot of Parents care for the happiness of their kids for good reasons, they want to make sure they grow in a healthy environment. Having a child that is happy and settled is the goal for any parent who is using early childhood education methods. Many children settle early while some children take time to settle in a day care facility. It is important that parents take time to assess whether their children are happy with the daycare they have chosen.

Here are the ways to know your child is not only surviving, but thriving, in childcare:

1. A smile in the morning

When your child is excited about getting ready to go to care, and happily completes their morning routine, getting ready to leave home, gathering the things they need for their day. A ‘case of the Mondays’ is normal if they’ve had a late night, or if there has been a disruption to their normal routine, but on balance, happy faces are a good sign.

2. Connections to educators and/or other children

Children who are thriving at childcare have connections – to educators and to other children. If your child is able to tell you about a special someone – be that another child, an educator, or even a special classroom pet – it’s a sign they are feeling safe and secure in their care environment, and they are forming relationships and bonds which tell them that this is a place of safety and belonging.

3. Retaining new knowledge

Has your child ever started singing or humming a song you haven’t heard, or repeating a phrase such as “squirt some soap and rub it in, don’t forget to count to 10?” This is a sure sign that they are feeling safe and secure in childcare – after all, how much can you retain if you’re not feeling happy in your environment?

4. Engage with your child

If your child is old enough to communicate verbally, there are some great conversation starters you can use with them, such as “I had grapes for my morning tea today, what did you have?” or “tell me something which made you smile today”. These open the communication doors, and will give you a chance to engage with your child about how they are feeling in childcare. If they are happy to talk about their day, it’s a great sign.

5. Content to continue playing

Finally, when you come to collect your child at the end of the day, they will of course be happy to see you – but should also be engaged, and happy to keep playing, even though it is time to go home.

6. Showing interest of wanting to go to Daycare

Showing encouragement to want to go somewhere as a toddler is a big deal. It’s something that isn’t seen that often and they likely associate their home as a safe space. This means that the person who wants to go to daycare is getting something out of it. There is a lot of things that you can only do at home, such as sleeping or eating whenever they want. There is so much that daycare gives children, but has set limitations. This means the people are a major part of why they enjoy this.

7. Active in physical activities

Not everyone is into sports, but a large portion of the toddlers will like it. The toddler’s bodies are developing at a rapid pace and they should want to do physical activities. Baseball and Football might be too extreme but there are still other sports. Soccer is great is you have the proper equipment. There are cleats for toddlers with those feet sizes and soccer has a lot of protective gear. It is also a sport that allows them to communicate with others. It can also ignite the passion that people have for sports.

8. Having close friends

Friends are going be important throughout everyone’s life and is necessary for a person to be socially healthy. Friends are going to let them make sure that they have someone to talk to. Friends are going to make sure that they have a perspective outside of the house to let them know how good they have it. It’s an amazing feeling to know that you have someone to talk to. Friends will also teach the toddler empathy which will make sure that they grow up to be a productive member of society.

9. Not complaining

It’s natural for any child to be defiant because that’s completely in their nature. If they’re listening to what you’re saying that means they are taking you seriously. It often means that they had a really good day at their day. It’s something that you should be observant of as a parent and likely means that they enjoyed themselves today. All of the things that they get to do can only be done there and that likely means that they are spending all their energy at daycare.

10. Taking Chances

It’s natural for a child to not take that many chances at home because there are likely some consequences. They may also lose the snacks that they enjoy to eat. But when it comes to daycare, the toddlers are going to act different. Here they might go out of their way to answer challenging questions or anything that takes a lot of effort. There are also activities that you can look at such as art. But it’s a great ability for some people to get something out of each day when they go out.