How does your child care stack up?
Download the Child Care Checklist for Parents to evaluate the child care your child is receiving or a site that you are considering.
- Child Care Checklist (PDF – 24 KB)
- Early literacy at: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/childcare/quality/
Safety
The U.S. government is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from consumer products, foods, and medicines.
You can find information on recalled products on the Consumer Product Safety Commission web site: http://www.cpsc.gov on the Food and Drug Administration website: http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html or on the National Highway Traffic Safety-Administration (NHTSA) web site: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/
You are encouraged to sign up at the above web sites for e-mails and notices on recalls and safety.
Early Literacy
Free and confidential childcare search and referral through Child Care Resource & Referral:
http://www.iacommunityaction.org/program.php?prog=2&progpg=4&progsub=1&subs=0
NEW: Top 10 Signs of a Quality Childhood Program
Early, positive experiences key for development
Medical research has touched many aspects of our lives during the past decade. From isolating genes that can be tracked to specific diseases to the wizardry of laser surgery, we have witnessed amazing discoveries in the last 10 years.
What to Look for in a Preschool
Every year families are faced with a big decision: where should their young children go to preschool? To decide, families need to be informed consumers.
Parent Tips
- Babies who hear lots of meaningful talk from another person not the television tend to have more success in school
- A toddler who says “no” is actually saying “I’m growing up!”
- Encourage your toddler to explore – curiosity will aid in developing mental growth. Thus, it isn’t wise to keep your baby in a playpen for long periods of time.
- Toys with batteries are not as suitable as those that allow for creative play. Check to see if the toy is “doing something” or if your child is doing something.
- Toddlers love to “carry things.” A clean plastic gallon milk carton with a handle is a favorite. Enlarge the hole at the top so your little one can put things in, dump them out and put them in again – a real favorite pastime that teaches about space while developing muscles that will be used for writing later.
- Read to your child every day – Children who are read to a lot as infants and toddlers do better in school later on.
- Early literacy http://www.extension.iastate.edu/childcare/quality/
Hawk-i
You work hard to make ends meet. That’s why Iowa offers hawk-i health care coverage for uninsured children of working families. No family pays more than $40 a month. Some families even pay nothing at all.
The hawk-i program offers dental only coverage for children who have health insurance but may not have dental coverage.
Call us at 1-800-257-8563, Monday to Friday, 8 A.M. to 7 P.M. TDD: 1-515-457-8051 or 1-888-422-2319 or http://www.hawk-i.org
What did you think of these tips?
