Selecting a Daycare

Daycare providers have an increasingly important role in providing pre-literacy experiences for the children in their care. Not only are parents becoming more sophisticated in selecting providers who create a language-rich environment, but providers also add a significant benefit to their service at virtually no additional cost—by programming pre-literacy experiences into the schedule. Most daycares are already doing some of this.

The trick is to increase pre-literacy interactions from perhaps 5 per hour to 10-12 per hour.

A pre-literacy experience is any time spent in purposeful verbal interaction with a child from birth through about age 5. Stimulation from the interaction causes brain cells to connect and develop further. More stimulation builds more and better connections in the parts of the brain that control verbal motor skills. Children who are cooed to, laughed with, sung to, talked with, and read to repeatedly every day have portions of their brains which are actually larger and brain cells (neurons) with greater numbers of more efficient connections than children who do not have these experiences. As daycare providers, you are helping hard-wire the brains of your little charges. [see Brain Research]

In earlier historical periods, it was probably more important to stimulate the parts of the brain controlling agility, strength, or mobility. However, in our information age, the ability to read early and well has become a basic survival skill.

Pre-literacy activities as a infant grows to be a child appear under Hints. Daycares should be providing these activities at age-appropriate times and at the rate of 10-12 interactions per hour.

As a parent, you may consider downloading the attached survey to evaluate a daycare you are considering. As a daycare, you may ask a third party to evaluate your staff's interactions do determine who you can provide an improved service.