In today’s world, women are an equal part of the business world, and

both parents work in most families. This means that adequate child care

and attention to the needs of the children is very important.

Child Care as a Business Advantage

Providing for child care will make good business sense for you. It means

that your employees with children will be more content at work, less

worried about their children and will likely concentrate more on the

job. What is better, your employees will not have to make a choice

between your company and their children. This is very important after

you’ve spent time and effort training or recruiting a particularly

valuable employee. Child care can also be a valuable benefit for recruiting employees. A potential employee may be willing to take a

little less in salary if you provide child-care assistance and the

competitor does not.

Child-Care Options

The best possible world perhaps is to provide child care on site. The

advantages are that you are able to control every aspect of it, and

parents can peek in at will. Most businesses simply do not have the

space, facilities, or financial ability to support an on-site facility.

You can provide a subsidy for child care at the parents’ choice of

a child-care center. This requires simply a financial obligation on

your part. You can contract with a child-care provider to care for the

children at an employee’s home. In other words, you provide a common

babysitter for the employees’ children. The least you should do is

simply serve as a clearinghouse for information on child care for your

employees.

Choosing a Child-Care Center

If you are going to select a child-care facility, you want to make sure

it is a good one. What sort of qualifications are possessed by the

care-giver(s)? Is there any educational background? The lack of formal

training is not a no-go criterion, many of the best care-givers have

no formal education, but they do have a love for children and experience in handling them. What does the center provide for children in

the way of stimulation? Often people complain about child-care centers

that are simply a “warehousing” of kids, where their physical needs

are met, but the only recreation is watching TV. The best scenario is

a full emphasis on education and participation by the children in

mentally stimulating activities. Story times are better than TV.

Physical activities are better than passive ones.

How prepared is the center or child-care provider in the event of an

accident or illness? How well versed are they at first aid, CPR, and

emergency procedures? In most states, providers are required to

attend a number of classes and demonstrate proficiency in order to be

licensed.

The horror stories in the press about child sexual abuse are alarming,

but such incidents are rare. Make sure that the child-care center rules

allow and encourage frequent and unannounced parental visits. If you

don’t have a comfortable feeling when you talk to the child-care providers, look for another. It is more likely that the child-care center

will be your first sign that there is abuse of any kind, because the

providers are trained and experienced at spotting signs of parental

neglect and abuse. They are duty-bound to report such suspicions.

The overwhelming number of child-care providers are wonderful, conscientious and good for your children and your employees’ children.

Not only that, but providing child care (or referrals to one) is a

great benefit you can provide for your business.