to be in an outside environment. A good daycare option need not be the most expensive one; it can just as well be the neighborhood family daycare facility, which can give focused, individualized attention to your child as much as the larger, more organized center that offers a host of activities and new learning scope.

1. You can initiate the child into staying away from you in preparation of the daycare program to come by placing the kid with a family member or known babysitter (such as a local high-school kid or neighbor) and have them understand you and your spouse need to be away from them for some time, to work. Do keep the sensitivities of a child’s needs for a loving, gentle yet firm presence in mind when choosing the child-minder as the first impression will influence how the child adapts to a more structured environment as daycare later. Ask other new parents placing children with babysitters for recommendations – stay away from those with too many bad reports.

2. Consult with your child specialist or the yellow pages or even the Dept. of Social Services to get a list of licensed daycare providers in your area if other parents are unable to guide you about this; having decided the childcare services provider, do make it a point to go visit the place with your child to check out the facilities.

3. Take your child around for a tour of the facilities at the daycare and as most service providers are only too happy to allow new enrollments (or even potential ones) to play around freely in order to take to the novel atmosphere, encourage your child to play there and interact with other children and staff at the daycare.

4. Meet all the people who will be interacting with your child on a regular basis and even though your kid may feel homesick initially, allow for more time and a bit of loving talk on your behalf on how much smarter they can be when they learn all by themselves! Focus on the positives and try to rule out as many negatives (safety, hygiene, compliance issues and background checks of the daycare employees) to know your child is at the right daycare!

5. For the first few days, you may ask for permission with the authorities at the daycare if your child may carry along a favorite toy or blanket for seeking comfort in a new environment; most places will agree – and this will make the change from home to daycare a much easier, fun-filled and smooth one for both kiddy and Mommy (or Daddy)!