A recent poll has found that about 62 percent of parents face difficulty in finding child care facilities that meet their standards and only about half are very confident in the safety and health of their child care options.
The C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at the University of Michigan shows parents chose safety as a priority for a child care center in addition to cost and location, according to a university press release.
In the poll, parents of preschoolers also cited safety factors as a priority especially related to outdoor play. However, the poll showed parents of children at in-home childcare felt healthy food, clean kitchens and access to educational toys a books as priorities.
“Parents want to feel confident that all childcare and preschool options meet certain standards,” poll co-director Sarah Clark said in the release. “Parents could then choose their preferred childcare option without compromising their child’s health and safety.”
About 70 percent of parents polled reported they would not leave their child in a center or school in a “sketchy” area, and 56 percent would not consider a school or childcare facility with guns on the premises, according to the release.
“Our poll demonstrates the challenge of choosing a preschool or childcare setting that meets all of a parent’s criteria,” Clark said in the release. “Safety and health factors are important to parents, but too often, parents aren’t sure how to determine if a childcare option is safe and healthy.”
