How to Pick the Right Nursery for Your Child? 如何挑選合適的托兒所？

史蒂夫·米亞爾 鄧璐璐

Tears and distress on the first day of nursery is a familiar story—but thats just the parents.

Choosing whose care to hand your flesh and blood1 over to can be a terrifying prospect.

But if you work then as a new parent then sooner or later you are going to need someone to look after your child for more than a few hours.

This is where paid childcare comes in and most people—unless they are lucky enough to have very understanding parents—opt for nursery care.

This is somewhere where trained and registered professionals will look after your child anywhere between 7am and 7pm so you can go to work.

Nurseries vary hugely in terms of cost and facilities and size and many have long waiting lists.

Its worth investigating as early as possible to find out what there is in your area even if it is only to kick-start2 your thinking about childcare.

Steve Myall， whose son Jackson has been in nursery for almost a year， chatted to First Time Dads podcast co-presenter Richard Innes about the decisions he and his partner made about their nursery choice.

Here are his top tips on how to pick a nursery based on his own experience.

1） Go and visit—if you can without your child so you can pay attention to what is going on.

2） Do the kids look happy？

3） What are the staff like， a spread of ages and sexes is something which is important for us.

4） Is there secure outside space for the kids to run around during fine weather？

5） What is the policy for meal times？ Is there a healthy menu？ When do the children eat？

6） Is there somewhere quiet for kids to nap， especially when they are babies？

7） Staff to child ratios. How much attention will your one year old or younger be getting or will they be left to entertain themselves？

8） Read the nurserys Ofsted3 report—there is no substitution for having a look yourself but its a good starting point.

9） Talk to other parents in the area， they will soon tell you any nightmares or warnings.

10） How much does it cost and what time is open， some nurseries fine you if you are late picking up.

11） Take advantage of settling in days and hours where you can observe your child in the nursery setting.

12） Does the nursery seem professionally run？ Trust your instincts.

13） Visit more than one and at different price points so you can compare.

14） Do they accept nursery vouchers4 which you can get tax free through your employer？

15） Be prepared for some tears when you drop off5 for the first time， both from you and child， its perfectly natural to feel some anxiety.

第一天去托兒所，眼淚汪汪和痛苦憂傷不足為奇，但只有家長是這樣。

將親生骨肉交由誰來照看，想想這個問題就讓人憂心忡忡。

但如果你是新手家長，早晚有一天你會需要有人來照看你的孩子好幾個小時。

收費托管服務便派上了用場。大多數家長會選擇托兒所，除非他們有幸擁有非常體諒子女的父母。

托兒所擁有經過培訓的注冊專業人士，他們可以在早7點到晚7點的任何時間段照看孩子，讓您可以上班。

托兒所的收費、設施和規模差別巨大，許多托兒所要等很久才有名額。

即使只是開始考慮托管問題，也應該盡早做好功課，了解周邊的托兒所。

史蒂夫·米亞爾把兒子杰克遜送去托兒所快一年了，他和《新手爸爸》播客的另一位主持人理查德·英尼斯聊起他和妻子挑選托兒所時所做的決定。

以下是他根據個人經驗給出的挑選托兒所的最佳建議。

1）如果可以，不帶孩子前去參觀，以便關注實際情況。

2）托兒所的孩子開心與否？

3）觀察工作人員，其年齡和性別的分布情況很重要。

4）是否有供孩子們晴天玩耍的安全戶外場所？

5）用餐次數有何規定？菜單是否健康？孩子何時用餐？

6）是否有供孩子，尤其是嬰兒小睡的安靜場所？

7）了解員工與孩子的比例。一歲或更小的孩子能得到多少關注，還是說托兒所會讓他們自娛自樂？

8）閱讀托兒所的教育、兒童服務與技能標準局報告，但親自去托兒所實地考察不可替代，讀報告是一個很好的起點。

9）與附近的其他家長交談，他們很快會告訴你任何可怕的經歷或是提供警告。

10）托兒所收費多少，何時開門，有些托兒所會在你晚接孩子的情況下收取罰金。

11）充分利用入托適應期，這段時間可以觀察孩子對托兒所環境的適應情況;

12）托兒所的運營看起來專業與否？相信自己的直覺。

13）考察多家價位不同的托兒所，以便比較。

14）詢問他們是否接受育兒券，這樣可以向雇主申請免稅。

15）初次送孩子到托兒所，你和孩子都會落淚，對此做好準備，感到焦慮擔憂完全正常。

（譯者單位：西安外國語大學）