When enrolling your child in toddler care in Santa Ana, it is important that you find a care facility offering your child everything they need to grow and develop physically, mentally, and socially. To provide this, a day care should have certain activities for the children every day. Here are some of the activities that they should offer. Outside Playtime Weather and season permitting, your care facility should offer children the opportunity to play outside for a portion of every day. Being able to get outside and run around is good for a child's health and their physical development. The day care should have a dedicated outside play area with toys and equipment for the children to play with. The area should also be fenced off in order to make sure the children don't wander off; this is especially important near busy roads. When the weather or season prevents children from being able to play outside, this time should be substituted for another form of physical play inside. This could be a game like tag or Simon Says. The important thing is that the children have the opportunity to run and burn off excess energy. Mentally Challenging Activities When the children aren't engaged in physical play, some of their time should be dedicated to a form of play that engages their mind and encourages the development of problem-solving skills. This could be puzzles, color-matching games, or any other form of activity that requires the child to think and find solutions to problems. Engaging in this sort of play every day will encourage mental growth while the child still has fun. Social Games Children should also be engaged in some form of social interaction every day. This can be combined with either of the above playtimes, or it can be a separate activity all its own. Children must learn to develop social skills and play well with others in order to be successful in life. Engaging in group-based games or simply learning to share the toys they are playing with are great ways for them to learn those skills. To that end, ensure the facility you choose has a fair number of children the same age as your own child, so that they can learn to interact with others appropriately. Reading Time Ideally, your day care facility should offer reading time at least once a day. Not only does this help to develop a child's listening skills, but it helps to encourage the use of their imagination and can help to instill a love for books in a child. And of course, loving to read is excellent for your child's academic future. Nap Time With all the energy they burn in the activities above, it is important that your toddler gets at least 1 nap every day. If they are at day care for the bulk of the day, then this time should be offered at the facility. Nap time should be a structured, quiet time in which all of the children are expected to lie down quietly for a certain amount of time, even if they don't sleep. This helps to eliminate distractions that might keep your child awake. If the facility doesn't offer nap time in their daily schedule, then you could very well end up taking a cranky toddler home with you every day, so consider carefully before enrolling your child at a facility without nap time. Healthy Snacks and Meals Ensure the facility you choose offers healthy snacks and meals throughout the day, especially if your child will be in their care for the majority of the day. This helps to ensure that your child gets the nutrition and sustenance they need to grow properly. Ask what types of foods the facility serves if you're unsure. If the day care center offers all of the above activities, then you should feel comfortable enrolling your child in toddler care in Santa Ana.
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