Video: What to look for when choosing a daycare

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SEATTLE - It can be one of the hardest decisions a parent has to make: Who will watch my child while I'm at work?

Nina Auerback knows how to spot a great childcare facility. She's the CEO of Childcare Resources, an agency devoted to helping parents find good childcare.

"This is not just institutional care. This is really an early learning environment," she said. "It's the place where the most important learning takes place in a child's life."

She says there's five things every parent should look for when choosing a childcare facility.

Number one: Health and safety. Is it a clean, safe environment for your child?

"So you're gonna look at the eating areas, the toilet areas. Make sure everything is clean and sanitized," she said.

Check to see if the kids are fed nutritious snacks, and that there's nothing for them to trip over or get hurt on.

Number two: Caregiver's professionalism. Make sure the providers are trained in early childhood education.

"It's not enough to just be trained as an anthropologist or a scientist. You need training in the field," Auerback said.

Number three: Parent relationships. Is the provider willing to work closely with a parent to get know a child?

"And that's what we want to see more of - parents and providers really partnering around the early learning of the child," she said.

Number four: Environment and atmosphere. Is the facility well organized and child-friendly?

Are the toys educational and designed to stimulate early learning?

"You wanna have play experiences for children that also enrich their learning," Auerback said.

And finally - number five: The child-caregiver relationship. Take the time to really observe how the caregivers interact with the kids. Are they warm and nurturing? Do they try to turn every-day situations into learning opportunities?

"You want childcare providers who wanna be in the field," Auerback said. "They're not just doing it to make money - they're doing it because they really love kids."

KING

Parents should check to see if the kids are fed nutritious snacks, and make sure there's nothing for them to trip over or get hurt on.

With the childcare crunch in King County, the biggest problem is simply finding a good, affordable facility that has any openings. All too often, parents are forced to leave their children in a facility that's not their first choice.

Experts say in that situation you should trust your gut - and be nosey. Don't hesitate to drop in whenever possible to see how things are going. A good facility should be very open to parents stopping by to check in.

To help parents find childcare, Washington State's Department of Early Learning plans to launch a pilot program of its voluntary "quality rating system" for childcare providers this summer.