Newborn and Infant Care - How to Choose the Best
Newborn and infant care: why you should consider
If you are feeling overwhelmed with life and need a few extra hours in the day to help you juggle everything, whether it’s because of a new job (or one you’re coming back to after parental leave), or because you’re moving to a new area, you may benefit from the use of a child care agency. Specifically, it is [understandably] common these days for a parent to choose in-home care for a newborn baby or older infant.
How to start your search for the best newborn care agency
First, you should make a list of the businesses in your area that provide in-home infant care. This should be a pretty simple task; you don’t have to know everything about every agency to get started on your search. Initially, all you need to do is to see what there is in your area. A simple web search should do the trick. Assuming you live in California, for instance, you might search for something like “infant care LA (or CA, if you’re a little outside the Los Angeles area),” “newborn care specialist,” etc. and make a list of your search results.
From there you can begin to narrow down your search by visiting the websites of the search results of your query. Visit FAQ pages first to see if your questions and concerns can be answered there, and take note of any issues that aren’t addressed in the FAQ. Next, call the agencies on your list, get as much information as you can, and be sure to take plenty of notes.
What to look for in an agency and the benefits of having one
When you are interviewing prospective child care agencies, you should keep a number of questions in mind.
1. What kind of certifications and experience does the caretaker have?
How does the agency decide who to send for in-home care?
2. What are the methods employed by the caretaker that will be looking after your child?
3. What national accreditations does the agency have?
4. Does the agency perform background checks on their caretakers?
5. How communicative are the people at the agency?
Naturally, you should also look at the cost of child care with each agency you interview.
It is worth noting here that there are some differences between a newborn care specialist (NCS) and a nanny. A nanny is a child care professional for children of any age, whereas a NCS is almost always a child care professional who specifically watches over infants from birth to three months.
That said, if your child is 6 months to 1 year, you may rather go with a nanny than a NCS (Sleeping Angels Co. provides both services, as well as others).
If you are looking at in-home care of any kind, be sure to individually interview the caretaker that will be assigned to you in addition to the agency as a whole. Trust your instincts, and if you get a bad feeling about an individual, say so. It’s better to be rude and keep your child safe than to be polite and risk their safety.
Hopefully this helps you in your search for the best care possible for your new baby
