Emily Barnes | December 18, 2024

Science says 90% of brain growth happens before the age of five, but what does that really mean for a child? Once seen as empty buckets waiting to be filled with knowledge, children have proven to be dynamic sponges.

This period is filled with rapid brain growth during which the new structures and pathways develop and set the foundation for the child’s future learning and emotional regulation. The interactions they have now teach them whether they can trust the adults in their world later, and opportunities to play and move help them become confident in their abilities.

Conversely, certain negative events can lead to adverse childhood experiences (ACES), which have been connected to difficult outcomes in adulthood. Harsh interactions during childhood — insults and humiliation, abandonment or physical violence, sexual and substance abuse — can impact a child’s health and success for the entirety of their life.

Most Kansas families need both parents to work and children have only one chance to be little. The care they receive matters.

Child care licensing stands as the first, basic quality measure as state regulations establish the basic health and safety guidelines and serve as a starting point of quality. Licensure provides families with transparency for what to expect in child care facilities and guardrails to increase the likelihood that children are in optimal environments.

But beyond minimum state requirements, high-quality practices are important in child care environments so children have opportunities to maximize their brain growth during the foundation of their life.

So, how can a parent know if the program their child attends is “high quality?” The following four markers should be easily evident in child care settings that focus on creating the best early childhood experiences.

1	The classroom and playground are set up to allow enough space, activities, and toys for every child to move, play, and learn. All safety hazards are mitigated.

Effective learning respects and welcomes a child’s need to play and explore. The environment a child is in for the majority of their waking hours should be engaging, comfortable, and safe. High-quality programs will strive to provide children with different experiences every day – ranging from craft projects and sensory-seeking toys to loosely structured time spent singing and playing with friends. The more children a provider cares for, the less room each child has to explore their surroundings in a safe, protected way.

2	The program is consistent with routines and planning for activities and learning opportunities, yet can allow for flexibility to cater to a child’s interests or behavioral needs.

High-quality child care should be generally predictable and follow a schedule throughout the day. However, rarely can a child follow a rigidly planned schedule, so child care programs must allow for flexibility so providers can personalize the care they provide for each child.

Programs often differ in their approaches when considering whether activities should be teacher facilitated versus child led. For instance, some programs may require teachers to plan and demonstrate the activity for a child. Other programs may approach learning by assessing the child’s interests and skills then offering materials that lead to open interaction. Child-led learning requires continuous observation by the teacher and adjustment of the environment to the interests and skill building the child develops. The common thread, though, should be, “Are children offered the ability to play and interact in a way that suits their unique needs?”

Because of the varying needs of children, every child in a child care setting adds to the dynamic of the classroom schedule. Responsive attention from the provider influences their success. For instance, while one child may be more independent in playing, eating, or sleeping, another may need more assistance. The ability of a provider to adequately attend to each child offers the group security and teaches empathy.

3	Families are encouraged to engage with those providing care. This helps build trust between the parents and the provider so a child’s needs are easily communicated and acted upon.

Child care offers families an opportunity for partnership as their child grows. Talented early educators recognize the value of parental leadership and establish trusting relationships to increase the likelihood that the parents’ values will be passed along to their children. Rather than replacing the parents’ role, high-quality child care can complement families as they guide their children. In turn, parents can confidently remain in the labor market, working toward the best outcomes for their children.

4	Staff are given professional development opportunities and support, including those involving licensing requirements, national best practices, and other forms of learning, so providers can be confident in their care.

Early childhood educators hold a crucial role in children’s development and must develop specialized technical skills as they grow in their careers. While providers may differ on their approaches toward educating young children, many find it beneficial to pursue their child development associate, complete professional accreditation programs, or earn their associate’s degree in early childhood education.

What Erodes Quality?

Unfortunately, not all families are offered high-quality experiences for their children. Many families can recount instances of conflict with a child care provider or situations in which they felt their children were not safe.

As states grapple with the barriers of the child care crisis, one misguided solution often discussed is deregulating child care facilities. Some consider the provider-to-child ratios to be an arbitrary limitation set upon a small business owner’s ability to address the demand from clients. Regulations about the configuration and operation of a child care facility also may be spoken about as burdensome to the provider, hindering their ability to decide what’s best for their business’s operation and profitability.

But we know that our current safety standards keep kids out of harm’s way. For instance, determining the number of adults needed to care for a group of children is a delicate balance between safety and efficiency. When groups are too large, the provider cannot fully attend to the child. They may rush through tasks and miss important cues from a child about their needs.
Another system failure that leads to erosion of quality programming is provider pay. Earning around $13 per hour, many child care providers live on poverty wages and frequently do not receive benefits like health insurance or paid time off. Coupled with demanding and physical workloads, potentially long work hours, and required technical skills, talented providers may not be as apt to stay in the field when at a financial disadvantage. Instead, they find jobs in other industries that offer higher starting wages and benefits and easier workloads. As a result, children lose their caregivers and parents lose the stability they thought they had found.

With providers needing to charge more but families unable to pay more, the state should step up so children have safe environments and parents can get to work. But unfortunately, Kansas refuses to financially invest in its robust early childhood system.

The Child Care Development Fund, the federal funding source for child care assistance, is Kansas’ largest and most stable source of child care funding. However, Kansas only appropriates the required state match. Quality improvements — like building new facilities in underserved areas or providing grant opportunities — can materialize when the early childhood system is supported.

Kansas parents need to work, and their children need high-quality care to set them up for success in childhood and beyond. If we can support a five-star system, parents can be confident in the care their children are receiving while they work for their family’s success.

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