As Utah’s population continues to expand, so does the demand for high-quality, affordable childcare. However, parents often find themselves questioning the safety of childcare facilities.
For Izzy London, a single mother of a 1-year-old boy, the search for the right daycare provider went beyond practical concern. It was an emotional decision for her to make because of how young her son was when he started daycare.
London decided to put her baby in daycare when he was 2 months old.
London works full-time as a construction estimator, so finding a childcare provider was essential for her. She reached out to her family to ask if anyone could care for her son while she worked, but they were unwilling to watch him.
“It was very hard to trust someone else to take care of my son,” London said. “He was a difficult baby, and I was afraid of what would happen if he cried too much.”
Parents often fear putting their children in childcare facilities because of headlines they see on the news of children getting seriously injured in childcare facilities, but state research suggests that the chances of that happening are low.
According to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, the number of children injured per 1,000 in childcare was four last year.
London chose an in-home daycare because the thought of leaving her son at a large facility was too stressful.
“I wanted him to be at an in-home daycare because of how young he was when he started. That way he could stay healthy,” London said. “I also wanted to find someone who I had some sort of connection to. The first daycare he went to was an in-home daycare run by one of my high school friend’s wives. She was great. He has switched daycares twice since then. All of his daycares have been in-home.”
London had toured a large daycare center before and said it was too messy and chaotic. Having her son in a smaller daycare just seemed like the right choice for her and her son.
As for many parents, safety was a concern for London when placing her son in a daycare. She said she informed her current daycare provider of the food sensitivities her son has, yet they continue to feed him those foods. Still, she stays even though it causes her some stress because she feels comfortable enough leaving her son there.
London also said her son has come home with injuries a few times. They have only been small bumps and nothing of major concern.
London said her son seems to like the daycare and he is happy and in a good mood when she goes to pick him up.
Making learning fun
According to a study done in 2009 on 104 children in Vienna, Austria, over the first four months after settling into daycare, all the children showed a decrease in negative mood as dynamic interactions with their peers increased.
It’s only natural for infants and toddlers to show distress the first few weeks they are placed in childcare because it’s a new environment for them to adapt to the study said. However, after adapting to the new environment, they can gain new interpersonal skills and learn to socialize with one another.
Many childcare facilities offer learning opportunities that allow children to develop cognitive skills through play and literacy development through storytelling.
Anna Robbins-Ek, founder and director of Mom Pod Co, a daycare facility with multiple locations in Utah, strives to ensure that her daycares are nurturing environments for children.
“We provide what we can and really try to help make learning a part of play,” Robbins-Ek said.
The costs of care
Robbins-Ek said one of her missions is to make childcare affordable. Childcare can be expensive, which often drives parents away from seeking childcare.
According to a study done by Bankrate, the cost of having one infant in childcare is 10.3% of a family’s yearly income in Utah.
“Families need to be able to pay for care, but they are so limited on what they can pay,” Robbins-Ek said. “My mission really is to help as many families as I can and put the community back in childcare. From there, I know that we will be profitable and sustainable, but it takes a village, transparency and a lot of patience.”
Finding the right staff is also a challenge a lot of childcare facilities face. Ensuring that children have good properly trained childcare providers is important.
Robbins-Ek said this is one of the challenges she faces in her daycares because finding people who are passionate about childcare is hard, especially because of the low pay rates childcare teachers receive. According to Indeed, the average base salary for a childcare provider in Utah is $14.24 per hour.
However, many parents may be relieved to hear that all employees hired to be childcare providers have to pass a background check and go through in-depth training.
According to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, all individuals working for a licensed childcare program must complete a background check through the Office of Background Processing. This includes not only caregivers but also volunteers and other staff not directly working with children.
Robbins-Ek said she offers additional training for her staff, on top of the 20 hours required by the state.
Supporting the providers
Zoie Evans, a Weber State University student studying early childhood education and minoring in child development, is learning about the impacts of early childhood education and the importance of providing support for new teachers. Evans said finding the right facility that provides support for daycare teachers has also been a challenge she’s personally experienced.
“I have seen for myself and have talked to many daycare and preschool teachers that are not receiving the level of support that they need in executing the curriculum and behavior management in the classroom,” Evans said. “I’ve noticed that when these teachers are not getting support, the students are affected as well, and it’s apparent through behavior issues and such.”
Evans said that since moving to a newer facility, she has received more support as a daycare teacher and that this has reflected on the children and their ability to learn.
“I am lucky that I was able to transition to a school that gave support and encouraged learning. Not every early childhood teacher or child is lucky enough to get that,” Evans said.
Evans acknowledged that learning is an ongoing process. She said childcare providers and teachers should always be open to learning new things and gaining new skills.
“I’m never going to stop being a learner, and I hope to pass that on to my students as well because there is so much to learn from in everyday life,” Evans said.
Supporting parents with work-life balance
London said that as her son grows, she will continue to keep him in daycare, but she is concerned about him starting preschool since the hours for those programs are shorter. She feels that this is the best decision for her to live a more balanced life between having to care for her son and working full time.
Childcare facilities play a vital role in providing care for children all across Utah. According to a Workforce Services report in 2020, 54% of Utah children under 6 years old require childcare providers other than their parents.
There are a total of 2,407 licensed childcare facilities in Utah currently according to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
Weber State offers childcare services on campus for active students. Childcare is available at a rate of $3.50 an hour per child for any students who wish to enroll children in the program.
