School is here. For many families, that means it’s time to look at child care. The choices can feel a little overwhelming.

We all know good child care after our kids are enrolled and attending. But how to find good child care before your child starts? As the largest provider of child care in the U.S., the YMCA has taken care of plenty of kids over the years. With all that experience, we have developed a list of five things to look for in a quality child care program:

1. Are the relationships positive among the children, child care teachers and parents? In a quality program, it’s obvious that teachers enjoy the children and are interested in watching and interacting with warmth, patience, understanding and fairness. The teachers are responsive to a wide range of children’s feelings, needs, cultures, abilities and languages.

They empower children by allowing them to offer ideas to expand or enrich an activity and to suggest and initiate activities. And they allow children – as a key part of learning – to make and learn from their own mistakes.

When we talk about positive relationships, we also need to look at the ratio of teachers to students. A small number of children per teacher enables teachers to engage in activities and conversations with each child.

Teachers and caregivers in a quality program spend time developing positive relationships with families, making it possible for busy, over-extended parents to become engaged in their child’s program experience. These relationships facilitate the open communication between teachers and parents that is so critical for the well-being of children.

2. Is there a good physical environment? This means the space is large enough for children to work and play without crowding and well organized, with a number of inviting areas to stimulate children’s exploration and involvement.

Outside play and exploration time are also important components of a quality program. Children should have the chance to be outside for at least 30 minutes for every three hours they spend inside. This is especially critical in school-age programs because older children need room to blow off steam, run, jump and just make noise.

3. Does the provider offer a variety of diverse and engaging activities? A quality program keeps children engaged in activities that reflect their interests and cultures, and as often as possible, are initiated by them. The activities should also reflect children’s developmental stages. The daily routine should be stable enough to provide comfort and security while being flexible enough to allow changes based on circumstances, like the discovery of a frog by the swing set that leads to an impromptu science discussion.

4. Is the environment safe? The safety and health of children are top concerns of any well-designed program and can serve as an indicator of overall program quality. This includes everything from avoiding safety hazards to providing clean and safety facilities to keeping trained staff members onboard and always having an appropriate number of staff.

5. Does the administration provide the backbone of quality? As mundane as it may sound, solid administration establishes and maintains both long and short-term stability for quality child care programs. It directly affects the comfort, security and development of children and youth.

Your child care can be much more than a place where your child goes each day. It can also be a place to learn, a place to make connections with others, and a place where you can meet other parents. It can become a place that is party of your family, part of your community.

That is what we strive for in our YMCA community. Your child deserves nothing less.

Keri Stout is the branch executive for the Bellevue Family YMCA, serving the Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland & Duvall communities. For more information about the Bellevue Family YMCA, go to www.bellevuefamilyymca.org.