Considering childcare can be one of the most challenging milestones for a parent. The attachment to your child can be so strong after being so glued to them for the first year of their life that trusting another person to look after your little one can bring up huge worry and anxiety!

You’re not alone! But we want to reassure you that childcare is such a huge part of your toddler’s development. Many developmental milestones can be achieved, such as new motor skills like jumping and running, toilet training developments and learning about objects through play. Childcare is a home away from home that broadens their view of the world.

It’s important that, like children raised by a full-time parent, a caregiver provides your toddler with a secure base to explore and learn. At home, this secure base is usually the parent, and it should be the caregiver in child care. This is why your child’s relationship with their caregiver is very important.

Let’s explore the importance of the relationship between child and caregiver:

Why is my child’s relationship with their caregiver so important?

This relationship is the single most important element of their childcare experience. Your toddler internalises the quality of their interactions with others, so the caregiver becomes an important model of human connection.
If the relationship is nurturing and joyous, your toddler develops confidence in their relationship with others, believing that there is a comfort to be experienced outside of just parental relationships.
If the environment provided by their caregiver is inadequate, your toddler will either respond by becoming overly self-reliant or emotionally isolated.
If the caregiver is unavailable, your toddler may roam around lifelessly, unable to sustain interest in their environment because of the lack of presence of a supportive and caring adult. They will also spend the whole day waiting for your return. This means they cannot be their full creative, curious and emotional selves while with their caregiver.
An unhealthy relationship with their caregiver can result in your child experiencing mistrust, aggression or emotional withdrawal.
It is important for your child to miss you, but not at the expense of themselves. They need to feel emotionally alive to thrive and flourish.

Now let’s take a look at what an optimal childcare environment should include.

What should my toddler’s childcare environment include?

Structured activities with lots of attention to your child’s needs.
An opportunity for free play and mastery of the environment through the support of developing new skills.
A supply of construction toys and puzzles that help develop motor skills.
A good supply of housekeeping utensils that support your child to re-enact daily home routines in imaginative ways.
An imaginative supply of dolls and play furniture that help to stimulate feelings of caregiving and nurturing.
Various colours of Play-Doh, paints and other “messy” materials.
Musical instruments that encourage your toddler to sing and dance.
Dress-up clothes to encourage your toddler’s curiosity and experimentation with other ways of being.
Outdoor playground equipment so your toddler can release energy and refine gross motor skills.
A safe environment where your toddler can freely explore without harm.

A childcare environment that provides most of these settings will have a pretty good understanding of your toddler’s developmental needs.

What is my child's relationship with their caregiver?

Appropriate boundaries are important for your child's wellbeing, says Unii.