Home-based Child Care Providers Research Articles

Associations of caregiver stress with working conditions, caregiving practices, and child behaviour in home-based child care

Home-based child caregivers face unique stressors related to the nature of their work. One hundred and fifty-five home-based child care providers in Oregon, USA, participated in this cross-sectional correlational study. We investigated associations between indicators of caregiver stress and child care working conditions, the quality of caregiver practices, frequency of child behaviour challenges, and caregivers' tolerance for those behaviours. Levels of stress in this sample were moderate to low. Significant associations were found between greater caregiver stress with higher child–caregiver ratio, working in isolation, less frequently observed caregiver positive attention, more caregiver-reported child problem behaviours and lower tolerance for problem behaviours. A multiple regression analysis with these variables significantly contributed to 23% of the variance of caregiver stress. Number of hours worked, observed caregiver negative attention, and responsiveness to children were not associated with caregiver stress. Implications of these findings and the need for future studies are discussed.

Predictors of Home-Based Child Care Providers’ Participation in Professional Development Workshops and Coaching

Background Little is known about factors that influence home-based child care providers’ participation in professional development. Factors that predict participation in activities that are designed to promote the utilization and maintenance of skills taught are of particular interest.

The Frequency of Outdoor Play for Preschool Age Children Cared for at Home-Based Child Care Settings

ObjectiveGiven that more than 34% of U.S. children are cared for in home-based child care settings and outdoor play is associated with physical activity and other health benefits, we sought to characterize the outdoor play frequency of preschoolers cared for at home-based child care settings and factors associated with outdoor play. MethodsCross-sectional study of 1900 preschoolers (representing approximately 862,800 children) cared for in home-based child care settings (including relative and nonrelative care) using the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. ResultsOnly 50% of home-based child care providers reported taking the child outside to walk or play at least once/day. More than one-third of all children did not go outside to play daily with either their parent(s) or home-based child care provider. There were increased odds of going outside daily for children cared for by nonrelatives in the child's home compared with care from a relative. Children with ≥3 regular playmates had greater odds of being taken outdoors by either the parents or child care provider. We did not find statistically significant associations between other child level (age, sex, screen-time), family level (highest education in household, mother's race, employment, exercise frequency), and child care level (hours in care, provider's educational attainment, perception of neighborhood safety) factors and frequency of outdoor play. ConclusionsAt a national level, the frequency of outdoor play for preschoolers cared for in home-based child care settings is suboptimal. Further study and efforts to increase outdoor playtime for children in home-based child care settings are needed.

Enhancing the Capacity to Facilitate Physical Activity in Home-Based Child Care Settings

Healthy Opportunities for Preschoolers (HOP) is a physical activity and movement skill intervention that was developed to address the unique needs of home-based child care providers. The authors used a train-the-trainer approach to enhance local uptake and implementation of HOP and examined the impact on the trainers' (workshop leaders') perceived knowledge, confidence, and intention to implement community workshops and subsequently on the knowledge, confidence, and intentions of workshop participants. This study also assessed feasibility: reach, satisfaction, and facilitators and barriers to workshop implementation. Overall, 92% and 89.5% of the leaders were very or extremely satisfied with the workshop content and delivery, respectively. Training significantly increased their self-reported knowledge (p < .001) and confidence (p < .001). Subsequently, 73% of workshop participants (48 workshops, n = 321) took part in the evaluation; intention to use what they learned after the workshop was high (86%) and perceived knowledge, confidence, and attitude all increased significantly (p < .001). The HOP train-the-trainer approach was feasible and enhanced knowledge, confidence, and readiness to change among home-based child care providers. This approach should be considered as a component of an overall strategy to enhance the promotion of physical activity and movement skills in home-based child care settings.

Perspectives and Practices related to Nutrition and Physical Activity among Home‐Based Child Care Providers

ObjectivesTo understand the obesity related practices and perceptions among home‐based childcare providers.MethodThe CRAYON (Caretaker Research Advance Youth Obesity Knowledge) group and Child Care Resource Services (CCRS) at University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign conducted a survey study in child care training workshops in Champaign County, IL. Total 40 home‐based care providers completed a self‐administered survey.ResultsAbout 78% child care providers received training on nutrition and 72% on physical activity during the past year. 95% providers taught children about nutrition and 61% provided nutrition information to parents. The important factors in deciding food menu are followed: 90% CACFP guideline or state regulation, 89% nutritional contents, 89% availability, 77% convenience, 73% children's preferences, 72% cost, and 70% parent requests. It is noted that providers consider they have about the same influence on food preferences, eating habits, and physical activity compared with those of parents. However, providers think that home environment has a stronger influence on weight status of children than child care environment.DiscussionNot enough child care providers offer parents information on nutrition, physical activity, and obesity prevention. Further studies are needed to understand the barriers and facilitators of health promotion opportunity in home‐based child care setting.

Cash incentives and turnover in center-based child care staff

The current study evaluates the Workforce INcentive Project (WIN), a programmatic effort to increase child care workforce stability in center- and home-based child care providers via the provision of bi-annual cash incentives based on educational attainment. Five hundred and thirteen center-based teaching staff (304 WIN and 209 comparison) and 167 center directors (93 WIN and 74 comparison) from 179 state-licensed child care centers (99 WIN and 80 comparison) participated in the study reported. Survival analyses were conducted to compare turnover rates between the WIN group and the comparison group over a 20-month period. All analyses controlled for participant satisfaction with employment, location (i.e., urban, suburban, and rural), and, where appropriate, hourly wages. Although WIN participation was generally associated with lower rates of turnover in center-based staff, when position type, educational attainment, experience in the field, and hourly wages were considered (separately and together), WIN's relationship with turnover varied widely for directors and teaching staff. Findings are discussed in terms of past research and future cash incentive programs.

Training, experience, and child care providers’ perceptions of inclusion

Teachers’ perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs have been shown to affect their behavior. This study investigated center- and home-based child care providers’ perceptions of inclusion-related needs and barriers and (a) the providers’ participation in disability-related training, and (b) their current experience working with children with disabilities. A mailed survey was used to gather demographic data, information on training and experience, and to rate a list of needs and concerns. Younger and African American caregivers working in center-based programs were more likely to attend training and serve children with disabilities. Participating in training and serving children with disabilities was positively associated with caregivers’ perceptions of needs and barriers, but not with child care providers’ attitudes. Results indicate that program and provider characteristics are related to participation in disability-related training and serving children with disabilities that, in turn, are related to perceptions of needs and barriers. Further investigation of the mechanisms associated with training and its influence on attitudes, beliefs and practice of parents and special education teachers, as well as child care providers is indicated.

Child Care Providers' Experiences Caring For Sick Children: Implications For Public Policy

This study examines the experiences of preschool and school-age child care providers regarding sick child care. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted of child care providers at every city-sponsored preschool and afterschool program in an urban area in the United States. In addition, random sampling was used to identify home-based child care providers from a list obtained through a child care resources center. In spite of rules requiring that sick children be kept home, child care providers repeatedly described sick children whose health problems made it impossible to provide adequate care for the sick child at the same time as caring for the well children in their care. Problems arose for a range of reasons, including inability to provide sufficient attention to the sick child-s needs, inability to keep a sick child clean and well hydrated in the case of vomiting and diarrhea, spread of infectious diseases, and inability to care for healthy children adequately when meeting the needs of sick children. International public health policy implications for child care and paid family leave are discussed.

Child Care Providers' Organizational Commitment: A Test of the Investment Model

This study uses the investment model to predict organizational commitment in center- and home-based child care providers. The investment model posits that organizational commitment develops from a careful balance of job rewards, costs, investments, and alternatives. Eighty-six child care providers (40 center providers and 46 home providers) completed surveys at two time points separated by six months. In general, our test of the investment model was modestly confirmed; regression analyses indicated that providers' Time 2 organizational commitment was predicted by child care setting, higher levels of child care income and work satisfaction, less educational attainment, and greater perceptions of investment at Time 1. Results are discussed in terms of child care provider retention and current workforce development initiatives.