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Chapter Nine: The Family Child Care Environment

This chapter, and the ones that follow it, present findings from our analyses of observational data collected in each of the family child care homes. This chapter describes the physical environment: the adequacy and comfort of the space used by children; the safety of the home, both in terms of physical safety and of health concerns; and the resources and materials available to children in the homes.

Space in Homes

Virtually all of the family child care homes—88 percent—used some shared space for child care. That is, child care was provided in parts of the home that were also used by the provider’s own family. In 53 percent of homes, all of the space that was used for child care was shared with the family, while, in another 35 percent of the homes, some space was shared space, and some space was dedicated space for child care only (e.g., a basement playroom). On average, family child care homes used four or five rooms of the house (counting the bathroom) for child care. Eight percent of homes used only one or two rooms for children, 44 percent used three or four rooms, and nearly half used five or more rooms.

The number of rooms available for children was not strongly related to the number of children in care. The number of rooms available for child care actually decreased slightly as the number of children cared for increased. Homes with only one or two children had, on average, five rooms for the children to use. Homes with three to five children had 4.7 rooms, on average, and larger homes (either 6 to 8 children or more than 8 children) had four rooms.

This pattern reflects the fact that the homes with one or two children tended to be the grandmother’s (or less frequently the aunt’s) home and the related child or children she cared for had free run of the home, as they would if she were not providing child care. By contrast, homes with more children tended to belong to providers who were not caring for related children, who were more likely to be licensed or otherwise regulated, and who therefore needed to set aside some space dedicated to and appropriate for child care. Even if they are not subject to regulation, such providers are likely to want to reduce wear and tear on household furniture, preserve privacy for other family members and, possibly, maintain a small amount of dedicated space for tax purposes.

Space in the family child care homes was rated as generally adequate for children’s needs, with comfortable and adequate indoor space for play and learning activities, space for active play, places where children could play or work in peace, and a safe and unrestricted environment for very young children (Exhibit 9-1). The average score across all ten items in this domain was high—2.6 out of 3.0, where 3 indicates that the home consistently meets standards.19 On all six aspects of space, the majority of homes received the highest rating.

Exhibit 9-1:

SPACE AND COMFORT IN THE FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME

Distribution of Ratings and Average Score for Environmental Space and Comfort

		Rarely/Never %	Sometimes %	Consistently %
Space		Average rating = 2.6 out of 3.0
	Children can use what they can reach	8	20	72
	Enough space, not cramped	11	19	70
	Comfortable, cozy space available a	15	NA	85
	Space to work, play without interference b	10	20	70
	Area for active play	12	18	70
	Space for children learning to walk	2	17	81
Comfort		Average rating = 2.6 out of 3.0
	Lighting is sufficiently bright	4	18	78
	Setting does not smell a	7	NA	93
	Comfortable level of background noise	2	10	88
	Television is off	41	31	28
Total score for space and comfort		Average rating = 2.6
Sample size (n = 554 homes)

a Item coded as “No” or ’Yes,” with no code for “Sometimes.” b Older children can use materials without interference from younger children. Source: Family Child Care Home Observation: Snapshot

Similarly, on the summary rating for environmental comfort, the overall rating was high—2.6 out of 3. Also, on three of the four items, the majority of homes were rated at the highest level: adequacy of lighting, absence of odors and level of background music. There was one aspect of comfort for which 41 percent of the homes received a low rating—the amount of time that the television was on. In these homes, the television was never or rarely turned off. The adequacy of the space and its comfort did not vary by type of home or by the age mix of children in the home.

Materials and Resources in Homes

Given that children are in these care arrangements for many hours, it is important to have sufficient amounts of developmentally-appropriate materials for indoor and outdoor play. Family child care homes often face the additional challenge of having these materials for children of different ages.

Indoor Play Materials

The average score for indoor play materials was 2.4 out of 3, where 1 = few, 2 = some, and 3 = adequate (Exhibit 9.2). The majority of homes (about 70%) had enough developmentally-adequate indoor play materials for preschool and younger children enrolled in the home, but only 58 percent of homes had adequate materials for school-age children.

Exhibit 9-2:

INDOOR PLAY MATERIALS IN THE FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME

Distribution of Ratings and Average Score for Indoor Play Materials

		Few %	Some %	Adequate %	Overall Rating Mean
Developmentally-appropriate materials for: a	Infants b	10	21	69	2.6
	Toddlers b	10	20	70	2.6
	Preschoolers b	10	21	69	2.6
	School-age b	18	24	58	2.4
Sufficient appropriate outdoor toys		11	15	74	2.6
Household items used in learning/play c		66	NA	34	1.7
At least 10 books appropriate for each age		24	28	48	2.2
Some books accessible to all children		12	21	67	2.6
Materials for language and dramatic play		16	20	34	2.5
Basic art materials		22	21	57	2.3
Sample size (n=554 homes)

a Rated only if any children of that age enrolled. b Infants = birth-11 months, toddlers = 12-35 months, preschool = 36-59 months, school-age = 60 months and older. c Item coded as only "No" or "Yes" with no code for "Some". Source: Family Child Care Home Observation: Environment Checklist

Some specific kinds of indoor play materials were less often in adequate supply than others. Although most homes had some books accessible to children, less than half of the homes had at least ten books appropriate for each age group cared for in the home. Basic art materials were available in only 57 percent of homes, while only a third of the homes had an adequate amount of materials to encourage dramatic and language play. In general, there were no large differences in the adequacy of play materials for homes of different types20 or for homes with different ages of children.

Outdoor Play Materials

The majority of homes (74%) had adequate outdoor play materials. Only 11 percent of homes had few outdoor play materials, and the remaining 15 percent had some outdoor materials. The average score for outdoor play materials was 2.6 out of 3 and did not differ by the type of home or the ages of children in care.

Health and Safety in Homes

Indoor Health and Safety

The family child care homes in the study are, on average, safe and healthy places for children (Exhibit 9-3). Their overall score of 2.721 for indoor health and safety indicates there was consistent evidence of good health practices, as defined by national pediatricians’ groups. None of the areas rated within the category of indoor health and safety received an average score lower than 2.6. At the same time, some of the individual items suggest areas of potential concern. Over half of the homes had electrical outlets that were not safely covered, and half had doors on bedrooms and bathrooms used by the children that could be locked from the inside. A quarter of the homes failed to follow consistent health practices for children’s hand washing and, in a third of the homes, providers did not use universal health precautions when dealing with blood. There were no large differences in rating scores for indoor health and safety by type of home or age of children in the home.

Dangerous Situations

Ten critical safety issues in homes were singled out for attention in the observations and ratings as posing particular dangers for children (Exhibit 9-4). Although the majority of homes had at least one of these dangers present, only one danger was consistently observed across a majority of homes: failure to have fire evacuation procedures posted. However, it could be argued that, in family child care, where there is typically only one adult present, there is no need to have a written, posted fire evacuation plan, as long as the provider knows what she is going to do in case of fire. However, if there are other adults present in the event of a fire, including parents, other members of the provider’s family or neighbors, then it would be important for them to know how to evacuate the children. Two other dangers were present in more than a third of the homes—unlocked cabinets where unsafe items were kept and an insufficient number of fire extinguishers. Guns were rarely reported (in less than one percent of homes overall). Although guns were not kept in places accessible to children, they were not always kept in locked closets.

The proportion of homes with any dangerous situation differed by the type of home. Homes with all related children in care were more likely to present dangerous situations to children, compared with other homes. Whereas 97 percent of the homes with all related children had at least one dangerous situation, the comparable percentages for homes with some related children and for homes with no related children were 70 percent and 60 percent, respectively. In fact, with the exception of drugs within reach of children, all of the dangerous conditions were present in a higher proportion of the homes with all related children compared with other types of homes.

Exhibit 9-3:

INDOOR HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME

Distribution of Ratings and Average Scores for Components of Indoor Health and Safety

		Rarely/Never %	Sometimes %	Consistently %
Furnishing and Equipment		Average rating = 2.8 out of 3
	Equipment in good repair	2	13	85
	Windows safety guarded a	4	8	88
	Any toy chest is safe a	1	NA	99
	Climbing structures have soft cushioning underneath a	2	NA	98
	No infant walkers a	9	NA	91
	Safe use of wood stove, space heater, fireplace a	3	NA	97
	Portable space heaters not used for heating a	2	NA	98
	Hot items out of children's reach a	4	NA	96
	No latex balloons a	3	NA	97
	Small objects out of reach of children under 3 years a	14	NA	86
	Electric fans safely covered or inaccessible a	4	NA	96
	Electrical outlets covered when not in use a	55	NA	45
Exits and Stairs		Average rating = 2.6 out of 3
	Two exits on each floor used by children a	24	NA	76
	Indoor stairs closed off at top and bottom (if infants) a	20	NA	80
	Exits usable and unobstructed a	5	NA	95
	Bathroom, bedroom doors cannot be locked a	54	NA	46
	Stairs with 3+ steps have safe railings	3	5	92
Pets		Average rating = 2.9 out of 3
	Pets in good health, even-tempered, or inaccessible	3	NA	97
	Litter boxes, food dishes, pet toys out of reach	8	NA	92
Food Preparation, Toileting		Average rating = 2.8 out of 3
	Food stored, prepared, served in sanitary manner	2	9	90
	Meals, snacks are nutritious	3	11	87
	Meals, snacks sufficient in quantity	2	7	92
	Cooking appliances used safety	3	8	90
	Dishwashing is sanitary	2	6	92
	High chairs are safe a	4	NA	97
	Children sit down to eat meals	8	10	82
	Children helped to learn to feed themselves	6	14	81
	Children held during bottle-feeding	16	28	56
	Adults wash hands before preparing food, eating	9	16	75
	Children wash hands before eating, after toileting	22	19	59
	Universal health precautions if handling blood	33	NA	67
	Hands washed with soap, gels; individual towels a	25	19	56
	Children safe and secure at sink	17	12	71
	Sink used for food preparation only or disinfected a	7	5	88
	Diapering/toileting separate from food areas a	4	NA	96
	Children kept safe on changing table a	3	NA	97
	Diaper containers are kept covered, out of reach	13	NA	87
	Diapers checked at least every 1.5 hours	13	35	52
Naps		Average rating = 2.7 out of 3
	No bottles while children lying downa	19	NA	81
	Safe sleeping arrangements for babies	9	15	76
	Cribs meet safety standards	2	5	93
Sample size (n=554 homes)

a Items on the rating scale are coded as only "No" or "Yes," with no code for "Sometimes." Source: Family Child Care Home Observation: Environment Checklist

Exhibit 9-4:

DANGEROUS SITUATIONS IN THE FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME

Percentage of Homes by Type of Home

	All Children Related to Provider %	Some Children Related to Provider %	No Children Related to Provider %	All Family Child Care Homes %
Gun(s) in home	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.2
Unsafe items in unlocked lower kitchen cupboards	66.7	33.0	27.7	38.0
Insufficient smoke detectors	40.7	14.6	10.4	19.8
Insufficient fire extinguishers	74.3	20.6	24.1	36.6
No posted fire evacuation procedures	95.2	55.0	55.1	65.9
Inadequate first aid kit	35.0	2.2	2.0	10.6
Drugs, prescriptions in reach of children	3.4	3.4	2.7	3.1
Smoking in children’s presence	17.0	4.1	2.7	6.9
Matches, lighters in reach of children	6.1	0.0	1.2	2.2
Poisonous, dangerous substances	13.8	9.0	9.0	10.2
Any dangerous situation	96.6	70.3	63.6	74.1
Sample size	147	263	144	554

Source: Family Child Care Home Observation: Environment Checklist

Outdoor Health and Safety

Outdoor health and safety includes the safety of steps from the house to the outdoors, safe condition of outdoor equipment, safe placement and surfaces underneath outdoor equipment, protection of children from traffic hazards, and protection of children from water hazards (pools, spas, any water play). On average, homes scored very high on outdoor health and safety—2.9 on the 3-point scale (Exhibit 9-5). Although the average rating was high, two areas in which more than a quarter of the homes were not consistently safe were the overall repair and safety of the outdoor play equipment itself, and the spacing of the play equipment to minimize safety hazards (Exhibit 9-6). There were no consistent differences on ratings of outdoor health and safety associated with the type of home or the age mix of children in the homes.

Exhibit 9-5:

OUTDOOR HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME

Average Rating by Type of Home

	All Children Related to Provider Mean	Some Children Related to Provider Mean	No Children Related to Provider Mean	All Family Child Care Homes Mean
Outdoor stairs have safe railings	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.9
Equipment safe and in good repair	2.2	2.7	2.8	2.7
Play equipment safely spaced	1.9	2.8	2.5	2.6
Swings safely constructed	3.0	3.0	2.9	3.0
Play space free of dangerous materials	2.5	2.8	2.8	2.7
Sand box covered when not in use	3.0	2.9	2.7	2.8
Play space enclosed or safe from traffic	2.4	2.8	2.9	2.8
Swimming pools safely supervised	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Water play carefully supervised	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
No hot tubs, spas	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
Total score for outdoor health/safetya	2.8	2.9	2.9	2.9
Sample size	147	263	144	554

a Average of ratings on ten items on outdoor health/safety, each rated on a 3-point scale: 1=rarely, 2=sometimes, 3= consistently present. Source: Family Child Care Home Observation: Environment Checklist

Exhibit 9-6:

OUTDOOR HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME

Distribution of Ratings on Outdoor Health and Safety

	Rarely/Never %	Sometimes %	Consistently %
Outdoor stairs have safe railings	3	5	92
Equipment safe and in good repair	7	19	74
Play equipment safely spaced	25	14	71
Swings safely constructed	1	4	95
Play space free from dangerous materials	6	16	79
Sand box covered when not in use a	8	NA	92
Play space enclosed or safe from traffic a	12	NA	89
Swimming pools inaccessible and safely supervised a	1	NA	99
Water play carefully supervised a	0	NA	100
No hot tubs, spas a	<1	NA	100
Sample size (n=554 homes)

a Items on the rating scale are coded as only "No" or "Yes," with no code for "Sometimes." Source: Family Child Care Home Observation. Environment Checklist

Summary of Findings In general, space in child care homes was adequate for play and learning activities and offered a safe and unrestricted environment for children. While homes were adequately lit and not overly noisy, in more than 40 percent of them the television was rarely or never turned off. The majority of homes had adequate supplies of developmentally-appropriate indoor and outdoor play materials. However, some important types of materials were in short supply. Less than half of the homes had at least ten books for each age group cared for, and almost half lacked basic art materials. Also, materials for school age children were rated as adequate in only 58 percent of the homes caring for their age group. Family child care homes were safe and healthy places for children, providing consistent evidence of good health practices. Areas of concern included: uncovered electrical outlets (in 55% of the homes); doors that could be locked from the inside by children (50%); failure to use universal health precautions in handling blood (33%); inconsistent hygiene practices (25%); fire extinguishers (57%) or the absence of a posted fire evacuation plan (65%). In more than one-third of the homes, unsafe materials were kept in cabinets accessible to children and there were insufficient fire extinguishers. In general, environmental characteristics of family child care homes did not differ greatly by the type of home or the ages of children in care. One exception was the presence of dangerous situations. Dangerous situations were observed more often in homes in which all the children were related to the provider.

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