Washington, DC
Federal Trade Commission Child Care Center

Discipline

OVERALL RATING (5.0)

Parents at this school, on average, believe that conflicts between children:
...are handled extraordinarily well in a way that not only gives me confidence in the safety of my child but also reassures me that my child (and his/her peers) are learning the early skills needed to socialize effectively with one another

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Parents' Notes on Discipline, Health and Safety

Parent #1
As stated above, they handle discipline and developmental issues well. For instance, generally if a child bites another child, the parents of both children are told of the incident. The parents of the child who is bitten are not told which child bit them, just that it happened (the child usually tells though :-) The biter is disciplined in some way -- usually a calm trip to "time out" (usually a chair in the classroom slightly removed from the other kids) to calm down and think about things. No one ever yells or yanks on children, but the biter is aware that the behavior is unacceptable. The teacher will always talk to the biter about why they did what they did and the need to use words to express themselves instead. The child who is bitten gets lots of hugs and, obviously if it is a bad bite, first aid (neosporine and a band-aid). If the bite leaves actual marks, the parents of the bitten child will usually be called at work to inform them of what occurred. Similar procedures are followed for minor accidents etc. In terms of security, this Center is in a federal government office and has security guards and all the trappings of post 911 security. Even beyond that, the Center itself is locked off from the rest of the FTC by a key pad and parents are issued badges that unlock the front door. I have absolute confidence that my child is at least as safe at "school" as she is at home.

Health

OVERALL RATING (4.7)
Temperature and overall air circulation is comfortable
Healthy and nutritious snacks are provided
Toys and furniture are cleaned regularly

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Safety

OVERALL RATING (4.5)
Screen and identify all visitors
Parents may not bring sick children to school where they may infect others

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