How to find the best daycare in Liverpool for your toddler? Well, there are tonnes of them. Since most kids nowadays have both working parents, the demand for daycare has increased. And thus, you can find a lot of childcare listings across the country. Some may have 5-star ratings, while some may come with professional childcare models. But above everything, a good daycare centre must have a nutritionally enriched menu and a clean kitchen. Many children get sick from eating improperly handled foods. And no parents want that for their little ones. Hence, you should check the common kitchen facts during your daycare visit. And we will discuss it further in the following blog post.
What to check in the daycare kitchen during your visit?
Most parents usually focus on the security, location, neighbourhood, staff qualifications, and curriculum of a centre. But these are not everything. You should also check the kitchen facility of the place where your infant will spend most of their time. And thus, ensure to check the following things:
1. What food do they purchase for the kids?
i) Check if they purchase only the nutritionally enriched items.
ii) Ensure that they buy 100% real fruit juice instead of canned ones.
iii) Make sure that they do not include frozen foods in the childcare menu.
iv) Check if they buy fresh ingredients for the meal instead of canned/processed foods.
2. How do they store the food items?
i) Check if they cover the food items in containers when refrigerating.
ii) Make sure that the refrigerator is clean and organised.
iii) Ensure that they have separate storage options for food items and cleaning materials.
iv) Check if they have thermometers placed in a visible location in the refrigerator/freezer. This will help them avoid serving fridged items to the kids.
3. How do they prepare the meals for the infants?
i) Make sure that they wash their hands thoroughly before starting to prepare the meals.
ii) Ensure that they sanitise the cooking surfaces and counters before and after cooking.
iii) Check if they wash and sanitise the cutting board and utensils before starting to cook.
iv) Check if they thaw meats on the counter, as it can cause a stinky smell if not washed at that time.
v) Last but not least, make sure that they do not allow pets (if there are any) and non-cook staff members to wander around the kitchen.
4. How do they serve the food to the children?
i) Make sure that they serve food on a plate, napkin, or bowl instead of directly on the table.
ii) Check if they use chipped plates, cups, or bowls. If yes, then it is not a good one.
iii) Ensure that they are guiding infants not to lick the serving utensils. If it still happens, check if they replace it with a cleaned one or not.
iv) Make sure that they discard all the leftovers on the kids’ plates and in the serving dishes. They should never store these for later use.
5. How do they wash the dishes?
i) Make sure that they wash their dishes thoroughly using a gentle dishwasher.
ii) Check if they sanitise the clean dishes or not.
iii) If they have a dishwasher, ensure that the temperature must be within 180oF to sanitise the dishes.
Do you consider the kitchen when you visit a daycare in Liverpool? If not, then you must do this. Most childcare centres provide meals/snacks to kids. And hence, you need to check the kitchen. And we hope this blog post will help you with that.
