One of the most frustrating aspects of searching for a daycare and preschool can be sorting through the qualifications of caregivers and preschool teachers, and determining whether a child care center or home daycare is able to provide the best possible learning environment for your child. First off, it's important to note that obtaining a child care license (or child care permit) from a state or county does require a minimum standard of training for child care providers, as well as health and safety requirements for the facilities. Child care and preschool accreditation, on the other hand, is a much harder process that holds daycare centers and family child care providers to a higher standard. The details can vary as there are a large number of daycare accreditation programs, but in general, accredited daycares and accredited preschools will have caregivers and teachers trained in specific early childhood education strategies aimed at facilitating social and skill development. Non-accredited child care and preschool programs might be equally good, but will generally require more investigation from parents to make sure that they offer quality early education. The first major child care accreditation program was piloted by the National Association for the Education of...