C C R & R - Child Care Resource and Referral. These are agencies focused on providing referral services to parents and others looking for child care arrangements. These agencies also commonly administer child care subsidy programs. (See also R & R)

Center-based child care - Group child care provided in a facility operating on a regular basis and offering care for children from infants to school-age children.

Challenging behavior - Behavior such as biting or temper tantrums that is often difficult to handle

Child Care provider - Anyone "providing" child care services (i.e., child care centers, family child care homes, school-age child care programs, nannies)

Child care provided in a private residence which operates on a regular basis and offers care for children - Child care provided in a private residence which operates on a regular basis and offers care for children

Chronic illness - An illness that may develop slowly, go undetected for years, often of lifelong duration, and seldom cured. Chronic illnesses can often be controlled through diet, exercise and medication. Common chronic illnesses affecting children are asthma, juvenile arthritis, diabetes, epilepsy, sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, cancer, AIDS/HIV.

Classify - To put things or events in groups on the basis of what they have in common

Closed questions - A question for which there is only one right answer

Cognitive development - Development of the expanding ability to think and reason

Communication - The act of expressing and sharing ideas, desires, and feelings

Competence - The ability to do something well

Concept - An idea that combines details or several other ideas in an organized way

Concrete - Relating to real objects

Consequence - The natural or logical result of a behavior

Contingency plan - A plan, posted where parents can see it, designating who will serve as a backup when a provider is unable to care for children and the procedures to be followed in such a situation

Contract - A written agreement between two or more individuals that describes policies/procedures and defines individual responsibilities

Cooperative play - The type of play that typically begins in the preschool years. Children play together in a group that they organize and control. The group has a specific purpose, such as making something, playing a game, or acting out a real-life or fantasy situation.

Creativity - An attitude or way of looking at things that involves being willing to try out new ways of doing something and realizing that there is more than one way to solve a problem