There are admittedly many times as a mom I’ve considered daycare. It’s not that I don’t love my kids; it’s that I miss working, but in the end the fear of bad day cares always turns me back to being a stay-at-home mom. I however, recognize that not all moms have that option. Some parents have no choice but to brave the world of day care and hope they’ve made the right decision. There are good day cares out there as well as bad; it’s telling the difference that can be difficult. So, where do you start?
Step one is naturally to decide what kind of day care you’re interested in. You could go with a private in-home caregiver, an in-someone-else’s-home small daycare or single caregiver, or an in-center day care where they actually have a building for the business itself. All of the above may or may not offer preschool or educational activities depending on the age of your child.
In-home care givers are convenient because they are in your home, but also offer that comfort that your child or children are at home. You could set up nanny cams if wanted; though personally I feel if you distrust the person enough for that, they shouldn’t be watching your kids. The downside of in-home caregivers is that they tend to be more expensive, unless you can find a teen or possibly another stay-at-home parent who is willing to take on the job.
Out of home caregivers, or small in-home day cares often have the benefit of fewer children, your child may even be their only responsibility. This can mean your child will get more individual attention, will get sick slightly less often via day care, and will get a slightly more at-home-like day care experience. The downside of course is your kids would have to be in someone else’s home. These types of day cares are also less monitored by the state. It’s very important to do your research and watch for problems in the future.
In-center day cares are generally expensive, can have strict rules, and often mean your child will get sick whenever any child at the facility does. Your children will likely have multiple caregivers, and the experience will be much like school. The upside is these places almost always do all manner of educational activities, and are more strictly watched by the state (hence all the rules). They can be a good precursor for school.
Next, you need to find out what day cares are available in terms of the type you’ve chosen. In-center day cares can be found in phone books, while the other too may require posting a job listing, and seeking out family and friends to find people looking for such work. If you have a local child-care assistance office, even if you don’t qualify, they will have a list of certified in-home caregivers for in-home small day cares. The rest of this guide is for in-home multi-child or in-center day cares only, for advice only choosing single-child caregivers in or out of the home click here.
Finally, you need to begin narrowing down your choices. The best source is word of mouth. Ask around about day cares and see which names come up the most with positive feedback. Remember to ask why they would recommend said day care. Social networking sites like Facebook can be a great way to get a wide range of opinions quickly. You can also try searching the name of the day care for any reviews or mention online.
Then begin calling each remaining choice. Your initial interest should be pretty easy; ask the questions that could disqualify a daycare from your list first. Think of things like hours of operation, cost of care, any rules or regulations, staff qualifications, daily activities-including anything religious. Please be aware that many day cares do have a religious orientation. If this is something that matters to you, be sure to ask.
At this point your list should be fairly small, and you can set up in-person tours. Make sure to meet any people that will be interacting with your kids. Try to a get a real feel for who they are. This is also a great time to get a peak at how the day care operates. You could also choose to do a trial-day and stay for awhile at the beginning, and then drop in unexpected sometime during the day to compare the two. You want to see quality of care fairly unchanged from the time they knew a parent would be present, to the time they didn’t.
Once you’ve decided on a day care and enrolled, be sure to ask your child questions often about day care. Ask what they did, if they are enjoying it and why or why not. Even toddlers generally can convey their overall feeling about the day care. Watch for drastic behavioral changes which may indicate a problem.
Eventually we all have to set our children in others hands, whether it be day care, school or work later in life; hopefully this guide has helped you select a great day care and avoid some not so great ones.
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