NAEYC accreditation?

pandadair

Does anyone consider this a must-have when looking for infant (up to 12 mos, really) daycare? I kind of feel like it isn't as important until the kid is a bit older. But maybe I'm just telling myself that because the only one I've found that is affordable is also waitlisted into 2015.

Mimaloo

At the risk of sounding really dumb, what is this?  

pandadair

It's a voluntary accreditation system for early-childhood education programs. My sister has worked extensively in daycares and with childcare provides and just said it's definitely something she'd look for. I'm just wondering if it's really necessary when they're younger and don't really have a "curriculum" other than pooping their pants and trying to hold their head up.

ETA: https://www.naeyc.org/accreditation

kristine526

NAEYC stands for the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

IMO, I've worked in centers that are going through the process of keeping both their state and national accreditation. The requirements from the state (in my case, Missouri) are actually more strict, more difficult, and harder to adhere to than the NAEYC requirements are. That being said, if I was placing my child in a center, I'd be looking for one that is accredited by both, but from 6w-12mo it doesn't matter quite as much as it does when they hit more pre-school age.

gutsysneakers

My MIL (who I love) is a preschool teacher and I sought out her advice when looking at daycare centers. The ones we are on wait lists for are NAEYC - mostly because in the DC area, I'd rather be in a childcare center who is NAEYC certified so we just get "bumped" up as Squish grows vs. being on another wait list for preschool. It's super competitive here and wait lists are insane. 

ykristos

I'm not worrying about it until ~12-18 months, and we are doing an in-home daycare that we trust/feel good about until then. It's probably something I'll start looking into more when he's born to see what the waitlist situation is like so we'll be able to switch when he's older and ready for something more structured. 

deanna1313

I recently left the daycare I worked at for 12 years. I was the manager there and explained what NAEYC was while touring regularly.( we were accredited). I agree with some aspects of it, but some stuff I just don't agree with. It is especially not as important for infants. A lot of it was about not using the word "No" while speaking to the children, art should be made only by the child with no help or guidance from the teacher and etc.

MrsT2008

It was important to me.  Is it as important for infants? not necessarily, but I had no intention of finding a daycare for the first year and then finding another one when I thought the accreditation mattered more.

pandadair

I agree @MrsT2008. Ideally. Buuuuuut the ones that are in a good area for me are either 1) out of my price range for infants, 2) waitlisted for over a year, or 3) don't accept infants. I seriously only found one or two that take babies under 6 mos.

You guys have reassured me as far as it not being super important right at first. Thanks! I think I'll just go with the place where we already have a deposit and get on a waitlist for when he's 12 mos.