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What should I look for in a home daycare?
DD is in a daycare center, and I was really schooled on what to look for and of course now I am experienced. We are probably going to send baby#2 to an inhome daycare which I know will be a different situation. What shoudl I look for? What are the adult/child ratios? What about sleeping situations? What do the babies do when the older toddlers and kids are playing and eating? TIA!
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Re: What should I look for in a home daycare?
My biggest advice is to find someone that loves being a SAHM and a daycare provider, and really loves kids. Maker sure their home is clean and safe. I would also watch how her kids act, and ask yourself if you would want your kid to act like that?
My DCP is awesome. She has 3 daughters that are 8, 5, and 2. She also watches an 18 month old boy, and my daughter. The first time I went there, I showed up 45 minutes early on purpose to catch her off guard. Her house was spotless, the kids were happy and entertaining themselves, the TV was off, and she was holding the youngest one. After 5 minutes of talking to her, I knew I liked her. Then her daughter came over to me and started reading a book to me and the baby, it was so cute. I know that their family treats my daughter like a younger sister, and that's what I wanted from a DCP. I want her to be cuddled and loved as much as if i was with her all day long. They go on long walks in the double stroller, and they all love having my DD there. Her DH works from home a few days a week, and i have no problem with this at all, he's a great guy and works in the same field as my DH, they have a lot of mutual friends. Both parents are registered with the state.
Ratios: It's one Mom to 5 kids (but the 2 oldest kids are in school). DD sleeps in a crib in the parent's room.
Just curious, why would you not put the kids in the same school? Seems like it would make it tough to drop off and pick up 2 kids from different places.
I believe that the ratios vary by state. In MA, I know that my DCP can have 3 children under 2, but one needs to be 15 months and walking. I'm not sure how many total kids she can have but I know she's well under the limit.
In terms of what the babies do while the older kids are doing activities, etc.... I know my infant son gets a kick out of just watching the older kids (they actually are just toddlers but that's old to him
). The DCP tries to include the babies in the activities by narrating or including them in some way. I know that the toddlers also like to try to entertain the babies...and the babies love to laugh at their antics. One day, they tried to teach the babies to crawl.
My advice (for what it's worth) is to think about what you want in a provider and go from there. E.g. for me, it was NO TV, lots of floor time, a clean, bright playspace, lots of attention, organized, etc. Some things are personal preference. For example, my provider is pretty unstructured in terms of a planned activities... but for me that is ok, others may be looking for a more preschool-like experience. Also, my provider takes the children outdoors a lot, including on walks and to the park. She'll stop at the grocery store or post office on occasion (on walks not in cars)- for me, I like that my child is exposed to "real life" but I can see where others might not want to be paying for her to run errands.
Anyway, good luck!