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Working Moms
ds1247
member
WWYD about our DC
ds1247
member
in Working Moms
My DD is 13-months. She goes to a small DC, they have 3 rooms - the babies, preschool (2+) and the after-schoolers.
My concerns:
1) They feed them mostly junk, i.e. hamburger helper, sloppy joes, fish sticks, very little fruits or vegetables (maybe 3-4 times a week), very little dairy, snacks include: cookies, cake, brownies, crackers, etc. All ages groups eat the same foods.
2) I've asked about the structure of the preschoolers class, they have a lesson in the mornings (9-10), then they have free play and watch movies the rest of the day.
3) They rotate 3 workers in the baby room. The 1st one works from 8-9 in that room and the 3rd from 1-6, both of them we really like and so does DD. However, the 2nd one is our issue. She has TERRIBLE spelling and grammar and in general just seems to be uneducated. For example, she regularly writes on DD's sheet that we have a "sweet little gril" and yesterday that DD "got bite today on thight". I'm not perfect and I'm sure you can find plenty of errors in this post too, but it bothers me that she is suppose to be teaching children. Plus DD seems scared of her.
We pay almost $25 less a week for this facility than others in our area (money is still tight for us) and it is literally next door to where I work. We can/do send additional food for DD each day (a fruit, dairy and vegetable and other healthier snacks) and they have no problem giving these to her.
So the question, am I making too much out of these issues? Should we move her to a different center? What would you do?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: WWYD about our DC
As long as they feed DD the food you provide, I wouldn't take issue with that, I've never heard of a DCC providing food other than snacks (that being said, that food sounds GROSS).
The lack of structured learning/teaching through play would definitely not work for me.
The uneducated or at least spelling-challenged "teacher" would also bother me a lot.
Honestly, weigh your options. Do you foresee your money situation resolving itself any time soon? If you cannot afford a better facility, could you afford an in-home daycare instead? They tend to be less expensive. Check out Care.com for some options.
I posted yesterday about my "Daycare Nightmare" and I visited a DCC this afternoon. It's $70 more a week, but I'm seriously considering switching. I'll have to sacrifice my bi-monthly manicures, but DD is certainly worth it.
I agree with all of this.
1) Food wouldn't bother me as long as I could provide snacks/food that they would give to my child. My cousin is allergic to a lot of foods and I know that his mom had a list of foods that he could not eat... Could you maybe do a list of things that you don't want your child to eat?
2) Learning/teaching through play would also not settle with me. The kids shouldn't be allowed to have free play and watch TV the majority of their day.
3) The teacher with horrible grammar and spelling skills would bother me!
I differ from some of the others. I would be fine with free play for most of the days, because I think kids learn through play and it's important to me that they have time to do so. But watching movies every day or often would not be okay with me.
The food would probably be an issue as your child gets older and it becomes more aware to her that other kids are eating cake for a snack, but she is not.
If the uneducated teacher is in the baby room, that wouldn't bother me too much. We get lots of sheets with spelling errors, but it's not like they're teaching the kids spelling.
The worker we have issue with, works the baby room until after nap time and the after-schoolers room until close. So, no she wouldn't have much interaction with her when she moves up but that's 11 months from now.
So my concerns now are the worker and the food, mostly. And my concerns looking forward are the food and the structure.
Also, they give me the menu each week, so I let them know what's okay and what's not for her lunch and snacks. She does occasionaly eat what they have and they will remove the icing or give her a little piece and something we brought, but as a PP said this will become a bigger problem later.
Our finacial situation should be improving later in the year, so I'm trying to decide if we should move her then.
It can't possibly hurt to look around. Maybe some places have a waiting list you can sign up for free of charge? The feeling of your child getting less than exemplary care sucks, I hope you figure out a solution you're comfortable with.
With everything you've said I would probably set a goal to find a new center before she would move up to the preschool room. It gives you some time for finances to improve but gets her in a more structured preschool room with hopefully more than one hour per day of educational activity. And the food thing will probably start to become an issue around that time.
For right now, I would try to figure out what's going on with DD being afraid around the one DCP. Can you meet with her at pickup one day and ask if she finds DD to be shy or nervous? Maybe this lady has a loud laugh or some other habit that just bothers your DD?
The food would be the first no-go for me. Our daycare provides breakfast, lunch, and snack and they are all very well balanced.
The movie watching would be the second no-go. That's just unnecessary and lazy.
Terrible spelling and grammar in the baby room.... ehh, I could let it go. In an older kid's room though - no.
It's a hard call if money is tight, but I wouldn't put my LO in that daycare. As she gets older, the menu offerings and educational programming will be more important. Unless all the other kids are bringing their own food, your DD might refuse to eat what you pack. And the movie watching? That's just..... no.
MMC 3.30.16
The free play wouldn't bother me until he got to be age 34 then I'd like to see more structure. I wouldn't be okay with movies every single day either.
The uneducated teacher wouldn't bother me either as long as she's good at taking care of babies. If she was teaching preschool that'd be different. But just because she can't spell doesn't mean she can't care for a baby.
I wondered if they are licensed also. My state requires veggies/fruit/milk to be served @ each meal. The food and movies alone sounds worth an extra $25 for a better placement.
I'm just throwing this out there, but is English the woman's second language? Alternatively, could she have a learning disability like dyslexia?
The food issue seems like it is fixed by you sending healthy foods.
Honestly, the way you describe how she writes, it makes me wonder if she has dyslexia. The spelling issue would not bother me. My DH has a form of dyslexia. He is very poor at spelling and reverses letters in words much the way you described the daycare lady does. Yet, my DH has an M.D. and a crazy high IQ. So it may not necessarily be a reflection of her being uneducated or dumb. Also, since your DD is only 13 months old, I can't imagine she would be teaching your daughter to spell anytime soon.
The lack of doing educational activities or a good routine would probably bother me more than anything else you have mentioned, but even that would bother me more as LO got older and not necessarily right now. Ultimately, it is a very individual decision. How much is $100 a month (about $1300 a year) going to affect your budget? Only you can answer that. Good luck in your decision.
2011: FSH 13.3 & E 99; AMH 0.54 2nd FSH 6.2 E 40's AFC: 8
BFP from Clomid/IUI ~ Pre-e and IUGR during pregnancy ~ DS born 9/4/12
Feb./March 2013: AMH less than 0.16 (undectable) and AFC = 4;
BFP from supps ~ DS#2 due May 2014
May 2014 January Siggy Challenge:
I would not want my child in that kind of daycare. The food issue bothers me. I mean, sure you can send your own food and now that your DD is young she will likely eat the food your send even if it is different than what the other kids are eating. But as your DD gets older she may see what everyone else is eating and refuse to eat the healthy food you're sending. Also, a daycare should be setting good examples for healthy eating.
The unlimited movies also bothers me. I mean, really what are you paying these people for?!
1. The junk would grate on me, to be honest, but if you are able to send healthier snacks and they comply then, meh.
2. Movies would bother me.
3. Spelling and grammar would not bother me.
ETA: The free play sounds fantastic to me. FANTASTIC.
Our DC center provides breakfast, lunch and snack. They are all healthy balanced meals. They get tons of variety, fruits, veggies, dairy, protein. I would not be okay with the food your DC provides at all.
I would also not be okay with movies. No! Our DC has free play, tons of art projects, reading time, outdoor play, song/music/dance time, and other creative fun things that help them learn, etc.
Uneducated. Well, no offense but these DCP's do not necessarily make the big bucks. I wouldn't expect them to be the most educated people in every case. That's not something I'd love, but I would cut some slack for spelling errors.
Thanks for all the feedback. We are going to visit another DCP on Monday and compare.
In response to the lack of education questions, I get that she doesn't need to have a formal education to watch babies, but she also has the afterschoolers and if the DCP has no issues with her "helping" with homework and not having the basic understanding herself, do the workers in the preschool room?
I know money difference doesn't seem like much to some, but we are finally just starting to recover from me being out of work from having DD and DH being laid off at the same time. Last month was the first that we actually made more than we owed so creating an increased expense is a hard choice for us.
I agree with all of this, our dc teachers aren't teaching them spelling, and I'm pretty sure they know the alphabet. Plunking little ones in front of a tv is unacceptable, that isn't care. That is barely babysitting. What does it teach them? The food would bother me too, even if they are feeding what you send, at some point your LO is going to want to try that other stuff and... hamburger helper? I don't even eat that crap, I wouldn't let my kid. I mean don't they participate in a food program? Our daycare does, and while I don't love everything they eat, it always includes veggies and fruit and is healthy.