Daycare Centers - what to ask

HisChamaoleGirl

Good Morning Ladies,

 I am walking through a daycare center with DH on Friday and I am wondering what sort of questions I should be asking. Also, what have you found helpful or that you like in  your daycare center that I should be on the look out for? TIA!

emberlee3

You can google for lists of questions.

What I really liked about DS's infant room was that the teachers had been there forever.  One for 5 years, the other for 18 years in the same exact room (ages 6 weeks to crawlers).  Those are ladies who love babies!  

The childcare regulations for infants are pretty strict in my state.  Babies must be held while having bottles up to 1 year of age.  No more than 30 minutes per day in swing or bouncer per child.  Ratio is 1:4, which is on the high end but a well-run center has floaters available at all times.  The assistant director often came in to help at busy times.

Convenient things were that crib sheets were provided and freezer space was available for BM or homemade food.  Security is important.  There was a code to enter the building.

Mustardseed2007

Actually from being on this board there are certain questions I would be sure to bring up:

1) Food for older kids - do they provide it or do you bring your own. Can you bring your own if you want. What is the menu like, is it junky or healthy or a little bit of both?

2) In the infant room how do they manage kids and equipment, is there a limit on the amount of time a kid will be in a bouncy seat, exersaucer, high chair, swing.

3) For kids that take bottles, do they hold them?

4) How do they handle potty training? Are tehy very involved? Do they try and get all the kids at the same times? Will they ask your kid frequently if they have to go?

We asked a lot of questions we found on google and being there will give you a good idea of how good the center is, but these issues seem to sneak up on people and you don't want to have to change centers if you can help it should one of thse issues be a big deal to you down the road.

siempreyo

This is a list that I have compiled from seeing this question on various boards. Some are particular to me (cloth diapers) and some are maybe not for centers (we are looking at home day care too, but i hope it helps! 

Center Operations

- What sort of certification does center have?

- Do you have liability insurance?

- Do you have Tax ID for Tax Credit purposes?

 

Feeding

- When infant moves to solids what do you feed them?

- Do we provide food or does your day care?

- When do you move them to solids?

- Do we set the feeding schedule or does your day care?

- What do you do if our infant is having issues feeding?

- Do you hold babies during feeding  or prop the bottle?

 

Sleeping

- Do we set the sleeping schedule or does your daycare?

- Where will our infant sleep?

- What do you do if our infant won't nap in crib? or nap at all?

 

Enrichment

- Do you have TV on at any time? 

- What is the infant schedule? What is the Toddler schedule?

- What sort of enrichment do you provide?

- Do you teach sign language here?  Spanish?

- What do you  do to mark milestones or help our infant reach them?

 

Sickness/Vacation/Leave

- What does care look like when day care provider is sick?

- What is your sick policy for bringing our infant when sick?

- What does your vacation policy look like? (Do you have set days, do we pay?  What notice are we provided?

- What is your policy when we take vacation and don't bring our infant in?

- What holidays are you closed?  Do we pay for those?

 

Termination Policy

- What is the process/notification/policy if we not longer want to leave our child in your care?

- What is the process/notification/policy if you no longer will take care of our child?

 

Staff Experience/Preparedness

- Do all of your staff have CPR and First Aid Training?

- What is the ratio of staff to children?

- What is the experience level of those on staff?  Do you have ongoing certification?

- Is there a steady provider for our child?  Are there assistants and what is their level of training?  Do you allow volunteers?

- What is the screening for all those who interact with our child?

 

Drop Off/Pick-up

- Is the flexibility with drop off/pick up times?

- What is the security for pick-ups?

 

Miscellaneous

- Will you use cloth diapers for our infant?

- What do you do to get our infant comfortable during the transition period?

- What is your medication policy?

- Do you allow non-immunized children in your day care?

- Do you offer parent nights?

- Are those interacting with our child smoke free? 

HisChamaoleGirl

Thank you for the great advice ladies!

plus12012

Ask about the turnover rate of teachers in the center. Also speak directy to the teachers about what the classroom is like, routine, handling of fussy babies, napping etc. (preferably without the Director around). The teachers honestly give you the best view of what the center is like and aren't just offereing you a sales pitch.