How many daycares did you visit?

CaliJenny · June 2009

How many did you tour before you found the one you went with? What was the most important thing you had in mind when looking?

thanks!

smiles4ya · June 2009

5 or so...

Put her in one, switched after a month.

suh5969 · June 2009

4

It had to be clean!

Bella427 · June 2009

I put her on 5 waitlists (finding infant care here is hard) and probably visited 7 places. I figured I would make a decision once we knew what our options were after she arrived. I really didn't have a specific thing in mind, just a gut feeling. We ended up getting a spot at 3 places and I really connected with the director at the one we chose and the kids seemed happy and well cared for.

abpdjs · June 2009

5 close to home. my thing was seeing the kids actually doing things. i visited a few and the director gave me the schedule but all the kids were just running around like crazy, not doing anything but screaming their heads off, lol! i also went with one that i knew/worked with some parents, their kids went to the same place so, word of mouth too. i just felt comfortable with the place, it was clean, i really liked the schedule and what they did with the kids all day.

MargieMom · June 2009

6 - and the #1 thing I looked for was my "gut feeling" the minute I walked in the door. We actually lost a $600 deposit b/c a spot opened in the daycare I wanted, and I had already reserved his spot at another place. best $600 i ever lost. GL!

Pesky · June 2009

5 or so, plus a few calls. Most important thing was a good gut reaction really.

ai&Jas · June 2009

We visited 6 and the most important thing to me was also my gut feeling. I was looking for a place which was clean, safe and the teachers had to be interested in the kids they worked with so interaction with the kids was a big thing to me! I also wanted to know what activities they would be doing with my child.

Once you've been to a few you know exactly what you want! That first one is always a shocker because for us that was when reality hit plus some places look so institutional ie we found one whichw as super clean ie bleach smell and everything in place but the environment felt so cold and the director kept cutting me off and wouldnt answer my questions so that was a no go. The next one, the teachers were nice, but too nice and over bearing; they were trying too hard plus they only had 2 kids in the entire center and 1 of them looked like one of the teachers! That place failed because the other teachers asked the director when she was suppose to get her certification...a huge alarm bell for us!

Good luck and its a huge relief when you find the one for you

SportsLover · June 2009

Eight and all had to be within a certain radius of my job.

SportsLover · June 2009

It has to be clean, a friendly atmosphere and peanut free (DS is allergic).

On thing I did after I narrowed down my search, was wait in the parking lots of two DCs during the peak pick-up time (5pm). I stopped as many parents as I could and asked them their opinion about the daycare. I asked for the positives and negatives their feedback really helped me make a final decision.

Meg41208 · June 2009

just one, but it is also the one closest to home and the highest rated by the state in the area and recommended by many people to me. we are happy with it.

Taylor44 · June 2009

I think we toured 5 daycares. Clean, safety-oriented, and a nice staff were on the top of the list. But the decision was based mostly on a gut-feeling.

jlw2505 · June 2009

We lookeda t 2 and the big things for us were safety and curriculm. Both places we looked at had come highly recommended so I knew both would be great and they offered very different things. The Y daycare didn't feel as safe to me based on the set up and they were nmore focused on the physical activites (swim lessons after age 3, lots of time in the gym and stuff like that) but not a ton on the educational side. The center we ended up with is way safer in my mind (in its own building, locked door, security cameras in all the rooms, etc) and they have a more equal balance in the what they do day to day as far as educational stuff and free play, actitvies, outside things. I just felt more at ease and honeslty, you need to go with your gut instinct.

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