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I'm new here and have a daycare question

Oct08bostonbrideOct08bostonbride
in D.C. Area Babies

Hi,

   I've been an occasional lingerer since I was pregnant last year, but then stopped looking when I was overwhelmed with being a new mom (to a preemie) and then getting back to work.  Anyway, we're trying to find day care for our daughter now and we're having a hard time so I thought I would see if anyone had recommendations.  We live in Burke.  We've looked at most of the big centers in the area and either they have a wait or we didn't like them.  There are lots of in home places and we just don't know how to narrow it down.  Does anyone live in the Burke area or know someone who uses an in home provide in Burke they could recommend. 

 

Thanks so much! 

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Re: I'm new here and have a daycare question

  • kbalbkbalb

    I don't have any specific recommendations for you.  But when I was looking for in-home daycare, I immediately went to the state license page for in-home providers. The state has stricter guidelines than Ffx Co. 

    From there, I we looked at the visitation reports/violations.  If there was a glaring violation (no joke one: said there were 20 children when approval was only 10 and dog feces in the yard) we ignored it.  Others, had minor, in my opinion, violations (our daycare mom didn't have her emergency evacuation route posted and had left a door unlocked--things that I thought I might do).

    You can also cross reference the state license list and call Ffx Co and ask what the county violations are.  They will give them to you over the phone.

    From that, we called to see if there were openings when we wanted DD to start and visited about 8 homes.  We called references on two places.  And ultimately went with our gut.

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  • ArtslvrArtslvr

    Great advice above.  I will say that our in-home provider has a Fairfax County permit, and not a state license and clearly (since all three of my kids went to or are going to her) we love her.  So it is possible to find a person who "only" has the county permit.  pp is right, the VA state license requirements are more strict, just didn't want you to discount someone if they had the county permit.  As with any daycare it really depends on the individual provider.

    Also, here is the daycare spreadsheet which is the "how I found daycare" info: https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?hl=en&hl=en&key=0Aj1JxqE0aW0JcDZMaFhsTkk5RmRVMmNWeTBrQ05aZVE&output=html

    Good luck!  It takes time and energy, but I'm sure you'll find the right fit!

       

    Wife, Musician, Fed, WW-er, and Mom of three little kids - not necessarily in that order.
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  • victoria1212victoria1212 member
    Have you tried InfantToddler? They are a placement type group for in-home daycare and I know some people on this board have had great luck with them.
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  • Oct08bostonbrideOct08bostonbride

    Thanks for the help everyone.  We've been referencing both the state and county websites.  The individuals licensed through the state in our are, either have bad violations or are full.  The county list at over 100 providers in Burke alone was overwhelming.  We've looked at the infanttoddler website, and that may be the route we have to go.  I guess I was hoping for some recommendations as a way to narrow down the search.

     The search continues.  Thanks though!

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  • Mrs.HandyMrs.Handy member

    Ours is licensed only with the City of Alexandria and we love her. I know what you mean about it being overwhelming. There is no way you can look at 100 providers. I would recommend narrowing down your ideal location based on the list and looking at those. You should be able to look at the addresses and figure out which ones would work best.

    We found ours through a recommendation with the MOMS group in my neighborhood. You might want to try to join the one in yours. It is a great way to meet other moms and get recommendations.

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  • ArtslvrArtslvr

    With 100 options, I'd start by looking at your ideal location, like pp said.  When I was hunting I interviewed/visited in-homes right near our house which is where we wanted our daycare - to be convenient to home.  Can you start there?  I found the listing for my neighborhood and plotted them all on a map, and just started with the ones that were literally a block away from my house.  It's a lot of work and it's totally overwhelming, that's for sure. 

    On this particular message board, there are some of us that are hesitant to reveal where our kids go to in-home daycare, for fear of stalkers, so it's tough to get a specific rec from here for in-home.

     

    Wife, Musician, Fed, WW-er, and Mom of three little kids - not necessarily in that order.
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  • Oct08bostonbrideOct08bostonbride

    Hi,

       Yeah, I totally understand the desire to keep your current provider's info safe.  I guess I was thinking more like, I know someone who had a good experience with X or my neighbor has used Y.  Once we narrow it down, maybe I'll try again and see if anyone has specific bad experiences. 

     

    Thanks again!  I appreciate it. 

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