Babies: 9 - 12 Months
jlthompson19
member
Moms with kids in a center-question for you
jlthompson19
member
I'm pretty sure I"m going to be putting DD in a center fairly soon. She spends the days with my sister now, but for a variety of reasons, it's not working out. I know back in 2nd and 3rd tri there are posts asking what to ask/look for in a center, but I want to know from mom's with babies already there-if you had to find a new place in the next few weeks, what would you look for now? What are your main concerns?
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Re: Moms with kids in a center-question for you
We are in a fantastic daycare right now, but we have to look for a new one soon b/c we're moving. So...here are things we're looking for at the moment:
* kid to teacher ratio, and total # of kids in a room
* daily schedule/curriculum/philosophy on learning
* amt of floor space the kids have to play on
* do they go on walks to parks or do field trips?
* how does the director/teachers communicate (easy to reach if you call them?), and how we "click" with the teachers
* do the other kids look happy to be there
These are great, thanks!
One more thing, do you take the baby with you when you first check it out or go alone?
Everything that eSynergy said, plus:
? Sick baby policy
? Appropriate licensing
? Certifications (ex. CPR) and experience level of teachers
? Do they accommodate special requests (ex. if you cloth diaper)
? Health Safety. The state I live in allows you to view inspections of daycare providers to see what violations, if any, a center has had. I believe most state government websites have this feature.
Make some calls and check out the options online. After you narrow it down, start doing some visits to see how they operate. That's the best way to get the feel of a place. Good luck!
ETA: We brought Max with us to see how the directors/teachers interacted with him.
I'd look at whether they are accredited (either nationally or with the state) or at least the training the teachers have had. I'd look at the space and amount of toys available, outdoor space for play, and the number of infants in one room. Generally toys are communal in one room (even if they get cleaned each day) and too many infants would be a deterrent.
The center's philosophy on routines would be an issue too. I like that my center allows each infant to dictate their schedule - they feed them when they are hungry, put them down when they are tired, etc.
A lot of centers offer their own food - I would prefer if my center didn't provide food as they don't let me bring in my own food for ds. It's not a huge deal now since DS doesn't eat much, but I do one day want him to eat mostly organic foods and it will be an issue with his current center. Some centers also allow CDs - ours doesn't, but that might be an incentive (if you CD).
I'd also spend an hour or so there (w/o my LO) just to see how things work. Oh and I'd only go with a non-profit center but that's my own preference.
Look at the cuuriculum, especially for the older kids if you plan to use daycare long term. We only looked at the infant room, and now I see the three and four year olds watching a lot of TV, and that's going to be an issue.
I prefer and like the fact that they provide the food once DS was past baby food. They give him a good variety including things he'll never get at home (like grits!) and I don't have to worry about preparing food for him every day.
If it's possible to observe for a couple of hours, do that. We love the caregiver for DS in the mornings, but not so much the one in the afternoon.
One thing we really hate about our DC is the schedule. We started DS there when he was three months. They want the infants to be on the one year old schedule, so that when they move up to the one year old class, they're used to it. That might work for a 10 month old, but a 3 month old needs a lot more sleep than a one year old. DS never got enough sleep and he'd be super cranky every night.
And then look at all the usual things like cleanliness, education level of staff, ongoing education.
Sorry for taking a while to respond. We went to look at the daycare with DS but he was only 2 mo. old and sleeping (so he didn't really know what was going on). Now that he's almost 1 we'll be looking more at stuff like curriculum/schedule-stuff and their teaching philosophies.
I can't believe some daycares have TVs! All of the ones we visited had no tv. That's one thing that would bother me.