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Day cares in York/day care general questions

Imanurse03Imanurse03 member
in Pennsylvania Babies

Hi there!  I'm not due until Feb. but am starting to gather some info. about local day cares.  I am going to return to work at least part-time once baby is born.  That is up in the air right now until I can get some info about day care pricing and whatnot.  I'd love to be able to be a SAHM but that won't be financially possible.   I'm hoping to work just 2 days a week.  Those days I work each week may be able to be pre-set to give the day care notice but I'm not sure yet.  Do day cares prefer that you use them the same days each week if you don't use them 5 days a week?

Also, can anyone recommend day cares in the York area?  I am looking at U-gro and Kindercare but I have a feeling they will be expensive.  I'm also going to look at Robin's Nest in West York.  Also, do you ladies have a preference or experience with private, at-home day cares vs. day care centers?  What questions should I ask if take a tour of these day cares, other than teacher/child ratio?  

Thanks so much for any info!

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Re: Day cares in York/day care general questions

  • rsweethartrsweethart member
    Congratulations!  I have no personal experience with finding a daycare, but I visit a few for work.  York First Church of the Brethren on Kingston Rd and JCC are both very nice and have great staff.  The Keyston Stars website https://www.pakeys.org/pages/get.aspx?page=Programs_STARS_Families might be helpful.  You can also call Child Care Consultants, even if you aren't looking for financial assistance they will still help you locate child care. 
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  • kross605kross605 member

    Im not an expert but based on my experience daycares do prefer that you know which days you will be bringing your child and often they will charge you for those days regardless of whether you show up. They have strict child/teacher ratios and often its too hard to ensure they are in ratio if they dont know which days your child will be there. For questions to ask I just googled and there were a few lists that came up.

    I cant recommend any places in york but as for the day care center v in home care, I think thats just a personal choice of where youre more comfortable. In home care can vary widely from a SAHM neighbor to a professional business that happens to be in someone's home, so its hard to compare until you have a set place in mind. A few things to consider beyond price are: availability of staff /backup staff to cover sick days and vacations etc, compliance and accountability with certifications/inspections/regulations, staff credentials, hours of operation, curriculum/enrichment activities, safety/ security etc. Im fairly new to the area, but so far, the prices Ive found at centers in the Mechanicsburg area are $400-500 /month for infants going 2 days a week.

    The working mom board may be a good place for some of these questions too. 

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  • nhinze01nhinze01

    My son has been going to Tiny Blessings in Dover for 4 years and it is a great Daycare.  He only goes two days a week, and they are pre-set.  All the other daycares I looked into had pre-set days(so that they can pair him up with another child who goes opposite days and they consider it one "full-time" kid).  I don't have any experience with KinderCare, but think very highly of the Robin's Nest in West York(The one in Dover I have not heard good things about at all).  I actually recommened the West York RObin's Nest to a friend and her son has been going there for a year and they LOVE it!

    Personally, I am not a fan of in home daycare centers, but that is just my opinion. I don't think they have the structure and safetly precautions that a center has.  Good luck

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  • kahardenbrookkahardenbrook
    I am a stay at home mom, but have worked in daycare centers in the past. I can't say anything about the KinderCare center in York, but I worked at one in Scranton, PA. They have excellent curriculum and of course are required to follow all state regulations for safety and teacher/child ratios. The center I worked in was flexible with the days of week, as long as you let them know the week before. That would be a great question to ask when you tour. Also when you tour watch to see how the staff are interacting with the children and each other, that will tell you a lot of the quality of the center. KinderCare is probably going to be more expensive than other centers because they are a national chain. You may find that centers that operate out of churches are cheaper, but I believe they are still a quality option. A friend of mine works at Rainbow Junction in York. She just started there, so I don't know much about it. But it's probably worth checking out. Hope that was helpful!
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