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Working Moms
Dochas
member
Is there such a think as a daycare with no "issues"?
Dochas
member
in Working Moms
Hello,
I'm a SAHM who has lurked here in case I decided to go back to work. And now it might happen. It would be p/t and temporary, but I need to find a daycare. And as I start my search I wonder - mistakes happen, right? As much as I would love to find a place where none of the staff has every made a mistake I'm guessing things happen everywhere. Do you have little things that you think don't matter? Thanks. I'm freaking but trying to keep it under control.
One place I'm going to go look at for instance - a mom there told me that a class was taken outside to the playground and 1 of the children was left outside. Both people were fired immediately and the owner (director) was outside working. I'm going to find out how long the child was out there. If it was minutes - is it a no- go? Another teacher was let go for not washing the kids hands often enough. So this Mom still has her kids there and likes that the owners are on top of things. Are these good signs or bad signs. The place has cameras in the rooms and that does appeal to me. But I have not yet started visiting places.
Thanks for any help.
TTC since September '08
After 2 m/c - lap for stage 3-4 endo
Oct '09 Bravelle w/Ovidrel trigger - iui on 11/07
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Is there such a think as a daycare with no "issues"?
We have been fortunate that we have had no issues with DD's daycare and she's been there almsot 2 years. I LOVE her daycare provider (she goes to an in-home daycare) and reccommend her to everyone.
We have had minor issues with our daycare but nothing that has ever needed to be addressed with the director. I don't think there is ever such a thing as a 100% perfect daycare (same could be said of most things in life). For me, i want to know how often things happen, to what degree, and if the director/management handles them appropriately.
As far as specifics to your question, yes, firing of 3 teachers would worry me but I would talk to the director and see if the reasoning was appropriate and if a process was out in place to keep things like that from happening again.
I'm a lucky one here--I've had very few issues with DD's daycare center and anything that did bother me was minor and was resolved immediately. For instance, DD eats her meals at daycare but I have a thing with hot dogs and asked for her not to eat them. One day on her daily sheet is said that she had a hot dog for lunch. I reminded her teachers about it the next day and it's been fine ever since.
Little things will happen everywhere but you just need to address the situation directly and move forward. A good daycare will listen to your concerns and respond accordingly.
I don't think there is a daycare out there that is 100% "perfect" with everything all of the time. That said, I'm not a 100% mom all of the time, either. Have I forgotten to clean one of my children's hands before dinner? Sure. Does that make me a "bad" caregiver? No. I try to impart that thinking on my expectations for daycare, too.
I have what are likely insanely high expectations of our daycare center, and have learned there are some things I need to let go of (e.g., when I dropped my daughter off this am-she's almost 5-the room was completely chaotic and I didn't think the teacher was doing a fantasic job of organizing things, but I know that teacher loves the kids and will attend to their needs, so I'm letting it go). Mistakes will happen. I wouldn't necessarily forgive leaving a child on a playground, but I wouldn't go crazy if (like today) things weren't organized as much as I'd like.
Having been at two different centers in the past four years, the best advice I can give you is go in, get a feel for the rooms--all of them, not just the room your child will immediately be in--talk with the directors, the teachers, everyone. Look around--do the caregivers look like they are enjoying their time with the children, or like they're bored, disrespectful with the kids, disengaged, passing the time, etc.? Look at the kids--how happy to they look? Come at a high-stress time and see how the caregivers deal with cranky kids? Ask a lot of tough questions and feel out how comfortable the directors/owners are with those questions. Get references from parents--and the best way to do this is to approach parents on their way out on a day you are visiting (this way, the center doesn't just provide references from those they know are happy). Ask about transitions--how they are handled (do they take the time to make it as easy as possible for the children, introducing them to the new rooms first, etc., or do things "cold turkey"?) Under what conditions will staff be "let go?" (Where we are, it's a big center but close knit and the owner will let people go even if the person doesn't seem "happy" with the kids. They believe one of the most important parts of the job is actually ENJOYING caring for the kids--something that was lacking from our old center even if they were following the Goddard "steps" to the "T."
Very long-winded answer, I know. But honestly, the best thing you can do is get a comfortable "feel" from a place--if the people love the kids and it shows, even if mistakes happen sometimes (e.g.. filthy shirt at pick-up) you won't mind as much. People who genuinely like to be around kids, greet your children genuinely with hugs and smiles, get down on the floor and PLAY with them, are sympathetic about and nurturing even on the "tough" days are going to take care of their safety and health more seriously, too.
Best of luck--and as you're in central jersey, let me know if you need references! We looked everywhere before settling into where we are now, and it's been fantastic so far.
Its all about communication. The DC providers should not take things personally, they are professionals who know that the Moms and Dads are going to tell them what is best for their child.
We have had DS in DC since 12 weeks old and I have to say I love it. The teachers are wonderful and have had many,many years of experience. We had one issue when DS took one short nap the whole day. The next day I reminded the teachers there is no way he can last on a short nap and asked them to just keep an eye on his napping schedule. Problem solved and there were no awkward moments after that.
You can be worried, thats normal. But a good DC has teachers that will truly love your LO. It will never be 100% perfect, but I choose to look at the positives vs the negatives. And if there is an issue simply bring it up, they do not (and should not) take things personally.
I dont think there is any perfect daycares. I think you just have to decide whats important to you. For example, I love my daycare, but i was upset last night because DS had had cookies yesterday, and I would him rather not have cookies. To me the most important thing is my child's safety, and leaving a child behind would really scare me enough to stop using that center. The fact that the teacher was fired, is good..but it shouldnt have happenned on the first place.
I found my daycare in the keyestone website, they rate the daycare centers in the area. 4 stars was the highest and ours had 3 stars. You can see the complains and yearly inspections they do every year.
To answer your question, no there is no such thing as a daycare that has NO issues. Because people are people, and people aren't perfect. The difference is, it depends on what "issues" are important to you.
What's important to me is that our daycare is rated as one of the best in the city, the teachers all have actual early childcare degrees from accredited universities,the kids and parents are happy, and there is accountability.
The washing hands thing, although they are HUGE on it, would not be one of my biggest issues. But to each their own. Get referrals, get reccomendations, tour the place and get a feeling for it, meet the director, talk to other parents, and go with your gut.
Not sure where you are in Central Jersey but I can recommend some places if you are near me. No - there is no such thing as a daycare with no issues. It would be like having a parent that has never made a mistake. We are all human beings and no one is perfect. The important thing is that there are steps in place to make sure that mistakes are minimized, that staff are appropriately trained so that the issues that do occur are ones like the hand washing where no one is getting hurt.
When my oldest first started daycare I worried about little things like what cream was going on his tush and whether he came home in a shirt that didn't belong to us and then I realized that little things like that don't matter. What matters is that your kids come home happy, that the teachers have genuine affection for them and that what they are doing all day is developmentally appropriate and safe.
Thank you all so much. I would LOVE recommendations from the Jersey people! I am in Monmouth County. There is one large (chain?) place I'm thinking of checking out - Tutor Time. Either posting here or PMing me would be a huge help!
And quite honestly - I rarely wash my sons hands.
But if he is playing with a lot of different toys out somewhere I try to remember. I try to do a babywipe when we're out because by the time we get in the door I've forgotten all about it. LOL. I was my hands 100 times so you would think I'd remember!
I replied!
Wall is too far. I'm near Middletown and it doesn't look like they have a location close to me unfortunately. I'll need to take a ferry to the city and want to keep his time there as short as possible because the commute is already adding to it.
Understood! I have to take the ferry downtown next year myself and will have to high-tail it to belford from tinton falls in order to make it....there has to be a good option somewhere. I'll respond to your post separately...trying to think of options for you. Would you consider a part-time sitter in place of daycare? It might work better in your situation (especially as most centers don't give much of a discount for part-time--I'll be paying 1000 a month for part time care (4 hour days, on average) for one child come this fall)....
I doubt there's a place that will 100% do things the way you would like but there are daycare providers who are reliable in tending to your child's basic needs and following your requests on most things.
Personally, I would not consider a place that forgets a child. This happened to my brother - left at a park - and I think that if a center has so many kids that it's easy to not notice that one's missing, I think that's too big and it's not just a matter of forgetting to count heads; there are simply too many kids to keep track of at the center.
I do have to let certain things go though. For example, we're using Baby Led Weaning for introducing solids (in a nutshell: baby self-feds solids and you skip the whole puree thing). My DCP isn't familiar with it and gave it a try yesterday but got scared that my daughter would choke, so didn't continue. So she doesn't 100% comply with how we do things, but everyday when I come to pick up my daughter, she's well cared for, fed, clean, safe, and generally happy. Those are my must haves and I won't compromise on those.
My daycare has zero issues. They are professional, have early education degrees, super anal with their rules, have a great facility with excellent security and serve balanced meals for breakfast and lunch.
I love them and so does DD. We are so completely happy. What do I think doesn't matter? Here are a few things.
- I don't expect my child to be held or tended to at every minute of every day. I realize there are 6-7 kids in her class and only 2-3 teachers. It's good for her to be independent and play on her own at times, and she does.
- I don't expect them to follow my schedule. I follow theirs. That's it.
- I don't expect every meal to be perfectly, 100% healthy in all aspects. Most of them are, but sometimes mac and cheese or chicken nuggets are fine.
- I expect my child to learn and explore and I expect her to have bumps and bruises. She's a toddler who's been walking/climbing stuff for months.
I think the daycare you're thinking about did the right thing by immediately firing those teachers. That shows they are no-nonsense. That's a great thing.
Just remember, your child will take time to get used to it. My DD for instance just adores her daycare. Loves it and runs from me to go play every single day. It makes me so happy and at ease.