Daycare Field Trips - Is this normal?

2-Step · May 2014

I'm moving and we are going to have to find a new daycare for my 2.5 year old next fall. One of the options seems like a nice place, but I'm finding that they take a lot of field trips and I feel a little bit uncomfortable with some of them. I'm trying to figure out if I am overreacting. They have photos of all their field trips up on their facebook page. Some of them include trips to the lake, river, beach and zoo. In the photos the kids are standing in knee deep water in the river, during the season when the river is very low. None are wearing life jackets and there is no adult in the shot. Obviously adults are nearby, but there are kids ranging in age from about 3 - 8 in these photos. I know they have younger kids in their care as well. Would field trips like this make you nervous? My kids have never gone to a daycare that did field trips before, so I am not sure if this is normal. I just think someone taking my toddler to the river or lake with 10 other kids seems like it would stress me out to think about during the day. Maybe I am overreacting. I just don't know how you could watch that many kids near a river. DH was saying he wasn't sure he wanted our kids in a car with someone driving two hours during rush hour to the city and back on the freeway to go to the zoo etc either, but he is even more of a worrier than I am.

The only other option is an in-home care/preschool that comes highly recommended, but would likely be a lot more boring for my older son, who will be five and spending his summers there with only one other child his age.

Pips09 · May 2014

I would really not be OK with field trips at an age where the kids should still be in car seats. I just can't see how they are being transported safely. Beyond that, I would also not be OK with what you describe. Water safety is nothing to mess with, and having a bunch of 3 year olds standing in knee deep water (and a river, no less) with no safety vest? Not OK.

cecilyandgautam · May 2014

A lot of the options we're looking at also do field trips from age 3 & up during the summer. They're trying to make the normal preschool/daycare routine include some of the summer fun you'd otherwise take your kids to if you were home with them in summers. I like the spirit of it but are more at ease with certain trips more so than others.

2-Step · May 2014

theresat858 said:

For a 2.5 year old, I would not be okay with field trips of that type - yes, my main concern would be the safe transportation of the children. And if it is really 2 hours of driving to go somewhere and come back, that is far too long in a car for a day at daycare.

Why can't your 5 year old go to a camp elsewhere than the in-home with your 2.5 year old over the summer?

He could, but we are moving out into the country and I work from home so I would be driving to do two drop offs and pickups and the closest option for him is probably 20 minutes away, so thats an hour of commuting for me just to go back and work from home. Not my favorite option, but it could work I guess.

mlee116 · May 2014

I would love it if DS could go on field trips, but not at this age. I think 3 or 4 would be a lot better. He's just so active and has no attention span and doesn't really follow directions and I can't imagine having a pack of little ones just like him out and about. Maybe if there were lots of teachers/volunteers going. But even then, anything involving large bodies of water would make me nervous! I think I'd be ok with a pumpkin patch or something if they had safe transportation.

Our daycare does no field trips. They don't have the transportation or extra hands to make it happen. And to be honest, I'm sure they just don't want to go there and I don't blame them.

sugarbear0524 · May 2014

The water would make me very nervous.

northhillsbride · May 2014

Our daycare doesn't take kids on field trips until they are 4 or 5. Even then, you have the choice to opt out (field trips cost a bit extra).

Unknown · May 2014

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BabyHope2013 · May 2014

Our daycare had said they used to do field trips when we were first interviewing them but that they stopped them because it was too much to coordinate and then chaotic keeping track of all the little ones. I personally was relieved. I am not comfortable with DS being transported around without me at such a young age. And too many things can happen too quickly depending on the environment.

Our daycare does bring special things to them like the PP above mentioned. They have a critter guy that brings small animals and another lady who does a music and puppet show during the summer too.

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