General daycare questions

stellasoo · June 2014

I'm due in February. Should I really be looking for daycare now? My SIL is a bit of an alarmist but she has me completely freaked out that I need to find something now or my options will be seriously limited later on.

My other question is what options are there for people who don't need full time care? I'm thinking we'll need daycare probably 2 - 3 days a week for less than 8 hours each time. Do most centers and in-home daycare providers offer part time care? How would one go about finding something like a daycare cooperative? What other options should I be googling?

This is our first child and I feel so incredibly clueless on everything. I keep wondering if 9 months is not enough time to figure things out!

Thanks!

RedDDD · June 2014

ok yes you do need to start looking. I found that a lot of the centers would not do part time and IF they did it was 3-4 FULL days per week OR 4-5 half days. Reason is DC is very competitive in the twin cities and so why would they fill a spot with a part time child when they have a line of full timers waiting. SO I would definitely start looking because what you are looking for is very specific. You might have luck with an in home. Try Care.com---try the state of MN website. What area do you live in?

stellasoo · June 2014

Ahh! That seems so crazy. I will definitely start looking now. I'll try those two websites and see what I can find. Thank you.

We're about 5 minutes south of downtown St. Paul. I work in St. Paul in the Selby-Dale area. Anything around the West 7th Street area, Highland, Mac-Groveland, West St. Paul or Mendota Heights would be perfect.

RedDDD · June 2014

shoot I can't help you with that area. I would google search, search the state website, care.com, craigslist will list inhomes sometimes. I would also ask neighbors, co-workers etc if they have a center they like. Word of mouth is almost the best way. That is how we found the first place my son was.

JackieB15 · June 2014

There are quite a few daycares in the area you're looking. We do 3 full days a week. My husband is an electrician and will work for a few months and then will be off for a few months. New Horizon Academy has worked with us, letting us drop to one day a week when he's not working and getting her right back on schedule when he gets a new job. They're expensive, but you get your money's worth from them.

I second checking care.com. You'll find lots of different options there.

schmood · June 2014

I used this link to find places

https://www.clalliance.net/

login: university password: minnesota

Infant spots are sometimes hard to find, but I don't know that you need to panic just yet. Some places may not know their availability yet.

MesmrEwe · June 2014

The DCP that DS attends schedules infants as soon as parents are ready to commit. Especially when it comes to part-time slots, it's a good idea to get this scheduled sooner rather than later. Some DCP do provide openings for PT and others outright require FT.

Most DCP you contract for a set number of days - whether you only have LO there 2 hours or from open to close it's the same price. For us, where I don't have anyone else to watch the kids, I've found the extra time to run errands is nice to have on a consistent basis and for the kids a routine is wonderful especially when it comes to napping and sleep-training! It took DC before DS would sleep with any level of frequency.

AKB090609 · June 2014

If you want part time, you need to start looking sooner rather than later and get a spot because most centers do fill fast due to the 1:4 infant ratio.

ladygeek83 · June 2014

My son has been in day care 3 days a week since I went back to work after maternity leave. When we did our initial tour of day cares, it seemed most/all centers in our area had part time rates for 2 days a week, 3 days a week, or 4/5 days a week (usually no break for 4 days a week vs. full time). The part time rates are usually more expensive per day than the full time rate. If you arrange for a part time schedule, it is likely that you will have to declare in advance which days you want your child to go. I think it will be tough to find a day care that will allow you to go part time but change the days you need (at your convenience) from week to week, since they need to have a regular schedule for staffing reasons. I also think it will be tough to find a day care that would let you count partial days as part time. Usually you pay the same rate regardless of whether your child is there for just a couple hours, or from just after open to just before close.

And I agree with the others, start looking as soon as you can. We initially toured day cares when I was 11 weeks pregnant, and our initial first choice didn't have an opening available until a couple weeks before we would need it. A few months later, we changed our minds and switched to a different center, which had plenty of space in the infant room so it wasn't a problem getting a spot at all. We only looked at centers, not home day cares, but my understanding is that infant spots are much harder to find at home day cares than they are at centers. I doubt you'll have problems finding a spot somewhere, but will have fewer choices the longer you wait.

AKB090609 · June 2014

Many centers have part time that is 1,2 or 3 days a week as well as half days (usually 5 hours or less) on the days you attend. It is harder to find because filling the time your child cannot attend can be very difficult. I suggest looking earlier because for a center a 'partially full spot' is better than an empty spot.

I used to work at a center, so I know that these odd schedules can be accommodated to a degree.

MsMacual · June 2014

I agree that it isn't too early to start looking, especially if you prefer a licensed in-home provider. Infant openings are much harder to find. I didn't look for our first until 8 or so weeks before he was born because we planned on using a center. All that I toured had openings so it turned out fine. I think I contacted 20 or so in-home providers when we decided to move our son before we found one with an opening. Another option is to look into a nanny share with another family.

stellasoo · July 2014

Thanks everyone. We haven't started looking yet but after reading all these responses, we clearly should be.

A nanny share sounds interesting. I'll definitely look into that. Thanks.

Lhageme85 · July 2014

I second the New Horizons Academy recvommendation. They just opened a newer center in Highland Park (friends go there) and have been super flexible with scheduling part time options. Good luck!

mstaubin · July 2014

I am due Feb 20th and I have heard that same thing you have StellaSoo."start looking now". Like you, I will only need part time care, 30 hours per week. I've started an excel spreadsheet which has the location, provider, cost, ect so I can reference back to that. I have used Care.com, Craigslist and some other sites. This is our first child too, so it seems a bit daunting but I don't want to panic and worry too much. There is only so much we can do right? Hang in there. I am doing this with you!

Mich411 · August 2014

Yes, start looking now! QUALITY care fills up very fast! Also, take the time now to educate yourself. Start researching the centers. Pull up their licensing violations, check out their teachers. Are they glorified babysitters like Kindercare or do they offer a structured teaching program? If you go with a center type envirnoment dont be afraid to check out local churches. Many offer much better programs, smaller class sizes and the teachers are retired school teachers. Ask questions, that is the number one thing you can do as a parent to avoid possible issues later. Be an involved parent. I drilled the heck out of centers staying on average 2 1/2 hours asking questions and learning. They hated me! But, I dont care its my baby! Just food for thought! Good luck!

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