I need to talk about the daycare I visited today

shellbell3845 · July 2014

So I'm in process of looking for my very own Baby Utopia. I visited one center on Wednesday, got emotional because I could see LO there, and had no complaints. I went to another one today and need to talk it out in case I'm being a spazzy FTM. Okay -- infant room: there were walkers and bumpers on the cribs. There were also five babies at kind of a high chair table but only one baby was being fed. The rest were just sitting. In the waddler room, there was only one staff person. They were in ratio, but I was surprised staff were allowed to be alone. In the 4 year old room, they have workbooks and homework (I'm not opposed to academics in a preschool classroom, but I think homework is out of control). There were some nice things about this center -- the rooms were spacious, there was an indoor gym, and a splash pad, but I'm ready to cross them off the list. I'm not overreacting, right?

courtls22 · July 2014

Walkers and crib bumpers are definitely not allowed. If they have that stuff in plain sight as if it's OK, I would be wondering what else they do that isn't legal. Even if some aspects were good, this should NOT be an option for your LO.

shellbell3845 · July 2014

I know it's not an option. It's just the more I think about it, the more shocked I am. You all are the right audience for me because DH doesn't even know what a crib bumper is. The bumpers weren't even snug in the cribs. They were like loose and saggy. They were all I could think about the whole tour.

shellbell3845 · July 2014

TyrannosaurusLex said:

Report them, please.

How? (Serious, not snark.) My state's dept of OCFS (licensing agency)?

shellbell3845 · July 2014

@BlueDot818‌ no table toys. And the infant room had two teachers -- one was at the table feeding, one was rocking a baby. My thought was why couldn't babies be playing on the floor under the watchful eye of the teacher rocking? Or in an exersaucer?

Soap1 · July 2014

Regarding preschoolers and homework, I will say that my kids have workbooks and occasional "homework" but they LOVE it. It makes them feel so special and big. The homework is usually very simple. A few weeks ago the assignment was for me to read them a book and then they had to color something they saw/learned about in the book.

If it were every day or very academic, I wouldn't like it. But fun, simple stuff (a drawing, tracing a few letters, etc.) is great and also a good kick in the behind to remind me that I need to be working on these things with them, too. After a long day of WFH and baby, it's tough to make myself do something like work on letters or whatever with the kids.

ETA": BUT I agree with PPs that what you saw in the infant room is concerning and that you should go with your gut. I am just saying for future day care research purposes.

TessyMessy · July 2014

I cannot speak knowledgeably about the table like Tsex and Bluedot but saggy crib bumpers would scare me as well. I agree, please report them since there are babies going to that DC.

keags5496 · July 2014

Nope nope nope. Even of there werent blatent safety violations, if you're not comfortable with a place don't send your child there. It's as simple as that.

shellbell3845 · July 2014

@HashtagRainbow‌

I didn't have any real reservations about the first one. But since it was my first time to a daycare as a mom, I thought I should look at a few before making a decision. Like -- how do I know if it's baby utopia if I've only been to one?

At Wednesday's DC, the babies are fed in high chairs like you described. The teacher was on the floor with a few babies while another teacher rocked a baby. An aide came in for diaper changes so the teachers just kept doing their thing.

The staff members were all very friendly. I could see myself leaving LO there. I just want to be absolutely sure before I sign on the line.

@sjelwood‌ I will be teaching two days a week. Part time care is not an issue, though some centers require mwf or t-th, which doesn't work for me.

hammysmommy · July 2014

@shellbell3845 - dumb question, but what's a walker?

Flyingtoast · July 2014

Trust your gut. If it doesn't feel right, it will not feel right when your not their with LO. You should be able to trust the DC you pick. Not just trust they follow ALL the regulations, but how they will react when something unexpected happens. Babies are babies, things happen where you just don't understand how they contorted themselves in just the right way to do something. You are paying them, you need to feel comfortable, you are in control of where LO goes.

BB0214 · July 2014

If you don't have a good feeling, trust your gut. Just from what you told us, it doesn't even feel like a place your LO would be happy.

shellbell3845 · July 2014

@skoczera‌

Google images found me this. I've heard they're not safe for multiple reasons.

shellbell3845 · July 2014

Penguin173 said:
Did you mention the bumpers to them while you were on the tour? Not that it really matters, because that is a huge red flag to me. I would say a big NO to that daycare and definitely report them.

I didn't. When they call to follow up, I probably will say something. I'm awkward and didn't know what to say/how to say it.

hammysmommy · July 2014

@shellbell3845 - thanks! I thought there was something for cribs called walkers...

Of course, now I'm nervous because we got one of those at the shower (I had registered for it)... :-(

MissDemeanor · July 2014

hammysmommy said:

@shellbell3845 - thanks! I thought there was something for cribs called walkers...

Of course, now I'm nervous because we got one of those at the shower (I had registered for it)... :-(

They are illegal here too. But honestly if I could get one I would. I really think small amounts of time, closely supervised and they're fine. We only have one set of stairs here, and they're closed off behind a locked door.

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