Daycare Questions

[Deleted User] · September 2014

Since my mom went back home, we are now scrambling to figure out daycare as a back up for when I go back to work. DH will have to visit them and make recommendations to me, because I can't take any more time off before maternity leave. What are your top 5 questions or must have requirements for daycare providers?

I want to give him a guideline to take with him so he can make notes, etc. Any advice?

lrobi13 · September 2014

I just used the one that a lot of women. At my office used and spoke highly of.

But security is an issue. Who can visit/take child.

Can you drop in?

Policies on sick kids?

golfingdarwinfish · September 2014

I only visited one DC and really asked questions as they came to me as I was touring the facility. Mainly about ratios, schedules (both the schedule I would provide and the center's schedule for the day), how they handle sick babies or suspicions of sickness, if someone would be monitoring LO's milestone development, vaccine requirements, when they go from one room to the other (at my center once a baby is walking s/he moves up a room as the don't really want a walking baby amongst the crawlers), what sort of report I would receive everyday, if parents could "drop by", how they handle potty training, etc.... Then things that were specific to the center, such as outdoor play areas, the different age rooms, questions about the toys they play with and which skills they try to help them develop, the garden, food (at this center all children above a certain age are fed organic food provided onsite), etc....

bumpuser10309732 · September 2014

I asked mine where LO would spend most of the day, where the older kids spend their time etc. What kind of kids she's got now. How they spend their day. I also asked if she was comfortable with feeding LO pumped breast milk (if you're doing that)

hgielrebmik · September 2014

One thing I really liked when my DD was in daycare was the communication sheets they filled out. They let us know what/how much she had eaten, when and how long she napped, diaper changes, and any incidents. Also, do they provide food/formula/diapers, or do you. How many kids to providers? For when LO is older, do they do crafts, educational activities, field trips, ect. What is the policy for vacation time or you being gone. Are you looking for in-home or dc center?

[Deleted User] · September 2014

hgielrebmik said:

One thing I really liked when my DD was in daycare was the communication sheets they filled out. They let us know what/how much she had eaten, when and how long she napped, diaper changes, and any incidents. Also, do they provide food/formula/diapers, or do you. How many kids to providers? For when LO is older, do they do crafts, educational activities, field trips, ect. What is the policy for vacation time or you being gone. Are you looking for in-home or dc center?

Daycare center. I've had some traumatic experiences with both in home care and daycare centers as a child, and I am so reluctant to put LO in one. I am only considering day care centers right now because I feel like there is more accountability.

[Deleted User] · September 2014

golfingdarwinfish said:

I only visited one DC and really asked questions as they came to me as I was touring the facility. Mainly about ratios, schedules (both the schedule I would provide and the center's schedule for the day), how they handle sick babies or suspicions of sickness, if someone would be monitoring LO's milestone development, vaccine requirements, when they go from one room to the other (at my center once a baby is walking s/he moves up a room as the don't really want a walking baby amongst the crawlers), what sort of report I would receive everyday, if parents could "drop by", how they handle potty training, etc.... Then things that were specific to the center, such as outdoor play areas, the different age rooms, questions about the toys they play with and which skills they try to help them develop, the garden, food (at this center all children above a certain age are fed organic food provided onsite), etc....

I love all of this. I might try and create a spreadsheet type deal for him so he can check things off and add comments to it. I know he will likely be overwhelmed, but hopefully this will help.

Aarg · September 2014

golfingdarwinfish said:
I only visited one DC and really asked questions as they came to me as I was touring the facility. Mainly about ratios, schedules (both the schedule I would provide and the center's schedule for the day), how they handle sick babies or suspicions of sickness, if someone would be monitoring LO's milestone development, vaccine requirements, when they go from one room to the other (at my center once a baby is walking s/he moves up a room as the don't really want a walking baby amongst the crawlers), what sort of report I would receive everyday, if parents could "drop by", how they handle potty training, etc.... Then things that were specific to the center, such as outdoor play areas, the different age rooms, questions about the toys they play with and which skills they try to help them develop, the garden, food (at this center all children above a certain age are fed organic food provided onsite), etc....

I work in a daycare in the infant rooms and I agree with asking all of the above things!

My center has a "daily sheet" which goes over what they did for the day, feedings, diaper changes, naps, ect. Though I will give a heads up that a lot of centers are switching to virtual daily sheets that you can receive via email at the end of the day and even check in on the sheet via mobile app!

Also- make sure to ask what is included in the tuition. Do they supply diapers, wipes, formula (with or without bottles), linens for the cribs, certain toys. Things like that.
What is their breast feeding policy?

Hope that helps a little too!

AppleGrapeMSTK · September 2014

We interviewed in-home day cares and sitters, so my questions may be a bit different than what you might ask.

How many children to how many adults?

Are there any adults that would interact with the children that are not staff members? (other parents, spouse of provider, etc.)

Sick kid policies?

If my kid has a cold, would you feel comfortable administering medication?

Do I provide snacks/meals, or is that covered in the cost?

If the provider is covering food, what things are offered?

What procedures are in place for an emergency? (allergic reaction, severe weather, fire, injury, etc.)

How comfortable is the provider with handling breast milk/cloth diapers?

Does the provider have experience with special dietary restrictions or special needs, should my LO have either?

Would they ever have reason to take my children in a vehicle? (field trips or doing pick ups/drop offs) If yes, do I provide car seats/could I look at theirs? Would I be notified before this happened?

What kinds of activities they do.

How they handle discipline.

Closed on holidays?

Several of my questions stemmed from particular issues I've had with my current provider (too many kids, not feeding my kid well, taking the kids with her to doctor appointments without my knowledge, and having strangers watch my kids/stop by). If you can remember specific issues that caused those traumatic experiences, that would be a great place to start getting your questions- you could alleviate some serious anxiety that way!

Also, you could interview nannies. They charge by the hour instead of a day/week/month rate, but I was finding that nannies and day care centers in my area would end up being about the same each month.

angeltennis3 · September 2014

The things that sold me on my daycare:

1) there are cameras parents have access to so if I can log in and see the room she is in during the day (I like the accountability factor)

2) the daycare center encourages moms to provide breast milk and is ok if I stop by to breast feed.

3) they do the digital app so I will know exactly when and how much my daughter ate, slept, pottied, etc every day

4) all kids are required to follow the normal vaccine schedule.

5) their policy is when in doubt, take the kid to the hospital. The kid will always be transported by ambulance and parents notified immediately, but if they can't reach you right away they will take them to the hospital.

6) they used a "regio Emilio" (prob misspelled that) learning environment. It's more important for when she is a little older, but they do have structured lesson plans in place but if the kids get excited about something (the daycare providers example was butterflies), they completely throw out their original lesson plan and do activities to learn about butterflies. I thought this was great and really promotes curiosity about the world and to learn about what peaks their interest

7) again, won't matter for a while, but they meet with the kindergarten teachers that my daughter will go to and figure out what she will be learning in the first half of the school year so that they can teach some of the same material early so my daughter is less overwhelmed when she does start school.

All of the other questions the ladies asked were great, and honestly a lot of daycares were pretty standard in their response. The above was what sold me on the one we chose.

[Deleted User] · September 2014

Thanks guys! You have all given me a wealth of information. I appreciate it.

JessAnnJ · September 2014

I would highly recommend that you try to visit the centers, or at least your husbands favorite. You can get all of the correct answers but there is just a vibe you get when you are there. I definitely understand saving leave, but if your LO starts and you see something you don't like that is so much more of a pain to deal with.

You got a lot of good questions from others so I'll add a few based on my lessons learned. We moved DD from her first center when she was moved to the second room because I didn't like the fact that they used the your baby can read videos for infants (there were crawlers and early walkers in this room) and I also didn't like the nap schedule. They had set nap time with the second nap being at 4. They had video access and I could see several kids just standing in their cribs wanting to get out. So the questions would be how to they handle naps and if someone is not tired in the first two rooms and what is their policy on videos. Do the young children ever watch videos. I thought it was crazy that this center did this but I toured a really nice center that did the same thing.

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