DayCare Advice Please

Crystal - posted on 02/02/2011

Kimi i totaly agree with you seen way to many bad things happen in daycares and it was mainly with the kids who were to young to say anything if at all possible i'd hire a sitter and buy a nanny cam so much safer this way you can keep an eye on your baby and take immediate action if needed there are no cameras in daycare and if the child can't say whats going on theres no way for you to know no cameras and the adults can lie

Kimi - posted on 02/02/2011

It may be a better idea to just hire a regular sitter to watch her in your home because you could monitor that so many different ways.
I honestly feel like kids shouldn't be in daycare centers until they can tell you about their day because it's so hard to monitor what goes on there. You might see great art projects, clean toys, healthy meals, and routine but how do you know that the teachers truly love your baby? If she cries will they comfort her or not? Will they offer her hugs and make her feel special? If a child is not loved by one of her main care providers it could cause emotional problems that last a lifetime.

Crystal - posted on 02/02/2011

i have worked in daycare before 3 of them and i will NEVER put my kids in one i know they can't all possibly be bad but make suure you realy do your research and if you find if you can make surprise visits i have seen to many things happen and alot of kids being mistreated and the parents lied to about what actualy happened to their child one of the daycares i worked at was a montessori which is suppose to be one of the best ones but it was not by far i realy hope you can find one that you and your baby love but those are my main tips ask lots of questions and make lots of unanounced visits

Amber - posted on 01/26/2011

I used to work in a day care (well several) and there are a lot of pro's and con's. Even with a good ratio kids get hurt, mostly by other kids. Kids bite, hit, and push and that leads to injuries. Most of the injuries in my day cares were with the 2/3 year olds with biting and pushing and hitting was the 4/5 year olds. All the day cares did good routines, and we all had education things that we did with the kids. I worked in the afternoon at one and there was no set cirriculum (2/3 year olds) but at the other day care there was a more laid out plan of what was to be done. I would say that daycare's are as good as the lower rung people who work there, the ones playing with your kids and feeding them, taking them to the bathroom and watching them. Get a feel for the people working there, at one day care the director was not involved, but at the other one the owner was overly involved (kids call her "mommy" and she let them WTF!) Overall day care isn't perfect, if your child is on a special diet (like all organic or no sugar) don't expect it to be followed (especially if it's just because you don't want them to have goldfish an allergy is a different story). If you know you child will get messy, they may get a minor injury, and that they will not be the center of attention at the day care you should be fine. Look for a good ratio (In CT for 2/3 year olds it's 1 to 4, for infants its 1 to 3 and toddlers its 1 to 5), look for CLEAN toys and a wide variety, look for art projects and watch the staff to see how they interact. Also look at the kids there, if they are happy and playful that's a good sign, better if you see them picking up after themselves and seem like they know colors or numbers.

Kara - posted on 01/26/2011

You've received a lot of great advice from the other Mom's. We wanted to make sure the daycare we placed our son into was safe, licenced, a good teacher/child ratio, etc.
We put our son into daycare when he turned one. The provided his meals, and we provided diapers, wipes, etc. They had an excellent routine, nap schedule and it was a 1 to 3 ratio in the infant room. When our son moved up into the toddler room I must admit I was little concerned if he was ready or not. The ratio changed to 1 to 5 and that did cause some concern. The routine is wonderful, he eats & sleeps well, they have lots of learning, playtime, activities, arts/crafts, music and outdoor time too. One major concern I had was my son has been biten 3 times by 3 different children. I realize children who can't communicate like you or I are going to express themselves in different ways, but it broke my heart to pick him up and be told that I had an accident report to fill out. My son never provoked the child, he just was close enough to be pounced on. I make sure to communicate my concerns with not only the teachers, but the director too. I won't sit back and be that quiet parent who just lets everything happen. Now, I won't be that annoying parent either, but there has be some give and take. The key thing is to be involved, talk and share any concerns you have with the teachers (both positive and negative) Our son LOVES going to school. He loves his teachers, and gets a long well with his friends. I love receiving his works of art and seeing him progress in his development. Hope this helps!

Sarah - posted on 01/25/2011

When I started looking I had a list of questions (are you close to a main street? are you liesenced? what is your child to care giver ratio? etc.) then I called all the daycares within a 1km radius, maybe 18 in total. Looking at the answers I recieved I made appointments with 8 to interview the caregivers and view the facility. I took my son with me to all the interviews. His reaction played a huge part in my final decision.

He loves his daycare. In fact, it's a pain in the butt to get him to come home. (But, there are far worse thing to complain about.) :)

Kelly - posted on 01/25/2011

I'm not really sure what that is but it sounds like a pre-school day care where they actually teach the kids things, which i think those types of daycares are awesome! I started taking my daughter to daycare when she was 8 months, and she went to a center where they taught the kids how to do sign language and good manners and how to count and so much more, everyone says my daughter is advanced for her age because she knows so much, i take some credit myself but I know the daycare had so much to do with it too, she just turned 2 and knows her abc's with out any mistakes and can count to 10, thats amazing to me! So i would say yes!