Hellobee Boards

Ours don't have anything either, but that is why they're cheaper too (I think). They're still a great place, and it wasn't a deal breaker for us. I think it helps that DD doesn't go there full time so it's not like she goes 5 days a week all day and I never ever see what she's doing...

For us it was location/price. Our daycare is 5 minutes away, and cheaper than most other daycares, probably b/c they're part of a school and maybe get funding? And that they don't have a lot of bells and whistles. They don't provide meals.

Neither of the ones we have used has cameras. Not a big deal to me.

Ours don't have camera you can view, and I'm totally OK with that. They do send pictures everyday, along with a short summary of the "biggest hits" of the day (activities done, things focused on, what themes they are working on for the week, etc.)

For me the most important daycare factors were:

I was only interested in licensed centers with a 4-star rating from our state rating system

I was most interested in NAEYC accredited centers

I was most interested in centers with strict educational requirements for all teachers (i.e., all must have at least BA in childhood education or related field)
Cost/location/food were all important (ours has on-site "chef" and uses mostly local and organic stuff, no sweets or junk allowed, multiple veg/fruit option every lunch)

Most of all was just the feel of the place. Some places I knew within 1 second that hell to the no. The one we went with both my husband and I were totally comfortable with immediately.

FWIW, none of the daycares we looked at (and we looked at a lot!) had camera parents could access/remote into to view.

Ours doesn't do any of that and while it would be nice, it hasn't been that big of a deal.

The main reason I picked it was because I wanted a Jewish daycare/preschool and it's the only one, but I did look at other ones and I liked it the best. They offer a flexible schedule where if we pick up early we pay less and I don't know anywhere else that does that. Also turnover with the main teachers is really low, which is really nice. Overall I think it just has a good feel there.

@Reese: I don't know what the turnover rate is either. I liked our school b/c it's part of a special needs school; there's an on staff nurse, and later on DD will be in integrated classes w/ kids with special needs and I thought that's neat for her to be exposed to people that are different.

I guess I just inherently trust this place more knowing that it's a highly rated/regarded special needs school already and the daycare grew out of that.

I just really love that it's SO close to us. We bring everything except for wipes.

It's not as new and pretty looking as the newer chain daycares in the area, but for what we're paying we're very happy with the place and can live without the bells and whistles.

Cameras definitely aren't a deal breaker for us. It would have been most useful in the early infant days.

Security, travel distance from work/home and ratios are most important.

Our old center had an internal camera system that was nice. Parents could see their kids after drop off on the TV up front and the director could review "tapes" within a week.

They said they dont stream outside the building because too many people shared passwords/accounts to other grandparents etc and it became a liability of other people watching other peoples kids.

Our current daycare does not have cameras and its not a huge deal for me.

Ours doesn't have live streaming cameras and I don't care. They also rarely take pictures of our kids, which I PREFER! I want my kids to spend their days playing and doing activity (and eating and napping). I DON'T want their teachers to constantly have their phone/camera in their hand in order to snap pictures just to send to parents. The kids see me with my phone often enough - I don't want them to see their teachers with phones all the time too.

@Adira: Good point!

@Reese: my daycare does occasionally take pictures. Especially if there is something special going on. But you have to sign a release before they will take pictures of your child and/or post the pictures. As I've gotten to know the teachers better they will also direct email me the files if I asked so that I have it!

no cameras at our daycare/preschool. i actually like that! i hear too many stories about creeps who can hack in and watch. they do take pictures but we only get them at the end of the day and not every day, so it wasn't a huge priority for us. location is huge for us. i have a long commute and if i had to take my kids on that commute, i think we'd all go insane. so the location is very close to home. also i'm not sure what it is exactly, but once i checked out the preschool, i knew itw as a good fit. it just felt right and i liked the space and cleanliness. i'd def look around and see if you find one that feels right to you.

@Reese: I should mention, I felt like this was a HUGE DEAL when I first started looking for daycare centers. Then I realized I loved too many places that didn't do it and that couldn't be a killer item for me. What was more important was the love my child was getting and all the other things.

No video and I'm completely okay with that. They are now integrated with an app and have ipads to document arrivals/departures and the days activities. We get a photo probably once a week. It's usual taken from above, so I know LO is not being stopped to take a picture. There are other things that are more important to me.

Safety and security of the building
What sort of other parents are there
What sort of activities/curriculum they are using

I essentially want my kids to be loved, happy and learning. We've accomplished that without video or lots of photos.

@MamaG: I realize it makes a difference as to the other parents that are there. At LO1's old daycare, the parents never raised any concerns and i always felt like i was the crazy one questioning certain things the director had in place. But at LO2's daycare, almost all of the parents are very involved and i don't feel so crazy anymore. A friend of mine at a different daycare said the parents have a FB group to discuss daycare related things and will collectively bring up issues/concerns to the director.

I didn't consider this at all in making my decision. We do get some occasional cute photos but no cameras. I would t have time to watch anyway.