I want to start looking around for a part time daycare place. I'm relatively new to the area though so we don't know many people. How did you all find your daycare? Craigslist, online, etc?.
-
I would check your local county's "child care council". I got a list and checked all of their violations and credentials. And then I interviewed the ones that I liked.
-
I literally googled it. the word "daycare" and our town and state. I found several that way, including the one we decided on.
-
Both of our next door neighbors go to the same day care and they both love it. My best friend who is due 4 months before me also chose the same day care. We toured and researched and decided we love it too.
-
I Googled but ended up finding ours through a friend of a friend.
-
Google was very unhelpful for me. I found ours through an acquaintance who I met through blogging, ironically. You may want to try joining a new mom group on Meetup or looking for a local mom group some other way (breastfeeding support group through your hospital is a great way to tap into the mom circles). In my area women are always posting about openings/asking for recommendations.
A friend of mine also suggested going to the closet local park and talking to the nannies during the day. There are often daycare providers there (mine takes the kids for several hours a day) who have friends who are also providers. Good luck!
-
Look for local parent groups and listserves - there's a very active parent forum in my city, and that's where I found mine.
-
We used Craigslist primarily but also did a google map search for our address and "daycare". I also put out a "Help!" status on Facebook asking for recommendations.
-
google and driving by places we thought looked like it had potential.
-
We were referred by a coworker.
I second looking into your local and state resources, though. Most states have a "211" number with information on public services (like child care referral groups) in your area; just google "211" plus your state.
-
I'm using the same inhome daycare that my Goddaughter goes too. I have seen them interact and Layla just loves the provider and seeing that makes me so much more relaxed!
-
@Mrs. Stroller: this reminded me! After touring the daycare we were a little undecided (since we had no experience with daycares before!) but when we were talking about it at a nearby park, a couple of moms overheard and told us it was awesome! They also said it's rare for the school to have an open spot and we should totally take advantage, because lots of families in the area (not even just our town, but the surrounding towns) want to get into our daycare. After those reviews we were sold!
-
I'd do your own research, talk to parents and teachers, and interview/tour at all of the day cares in your area.
My sister (an elem. teacher) and I went to look at day cares together for my nephew. She had insight into child education that most parents don't, and could immediately tell if the day care providers were creating a solid educational foundation.
DEFINITELY talk to elementary level teachers about the local day cares! They can tell you if the day care providers are actually preparing your children for school or if they'll be hopelessly behind, are more likely to have behavioral issues in the classroom, etc..
-
@Minnie_Girl: That's so true. Teachers do recognize patterns. Being a 4th grade one, I could tell you a little but I bet a kindergarten one knows even more.
I found mine when I was 'just looking' on Craigslist on maternity. I was just getting my brain wrapped around the idea of daycare so I wanted to get a feel/hang of asking questions. I would have never followed through but as we emailed, we went to the same church, knew the same people and I really, really liked her. A year later and I'm soooo blessed by her care of my daughter.
Reply
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
13 comments