Hellobee Boards

We also just started touring daycare's - first one was BAD. Second one was really good, we're going back for another tour -- then visiting a few more.

I'm curious to see what other say - some things we've been looking for:
- specifically look at infant daycare & how it is in there
- teacher to student ratio
- # of years teachers have been employed at daycare
- safety - what precautions are taken to get in & out
- pricing (obviously)
- flexibility
-ability to drop in whenever we want
- how they move the kids up into different groups -- the last one we saw broke up the kids in lots of 'classes' -- so they kept the groups really small, kept the kids with kids that were all the same age within a few months, then how they advance
- outdoor space/playtime
- and lastly we've just been wanting to get a 'feel' of the place.

we've been doing random drop in visit unannounced to see how things are, then sometimes set up a scheduled meeting - but we like doing the random drop in to catch them off guard.

We are also thinking about meeting/interviewing some nannies to see how that could possibly go.

Honestly, the best way I found to be able to know what I was looking for in a daycare was just visiting a lot of them- once I'd seen three or four, I felt like I had a good feel for whether or not I liked them.
A lot of it for me was intangibles- there's a daycare near our house that is NAEYC accredited, which is a good indicator, but it just felt hectic and crowded and a little out of control when we visited. At the daycare we ended up going with, the staff was incredibly friendly and seemed really happy to be there, and like all the teachers really got to know and love all the kids, regardless of whether or not they were assigned to the same room. Also, the kids at that center just seemed really happy and relaxed, whereas the general vibe at the first center was definitely more anxious. At one daycare, I happened to be visiting around the window when parents were dropping kids off, and on a whim I approached one of the parents on her way back to the parking lot and asked her about her opinion of the center, and I found that really helpful.

We did this a few weeks ago, and here is the list of questions we asked at each place.

-What is the cost per week/month?
-What are your hours? how much do you charge if i'm late to pick up my child?
-What is the adult to child ratio?
-Does each child have their own cubby? crib?
-How often do you sterilize changing tables and toys?
-What is your policy regarding sick kids? when do you call us and when do you send them home?
-Do i have to pay for days my child is sick or on vacation?
-What holidays are you closed?
-Can i make unannounced visits? is there a place for me to nurse?
-What are your security measures? how will my child be checked in and out?
-Does the staff have first aid training? infant and child cpr?
-Does the staff go through background checks?
-Do you do cloth diapering?

Also, we found that most places' rates are based on a 10-hour day, so your "late" fees start when you go over your set pickup time, not necessarily closing time. This is important for us because with our commutes, we have about 10 1/2-11 hour days. We realized we will need to come up with a new system in order to make our days 10 hours!

We also wound up asking about outdoor play. And finding out if it was just a glorified babysitter or if they do structured, education-focused play. We also asked about sign language (most of the places we visit taught sign language starting around 6 months, and one place even taught Spanish!).