I knew when I had my kids that I would have to go back to work so I made it my number one priority to find a daycare that would nurture my child, protect my son, keep his little mind busy, and be a place that I could trust.
Choosing a daycare is hard and leaving your kid with a bunch of strangers is even harder. I’m not embarrassed to say I cried. I cried leaving. I cried at work thinking that my child would probably not remember me. I cried ALL DAY. I’m pretty sure it was more traumatizing to my coworkers than it was to my child.
Tips For Choosing a Daycare
My first suggestion in finding a daycare is: visit it. I have seen and heard over the years many things that have burned brightly into my mind. One of the first daycares my husband and I visited (it has since closed) was one that was filthy. I’m talking I would not put my bare feet on the carpet let alone my crawling child. While we were there we witnessed a little boy shove a little girl to the floor while the daycare worker sat and watched. When the little girl got back up crying, the adult told her to go to time out for crying. I was appalled at the whole place.
My next suggestion is to figure out what you want out of daycare. Do you want it to have a preschool program, a playground, cameras, or cook healthy lunches? I’ve seen some daycares have playgrounds that were somewhat scary looking or be on pavement. I preferred it to be a grassy place where if my kid fell he might not get as banged up. I also really wanted a place that had a good core preschool program in place. For me, it was important that my child is learning. The daycare my kids attend teaches them Spanish, which I was absolutely thrilled about. Having a security system and cameras was also important to me. Most daycares seem to have them but it’s always good to find out.
Make sure that the daycare is current on all inspections and certifications. If they have lapsed on any of this, I would run the other way. To me, if a daycare can’t pass their inspections or if their workers aren’t certified they are not taking their business seriously and therefore probably won’t have your child’s best interests at heart either.
My last suggestion is to trust your gut! Things are going to happen that will scare you. Like leaving your first born to the mercy of strangers. However, I always have a pretty good feeling when I meet people whether they are good with kids or not. If the kids love hugging the daycare worker that’s a good sign. If they run screaming bloody murder from the only adult around them, that may be something you want to keep an eye on. I trust my daycare. I love the owner and I have picked her brain hundreds of times over a spot on my child, an illness, or my child’s behavior. She is a veritable fountain of knowledge and I would be silly to dismiss her advice.
As a daycare worker and mom who has had to seek out a daycare, I would add these tips: Bring your child when you visit, and stay for awhile. If a place is nervous about you and your child being there for an hour (or more!) then there may be something they’re nervous about you seeing.
Watch the teachers and the kids – do they all seem happy? Your visit could be happening at any time and under some potentially crazy moments… How do the teachers handle things? Not everything will be perfect all the time, but if everyone is relatively happy, that’s a good sign that the teachers don’t get overly stressed out easily (and that, in turn, is good for your kids).
Do you clock with the owner and their philosophies on parenting techniques? Ask questions about how they handle hard situations – because your child is going to be involved in hard situations at some point. It’s important to know what to expect if your child (heaven forbid) gets bitten or bites someone else.
If the daycare you’re at accepts ICCP, there are certain things they’re required to do and post, like menus for meals and snacks – ask about them and what they mean (sometimes what’s written is in auditor-speak rather than anything that makes sense to the average person).
Ask about how newly hired the teachers are – it’ll give you an idea about turnover. Remember that most teachers at daycares, despite certifications and several hours worth of required trainings (some of which are annual) are making minimum wage – if most have been there more than a year (longer if better, of course), that’s a really good sign for your kids: It means they’re choosing to stay working for a low wage in a very high stress environment (it’s groups of other people’s kids – there is nothing that isn’t stressful about that, even on the best day, I promise!). They could go work at McDonald’s and feel less stressed out… Instead they’re choosing to take care of children. Low turnover is a great thing for a daycare to have (not to mention it’s less stressful for the kids!).