What's Your Opinion? *Revised*

I think that if you cannot drop by unannounced that there is something they are trying to hide. My daugther was at a daycare and they had a big window that they could see who came in and out and I would hear them saying here's Payton's mom and by the time I would get to her room they would be holding her. My husband went to pick her up and he found her playing with two plastic grocery bags. Needless to say, we moved her the next week.
I would show up at any daycare anytime I wanted and if they didn't like it then they didn't need my money. We have a great daycare in Stow called Tots Landing..... I would recommend them to anyone.

I definitely would drop in on the day cares that told you not to just to check it out but then I would take my child to one of the other two if I had a choice. It's too bad you have to do daycare at all but at times it can't be helped. My husband and I always worked opposite shifts so one of us was home with the kids and it worked out nicely. It's different for everyone and sometimes you don't have a choice of which shift to work. It just happened that we were lucky enough to have that choice then after my fourth boy, I stayed home for 9 years. That was the hardest! Good luck and do what your heart tells you is best for your daughter.

i understrand where you are coming from but if you do cose a certain daycaret ehre are forms and such to fill out most facilities have an open door policy after a child is enrolled and you can stop in at any time, if they don't then i might be worried, but as a child care provider myself the initial appointment is a must. good luck, and if you are stil that worried about it you could look into a home based child care you can then run your own background checks and such through the police department and all that so that you know for sure you're comfortable with who is caring for your child, I've had several parents run them before I could watch their children and it's nice for me because I know I'm getting parents who want the best ofr thier kids and that they are more likely to have good kids and to pay me on time and such, so that is always an option too. again good luck.

As a former day-care director, I can explain some possibilites.
1) Centers are required by law to maintain certain ratios (# of kids per teacher) and if you just show up, that may cause the staff to be out of ratio.

2) Security. Most want to know who is in the building and when, especially unfamiliar parents. I always asked that parents wanting to see the facility to schedule an appointment so that I could show them around, explain the program and the rules. This way they also had my undivided attention. Parents already enrolled in the program were free to come whenever they pleased, in fact I encouraged it. I mean think of it from an enxisting parents point of view--how would you feel if complete strangerrs just walked into your child's day care facility and "looked around"--this person could have plans of kidnapping a child and without an employee with the visitor, what's to stop them. In today's world, you cannot be too safe.

3) Some centers that are corporately owned may require apointments so the can track how many visitors turn into customers or maybe a result of thier insurance/liability policy.

I wouldn't be turned away from one that required an appointment to check it out--in fact I would prefer it, from a safety standpoint.

Hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions.
M.

I believe when care center want you to make an appointment before visiting they are hiding something. I was in the same situation when my daughter was born 4yrs ago and I had to work full-time.. I ended up going with the center that made be feel confrontable and let me visit whenever I wanted to. That was just my experience. Good Luck

Absolutely positively BEWARE of a center that does not allow drop ins. For one it is against regulations to not allow drop ins and for two it definitely makes me wonder what they do when parents aren't there which would cause them to make such a rule. However respect that a short notice is appreciated and very helpful. I have an in home childcare and I always tell the parents they are welcome to come at anytime BUT I do tell them that it is still my home so I want to know when people are coming and going. I tell them that if they feel uncomfortable and want to try to catch me off guard they can even call while in the driveway. :) In other words I don't need notice but I do want to know whos coming and going. This is of course different from a center.
On that note what I put above is for if your child is enrolled there. If they are not enrolled yet then an appointment probably is necessary for safety reasons.

My advice... be willing to set up a visit before enrolling your child but make sure that once your child is enrolled that this is not their policy and that you are able to come in at any time!

I completely understand your fears about a Day Care Center that won't let you stop by, however, I also understand their point. They want to be able to give you the tour but they also have to protect all the children already at the Day Care Center. If they have an open door policy it makes it much harder to keep the kids safe. They never know if the person coming in is there to check them out or to steal a kid. Best bet is to ask if they have anyone you can get recommendations from. Ask around to new neighbors and on this site. Good Luck.

It would be a shame to automatically disqualify a potentially great center because they asked you to schedule a tour. However, I recommend you drop by unannounced anyway. Even if they're not trying to hide anything, you may learn a lot about the personality of the staff. If they don't respond well to surprise visits, how flexible and patient will they be with your child? After all, child care is all about dealing with the unexpected!!

Hello J..
I forgot to tell you, you can check to see what violations a center has. I don't remember the web cite adress, but when you take your child to daycare the next time it should be posted. If not, just ask the Director for the adress, explain that you want to check on other centers. She might have a negitive reaction other wise, thinking you want to report her.
I have a degree in Early Childhood and I remember discussing this at length in school. If a center does not allow the parents to drop in unanounced it sounds like they are definatly trying to hide something. Now, I have never taken one of my children to a day care center where I didn't know the ins and outs only b/c with going to school for a degree in ECD I had to observe and work in numerous centers.
If I were you I would try to get a copy of their schedule and stop in when you want, but avoid nap time and lunch b/c that tends to be too disruptive for the children. To schedule a tour is reasonable, but to not be able to stop in at will is wrong. When my four y/o was in daycare as a baby I would show up early on purpose and just watch through the window or go early and stay with her until it was time for me to go to work. Hope this helps; I have very strong beliefs about this so I apoligize if I came off a litle strong.

J.,
I don't like the idea of someone telling me I cannot come and check up on my child when I want to. That to me is a bad sign right there. That just gives them to fix things to look idea. Have you asked them what they would do if you did just show up?
I understand that they are under staffed sometimes. That is a hard job and very under paid. There is very high turn around in places like that. Most the time its because of they way the company treats their employees.
I fianlly have my duaghter in a great place. The first 10 months of her life she was in a naby factory so to speak. She was either in a crib, or a swing or a swival seats. I don't think they ever really did do anything much other than just the very basic care.
I had to clear up her baby rash every weekend. Only to take her back on Monday and start over again.
If I were you I would be picky too, about who watches your child. This is very inportant time in her development, and she needs the best care she can get.
I found out from an emplyee outside of where they worked that someone had let my daughter roll off the changing table. I was never told about it before. The employee that told me was in the room when it happened giving the other employee a break.
The person that was chaning my daughter at the time was a kitchen worker, and not a child care provider.
That is why I say if they don't want to just come by, then find another place to take your child or find out from their mne office as to shy they would have such a policy?

Good Luck.

i do not put my daughter in day care so i do not have any opinions based on experience. but i was once taking a class for early childhood development and we went over a lot of information on day care centers and what to look for and warning signs, etc. and one of the main things i remember was the teacher telling us to be very skeptical of centers that did not allow surprise drop ins. i mean, if you were just dropping your child off at the home of someone you know and that person said, "oh, by the way, call before you come back so i know youre coming" wouldnt you feel a little concerned about what the person was trying to keep you from finding out?
definitely choose a center that you are comfortable with in every way.

I think if your child does not go to school there then you should have an appointment -- the parents of the kids who are there would want the staff to know who is coming in and out of the facility.

Now -- as place that does not want to you stop by any time when you child IS in school there is something I would never trust.

I think you need to find out exactly what conditions they require appointments for -- just perspective parents, or ones already enrolled.

I understand them wanting to schedule time. BUT...What I did and will have to do again is; first I call to get a feel from their verbal response. Second, I just stop by to check things out and introduce myself. Then I schedule time for a tour. I also took my some for the tour. I got a good feeling once I was his reactions too. If I were you, do what ever you feel comfortable with. This is your child.....Good luck.

J., well you can go about this two ways. What type of person are you? I would just go to the daycare well first i would call see if they have room for my child. Then After you contact those who have room drop by. if they refuse to see you and talk to you don't ever go back. Because that is rude for a company who watches children to say sorry come back another time. Thats my opion. Also while you are on phone with them and they say you need apt. ask them why? and if you choose them do you need apt to stop in a see how your child is doing? See how they respond. If your mother instint says run then do it. I have not used daycares in long time. There are not alot out there that r good I have had bad experience with them. just make sure you check all out in your area. and ask people who go there what they think.

Personally, I don't find it a big deal as long as they've made an effort for you to come see the facility. My kids went to a preschool called Pioneer Preschool and they worked by appointment to come see them and it was wonderful! Now, if they didn't want you to come see it at all, then that's a problem. Can I ask where you're moving to?

S.