Picking Day Care/nanny

I suggest visiting a variety of programs so that you can get a feel of what there is to offer, and this can help clarify what type of program you're looking for. I am a child care provider, and I always suggest parents who visit my program to visit other programs as well so that they can get a good idea of what's out there. Do you want your child with a mixed age group, or only with other babies? Do you prefer a larger setting (such as a center), or a smaller setting (such as family child care)? What type of schedule do you need, and does the program offer that? Do you prefer that your child be with one caregiver throughout the day, or are you open to teachers working in shifts (which is what you're likely to see in a center)? After getting a good feel of what you have to choose from, then it may get easier to clarify what will work best for you and your family. If you'd like to contact me for more advice, I'd be more than happy to help.
-K.
Mother Earth's Children Family Child Care (in Campbell)
www.motherearthschildrenfcc.com

Hello, here's what I looked for in a day care. My lil one is 6 months old and had her first day today. I did OK. She did even better. We're the ones with the transition issues!!! Anyways, back to your question: here's what I looked for:

- I wanted a home setting instead of a center, so she would feel comfortable.
- Separate rest areas for infants. I don't want too much mingling of toddlers with the little ones.
- Cleanliness and kinds of schedules children are on (nap time, etc, although infants make up their own schedules!)
- I asked the providers about their philosophies on discipline and behavior, extent to which they make the environment a learning environment for the children, openness in following parent's schedule/activities (no TV or DVDs for my infant daughter, for example).
- Certification for emergencies (infant CPR)
- Open door policy (can I come or call at anytime?)
- How long they have had kids in their care (it says something when kids have 'grown up' in their care)
- Ratio of workers to infants
- I wanted our daughter to be somewhere with other neighborhood kids so she can get to know them...

Hope this helps!!

Picking a daycare was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I wanted a daycare located close to home and there were not alot of them. I went to everyone and did not like any of them. I really did not want to take my child with me and leave him at a daycare close to work because there might be days when I might not go to work and may still want to utilize the services.
My cousin told me about a daycare that I had passed by on my way looking at other places. It was in the neighborhood. And I was not impressed with the outside of the building so I never checked into it,
So after she told me about this place I decided to go inside and I was surprised at how nice the place was. It was spotless/clean with lots of toys and puzzels. Also, what I liked was that the staff was older ( late 40's/50's). and were grandmothers and moms. I visited other places where the staff appeared as if they had just graduated from highschool and I was sort of uncomfortable with that.
One good question to ask is if payment is expected during christmas break. i usually have a week off /with pay during the holidays one day before christmas eve and return to work after the first of the year. I still had to pay for the week (days that were not considered holidays). so, you may want to find out if they offer a vacation period. After a year the daycare my son attened would give us 2 weeks with no payment for vacation.
Also ask if you will be supplied with an activity chart of a listing of how often your baby was feed how much milk was given.

First, start looking ASAP. It is hard to find good care for infants and most have to reserve a spot even before the baby is born.

Questions to ask include things like why they are in childcare, supervision, feeding, one on one attention, cost, hours available/open, daily hour limits, days off (with or without pay) including holidays and vacations, and items provided by provider and items parents must supply. Also, think ahead...how do they discipline? Do they have a back-up or do you have to have a back-up? How much notice is needed if you decide to cancel services? Ask for personal and professional references. They aren't going to give you anyone that would bash them but you can get a real feel for the provider that way...especially if someone goes out of their way to use the provider when more convenient options are available. They may say they need to ask permission, you can also ask them to give your contact info to the other parents if they are concerned w/ confidentiality.

You want to get to know the person and sometimes the answer isn't a clear cut one. I interviewed three people in person after speaking to about 12-15 on the phone. Some had no openings, didn't care for infants, just didn't seem to be interested, or I just didn't get a good feeling on phone. The three I spoke to that were in our area and seemed like a possible good fit were the ones I interviewed. The one I had the best vibe from on the phone was the one I went with even though I originally thought a different one was my top choice.

If you have friends or neighbors that have utilized (or have relatives) that have utilized daycare services, ask them who they use. I found the most wonderful lady through my neighbor. My neighbor's son was no longer there because he is in school and I knew it said something when she went on & on about someone she isn't even using anymore.

If your employer has an employee assistance program. A lot of those programs have a list of licensed daycare providers (both centers & home settings) & can refer you.

Ask what their late pick up policy is; do they provide meals or do you; what ages do they watch; how many children are they licensed for; nap schedules; payment schedule; sick schedule (if they are sick & if baby is sick). Trust your gut. If something doesn't look or smell right it probably isn't. If you want a second opinion take your partner and/or friend for their insight.

Starting early is better. One thing I did was to do trial runs the month before I went back to work. The first time I dropped her off for four hours & went home & watched tv w/ the phone next to me. Each week I took her a few more times than the previous for an hour or two more. Until we worked up to a full day 2x in a week. It helped me get used to dropping her off & being a way. It helped her get used to being in the environment I had chosen for her. And it helped my day care provider & the other children there get used to her. The last week I took her the entire week for half days. My first day back to work we were both used to the routine of dropping off & me leaving.

Best of Luck...

Trust your gut. It will tell you a lot. There are some people that just felt more "natural" to leave my kids with, and other people I worried about more. While they have had many fine caregivers (they go to daycare, but some of the daycare teachers are babysitters occasionally), the ones I've felt best about have ended up being my kids favorites by far.

I'm sure you'll get lots of good specific questions from other moms, but just wanted to let you know that even if someone looks great "on paper" if you don't feel good about them, you'll never feel good about returning to work.

Good luck!