Daycare - Things To Consider When Looking For One
When I was pregnant my friends warned that I’d need to start shopping around and putting our names on daycare waitlists before having the baby. At first I thought they were joking but they were dead serious and they were also dead right. It’s pretty competitive out there in the world of daycare and when people tell you they’re already on waitlists when they’re TRYING to conceive, they’re likely not exaggerating.
I frankly didn’t work very hard on this and came out of it quite lucky. I tend to also rely on word-of-mouth and friends’ recommendations and since many of my friends had sent or are still sending their children to this one particular daycare in town I contacted them and eventually made it on their waitlist.
Six months after Theo was born.
I had actually applied before giving birth knowing that their starting age for infants is nine months but there was no room on the waitlist so I was in a way waitlisted for the waitlist. I had to contact the admin office there regularly to remind them that I was still interested and wanted to send Theo there; I had some friends put in good a good word or two for me, and eventually got the good news that we could start in the summer when Theo was 1. In the meantime we lucked out and found a wonderful nanny and sitter and were quite set on the childcare part for a while.
Theo started at twice a week last summer and he only recently had room to start going everyday. This whole process has taught me a few things on which I wish I’d done more research. Things like:
HOURS
I work for myself and my work schedule isn’t set in stone so I have that privilege but if you work a 9-5 or work in the medical field or have a job with weird hours, that all affects when you can drop off/pick up etc.
So ask when the hours are, if they have before/after care (where you pay a little extra for the child to go in earlier and stay a little later), or if the daycare is open longer hours and there’s flexibility in when you pick up or drop off.
FOOD
Do they provide lunch? Snacks? Milk? Are you responsible for everything your child eats? I didn’t know there were options for kids this small, I took for granted that I was supposed to provide lunch and was right as far as Theo’s daycare goes but there are some that will provide food for your kid. His snacks are covered, and they provide the milk as long as the child drinks regular milk. Frankly, given his allergies, I’d rather make his food anyway.
CALENDAR/BREAKS
Turns out, not everybody’s daycare has spring break like ours does. Because we no longer have a nanny multiple days a week it means I have to take time off work to be with Theo and not that it’s a bother for me to be with him, it just means I have to adjust my schedule and can’t take work meetings. If your work schedule doesn’t allow for that flexibility, then a daycare that takes these breaks is not for you, or just be better prepared than I am and line up a sitter.
WEBCAMS/UPDATES
Our daycare is still quite old school and so things are still done on paper (so, SO much paper) and I don’t have the option to spy on my child through the day via a classroom camera. There are some daycares that have that added touch which I would love but maybe it’s also a good thing I’m not constantly looking and not doing work!
A FEW OTHER THINGS
Of course there’s other things to consider like location, diversity, reputation, curriculum... I recommend asking around and checking with your friends to see what they like, going and touring the facilities and asking questions. I’m very happy with the daycare he’s in and his teachers and the staff there are wonderful. They take very good care of him, they are nurturing, he’s thriving there and appear to truly care about him, he actually likes going, and at the end of the day that’s all very reassuring.
Are there any other things you think people should consider when picking a daycare, or things you wish you knew before you started your child in daycare? Let me know in comments!
