Daycare Fears

In addition to all the other good questions you may want to ask what holiday schedule they follow. Some follow the public school schedule and some don't. Looks like you may have one in KG next year. You may also want to ask them about after school programs for your 4 yr. when they start KG. Sometimes they have a teacher work day, ect. and you could put your oldest at the daycare that day.

Some questions you should ask

What is the teacher to student ratio and how many is enrolled in the class now. That lets you know how many other children your child will be around.

Ask to see the fridge. This is where they keep the antibiotics for the sick children that are at school. This shows an idea of how many sick kids your child could be exposed to.

Are there cameras installed? Just in case something comes up.
These are a few not many people think of.

Dear J.:
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Just like in yout home you should make sure it's safe,secure and that they will be fed properly and have someone who knows what their doing.It's also good to check and see if they have any complaints, you also may even ask if you could contact 1 or 2 mothers who have their children enrolled to check ref. Since their child has been there they may be able to tell you what problems if any they have had.

Hi, J.. Here are some of my daycare experiences. It doesn't matter what you are told about the facility or the staff. Once you enroll your children, you MUST make periodic, unannounced visits at various times of the day. You will learn a lot. Also, after your children have had time to "adjust", if they are still unhappy there, be sure there is a reason for it. You would be surprised at what some daycares get away with. I noticed on several occasions that their lunch was served like this: The children were seated at a table with a plate in front of them. The faculty came around to each child with a huge opened can of food and spooned it straight out of the can onto their plates. I mean, it wasn't heated or anything. It looked extremely unappetizing and none of them would eat it! On other visits, I learned that if a child was not going to give in to "nap" time, the child would be locked into a closet so the faculty could take a break!!! And make sure that the children are going to get to go outside and play. There was one place that I noticed had plenty of outdoor equipment and I dind't find out until much later that the children NEVER got to go outside and play because of a problem with the fence that had never been fixed!!! Don't let a fancy building or a sweet-talking faculty influence you. Make sure you visit after you have them enrolled. I can't tell you how important it can be.

hi, I am childcare provider. You need to make sure the place is clean and the surrounding in suitable for children. If it is a home care there should be no more than 5 paid children in the home unless she or he has there own. In a daycare facility make sure to ask them what is the ratio in that class and how many students and count them. make sure they take you in that class to meet the teachers and classmates. Most daycares have a sick room so ask them their procedures in when a child becomes sick what do they do. make sure the home care is state license and ask to see it. Ask how do they provide food for the child, are they on a food program or do you need to bring in your own food for the child. what is the daily schedule for the class. How long has the teacher been working with children and been in the profession. find out is there a big turn over in the daycare centers and do they keep regular staff. If you walk in and feel so comfortable by the staff and how the center feel warm inside than you might have a winner.

Some other questions to ask are:

Training that the teachers have ??? what the state requires for the teachers or daycare workers.

Looking at the frig is a good idea but some children may have needs that require medication all the time. My son went to a pre school daycare after being in special ed and the school had some special needs children that needed medication all the time so for different health situations. You may want to ask if they ever have special children that require on going medications so not to judge and think all the kids are sick all the time for what maybe in the frig.

See if they have a nurse on duty or what times of they day they have a nurse on duty.

See if you are able to check by a camara online to see the class room. I lived in Florida and had my son at a daycare that had that you could look in on the class if you had the internet anytime.

See if the children yours are able to see each other during the day at all if their rooms will be near each other.

I think you can also call the state and see if any of the schools daycares you look at have had any complaints filed.

Hi J.

I think you got some good responses. Please make sure you build your child's immune system before putting him in daycare. He may not have gotten sick before because he was at home. Babies get sick in daycare even if the facility is very clean, like hospitals, germs just live in daycare and kids pass them back and forth. Also make sure you get a place that has cameras in the rooms.

I'm in the same boat, so I'm very curious how people respond to your inquiry. I only have one child right now but am considering whether to try for a second. My biggest concern is putting a little one in daycare sooner than I might want. So I am starting to tour this week to see what's out there should I need to work, or want to.

Turn over is a big thing to look at. You want staff people who care and are knowledgeable. If they've been working there for years they're probably committed to children. Look at licensing issues, certifications. Ask for details on all staff: how long they've been in the field, at that particular daycare. You can probably get a sense by how they respond to all the children.
Some things you can check via using the www.sciway.net site. You can click on Anderson, Daycares and info on whether they've been sited for a problem will pop up.

Hope you can find a good daycare. I know that waiting lists can be an issue, which is why I'm starting to look before I think I need it. Hope it works out.