DAYCARE - Walkthrough

A recent study found that in many daycare centers there was little to no free playtime for children; this is because of an overemphasis on structured learning. Make sure to ask about playtime, especially active time where the children can run, jump, climb, etc. Make sure that the center either has a nice playground or that they take frequent trips to a nearby playground. Also, make sure that you get a chance to meet your child's caregiver herself, the director may be a lovely person but your child will not really interact with her, the most important person to your child will be his own caregiver so you need to be able to get a feel for her. Ask if the main caregiver will be the same person every day, what is their turnover rate (it is usually high in daycare centers due to the crappy pay, but if it is lower than normal in a particular center that is a really good sign!) and will there be many different women who come in part-time or only a few who are there all day? If your child is young enough to still be in diapers, make sure that they keep records of diaper changes, bottles given, etc. I did this when I worked in a daycare center and I wrote a few comments on how the child's day had gone. I think that it is an important part of infant care, and it helps mom and dad connect with their child about their day. Good luck!

You have a great list of questions, and I would think that a lot of them will be answered as you tour (be sure to take your list with you). One question I would have (and you never know if it will be answered honestly or not) is what is the turn-over with teachers. I worked in a facility daycare for about three months and the turn-over was awful, the parents just never knew who they would be dropping their kiddo off with or picking them up from. Now, the place I worked was not a large chain, it was privately owned and they did not require much in the way of education for the "teachers" so hopefully the place you are looking into would not be this way.

I think the most important thing you take with you from your tour is a feeling of comfort and security that your child could be happy and safe in this environment, your gut is usually pretty reliable on this!!!

Good Luck,

M.

Hey check out some of these tip sheets:
but to add.
Are the books and wall art on the level of the child, not the adult
Do they implement developmentally appropriate practices for learning, discipline, etc.
Does the teacher allow for child exploration or are they super regimented?
What curriculum do they use and how is it applied to your child's age group?
How often do they schedule parent teacher conferences?
What do they do to track and encourage developmental milestones?
How many teachers have a CDA (child development associates certificate)
What type of training and how many hours of training and on what topics are teachers required to have annually.
Good luck!
http://campfirefw.org/CampFire/Families/FindChildCare/Eva...

Here are a few more questions. Are they a chain daycare with more than one center in the town? Can you go to any of the others without having to reregister with the other center? What are their hours of operations -- 6am to 9pm and on weekends? You may want to do something on a Sat and need a little time for yourself. The center I used also wanted the name and number of the ped's office. Who will be allowed to pick up the child(ren) besides you and your husband? Will they take emergency contact numbers for you? You have a good list and that will keep them talking and hopping for a good half hour or so.

The other S.

Good stuff! The administrator of my kids' old daycare, who is also a friend, advised asking about emergency plans (like if there's fire alarm or other emergency) as a well-run center will have that info readily available and will be able to tell you how often they practice with the kids. Ask to see the center's license and ask when it was last reviewed (if it's not clearly printed on the license). Ask if there have been any complaints filed within the past year to whatever board governs child care centers in your state and then check with that board to see if the center was honest. Also ask about staff cell phone policies - you'd be shocked at the number of times parents have toured centers and have seen "teachers" texting while they're supposed to be watching the kids on the playground. A good center will only allow personal cell phone use during breaks.

Many of the questions that you have above will be answered on the tour or are in the orientation packet you will receive. I'm one to judge that packet pretty harshly - I rejected more than one center due to poor grammar and spelling or bad layout in the marketing materials. To me if the materials you use to present your business to the world are sloppy, that's an indication of perhaps sloppy execution on the job too.

Your list is good. Here are a few things that come to my mind...

What are your hours? Scheduled closings?
What are your rates? Are their time limits on those rates? (What I mean there is if they are open from 6 am - 6 pm does the rate apply for all of their open hours or is their rate for a 9 hour or 10 hour day within those hours...I have seen both)
What are their unexpected closing policies/procedures (weather related)?
Are they play based (which is best for young kids...like Heidi was refering to)?
Can they provide you with references (maybe past and present)? If not, can they ask a person or two to call you? At the very least, can you be there when a few are dropping off or picking up and speak to them that way?

In my experience, I don't just want to hear the "textbook" or "state guideline" answers but an honest one. What I mean is, I interviewed a few daycares for my daughter. The one gave straight up "by the book" correct answers. She seemed nice enough and I couldn't put my finger on it but something seemed off. I am not sure if the answers were too by the book and didn't ring true as reality, or seemed insincere, or if it was just my gut. I couldn't go there. Another one gave answers that were within the "guidelines" but seemed sincere, more realistic, and flexible.

All this will be posted on the walls of the classrooms and in the parent center where you sign the kids in and out. If not there it will be in the parent handbook.

It is kind of annoying to be showing someone around on a tour and trying to tell them about the program if they keep asking questions that are coming up, so I advise you to keep your questions to a minimal while touring.

If it is something you see and do not understand then all means ask away, but she may be going to address just that in the next sentence.

I would still take the questions with me to refer to but do not "drill" the person. They are taking time from their busy day to help you, they may even be absent from their own class to do this. The cook or someone often will fill in if a teacher has to do something off schedule, like go to the bathroom in a hurry.

So again, just play it by ear and wait. If you see something you can ask but everything you have on this list was in my parent handbook or posted on the walls in several places.

they should have a manual /policy book with all of this info.. some of the things you are asking are required by law... in michigan the ratio of caregivers to children is 1:4 for ages birth to 2.5 years.. if the child is in care for more than 5 hours they must go outside. they must be offered a rest time.

the big thing to look for is caring staff. when you leave your child will the adults take care of him in a loving way.

The most important things for me are:

1) what is the staff retention/turnover rate? This says a lot about how stable and positive the general environment is.

2) Do the kids look happy? Nuff said.

Great questions....but make sure you pay attention to the way the staff interacts with the children and how the children respond. Are they friendly, happy, relaxed while playing? Do they mind the teachers well? How does it feel??? Make sure they have an open door policy to be able and observe whenever you want/need to. Good luck!

All good questions. Try to pay attention to the way the staff look and feel. Do they seem sincerely happy, caring, etc. or do they look irritated and stressed? Ask about the health care benefits for staff -- this is a good indicator of how they treat their employees. Happy employees make happy teachers. Also ask what kind of certifications or education they require for lead teachers. Ours requires at least a bachelor's in ECE.

In my experience the teacher makes all the difference. My son has been through four or five classrooms in his daycare now, and most have been amazing. The only issues we've had have involved individual staff members. That's just to say, keep your eye on the teachers during your walkthrough. They reveal a lot about a center.