How We Chose Our Daycare

I’ve been asked this question before and I was asked it again just today over on Bean’s page. I’ve been hesitant to answer because choosing something like a childcare service for your child is so incredibly personal and I’d hate to set unrealistically high expectations or dangerously low expectations for someone. And then I realized that most new parents just want to know that someone else has gone through it and that they aren’t overlooking some GLARING warning sign in a childcare facility.

So, what the heck? Here goes…

THINGS WE LOOKED FOR WHEN WE CHOSE OUR DAYCARE:

Make sure the facility is clean. Admittedly, I am not a clean and/or germ freak.  I mean, as I write this Bean and Lucy are sharing a cookie.  And Bean’s covered in dog hair.  And mashed sweet potatoes.  It’s just not in my nature to worry over dirt and germs.  HOWEVER, when you’re talking about a room full of kids, I do appreciate a clean play area.  Those kids are going to bring in all kinds of germs anyway (sorry to burst your clean bubble if you thought otherwise…), so the least I can ask for is a clean place for those dirty germs to land.

When you’re touring the facility, pay particular attention to how clean the eating area is – are there crumbs everywhere?  sticky residue?  stains?  If so, that might be an indication that they don’t clean up regularly with cleaning products.  A big no-no in my book.  Also, check the changing area.  Is it organized?  Are each child’s diapers and wipes clearly marked and put away?  Is there a fresh towel or paper laid down each time a child’s diaper is changed?  And most importantly, ask specifically how and how often they wash the shared toys.  In those younger classroom especially (nursery and early toddlers), the kids share a lot of the same teething toys – that’s just unavoidable with all those teething, mouthy little babies everywhere.  But the facility should have a clean, frequent cleaning system.  I prefer that they bleach (or something equivalent) at the end of every day that way they start with a clean slate every morning.  Those small details tell a lot about the overall cleanliness of a facility.

These are pictures that Bean’s teachers at his first daycare sent us of him hanging out through the day.  He loved that place and so did I.

Talk to the teacher your child will have. In my experience hunting for daycare centers, often times it is the manager or owner of the facility who gives you the initial tour and that’s totally fine and very helpful.  But you want to make sure you get to spend a little time (alone, if possible) with your child’s perspective teacher.  When Chris and I did the first visit to potential daycares, we met the teachers but didn’t really get a chance to speak too much with them because the managers were with us.  But for the facilities that we were very interested in, we made a follow up appointment where we requested time to bring Bean into the classroom he would have and play a bit.  This allows Bean to check out the place, but more importantly it gave us a chance to sit for a while with the teacher and see how she interacted with the children.

BIG TIP:  Don’t be alarmed if the teachers aren’t talkative with you or are a little stand-offish.  Remember, they interact with children all day long.  They just aren’t used to having adults in the room and I have found that some childcare providers are just not comfortable talking with adults.  But, luckily, you’re not hiring them to talk to you.  You are hiring them to interact with your child.  So, it’s not so important that they are super friendly and spend a lot of time with you, what really matters is how they act around the children.  And don’t worry if they are a little stand-offish at first with YOUR child, too.  Remember when you babysat as a kid and the parents were in the room?  Very awkward.  Instead, pay attention to how they interact with the other children.  Are they friendly?  Comfortable?  Helpful?  Encouraging?  And how do the other children react to the teacher?  Are they sitting around crying or are most of them happy and secure?  Don’t let one or two crying babies put you off either.  Remember there are lots of little heads in that room and the teacher can’t attend to them all at once (an unavoidable downside of daycare), but is she making the effort to keep them all happy?  Is she working to keep the room calm and secure?  If other children feel comfortable, chances are your child will, too.

Ask about how they communicate with parents. Do they send home a report on your child’s activities everyday?  They should.  In the rush of pick up, teachers may not have time to give you the play-by-play on your child’s day and so a daily report really helps give you a better picture of what their day was like.  Also, don’t be afraid to ask how honest they are when they report your child’s behavior.  I don’t know about you, but if Bean has a bad day, I want to know about it.  If he’s cranky, if he’s tired, if he cried a lot – I want to know!  It’s not that I think it’s anyone’s fault, but I just want to know how his day was.  I’ve seen facilities before who always give great reports – “your child had a fantastic day today!” on every report – but no child can have a good day every day.  You want a daycare provider who is honest with you about your child’s behavior.  Not just for your piece of mind but because if they’re hiding something small like your child’s daily behavior, I can’t help but wonder what else they might be hiding?  If you can corner a parent out in the parking lot and ask them this question (don’t be embarrassed – I’ve done it several times!), do it!  You’ll get a better idea of how honest the facility’s communication is that way.

Ask to meet the teacher in the next class up from your child. Even though that might seem like a long way away, you still want to know who the next teacher is that your child will have.  What if they get so comfortable in that daycare only to change rooms and find the next teacher up isn’t what you want?  Choosing a daycare is a long term commitment, so be sure you’re planning long term and not just for the next year.  You don’t want to have to uproot your child to another facilities just because you don’t like the next teacher they get.

Wait for the warm fuzzies. In both the daycare centers that Bean has been in, we searched long and hard before we settled on one.  And both times what the decision came down to was not how clean the facility was or how detailed their toddler curriculum was.  What it came down to was that we walked away both times feeling warm and fuzzy inside.  I can’t explain this one anymore than that.  When you find the right facility, you get warm fuzzies inside.  In both daycare centers, Chris and I felt like we could have stayed all day.  We wanted to stay for snack.  We wanted to curl up in the rocking chair.  We wanted to sit in circle time.  Both times we got those warm fuzzies and left the facilities saying to each other, “This is the one.  This is it.”  If you don’t have that 100% certain feeling, keep looking.  Because whatever doubts you might have about a daycare center will triple when you drop your child off and leave them there.  So make sure you’re leaving them somewhere that YOU would feel good being.  Wait for the warm fuzzies.  They’ll come when it’s the right place for your child.