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Your Adventure Blog

The right questions to ask to Pick a Great Daycare

2/11/2018

18 Comments

 
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When I first started my search for daycares in May 2016, I was already 3 months along with our daughter Lily. I tried to visit a few during my lunch breaks, putting my name on TWO expensive waitlists, both of which I am waiting to be contacted for my now 16 month old daughter! So clearly my timing wasn't right, but yours doesn't have to be off. And the whole thing was so confusing. Not only was I apparently 2 years late in my search, but there were waitlist fees, registration fees, enrollment fees, supply fees, and on it went. Then some daycares charged monthly and charged supplies once a year. Others charged weekly and charged supplies every other month. Even with a spreadsheet, how is a tired pregnant woman supposed to compare all these things?

1) Ask for help! 
​Ask your partner for help in this search, it is a tremendous one. What is important to you both? Do you want a daycare that serves meals so you don't have to worry about it? Are you the kind of parent who would rather make all of their children's food? What kind of hours does it need to have to match your work or school schedules? Do you need full time, part-time? Are there any other things (such as a bilingual focus) that are very important to us? This is when I started my spreadsheet so I could note all of the things we decided were important to us. For us, that was distance, price, if meals were provided, AVAILABILITY, and focus on foreign languages for me. Luckily, we found a place that was incredibly close to home and checked off all those tick marks except providing meals - which is changing soon! Yay!

2) Google first, but be wary. Ask around instead.
A lot of people are much more likely to write bad reviews than good ones for a daycare. How does the daycare handle the bad review? I've also found that parents are shy about posting positive reviews on their child's childcare page due to privacy concerns. So word of mouth may be a good thing. Ask a moms group or some friends you have with children. They will also have heard of other daycares from their parent friends, so they're a good (but sometimes biased) resource. Decide for yourself if the things they loved or hated about a daycare matter to you. Ask lots of questions!

3) Officially Start the Search
Start calling daycares and googling ones you have heard of. Look for others near you (proximity was a HUGE factor when looking for daycares for me), near your place of work, or on the way to work. Others that are easily accessible, or so incredibly affordable and reputed that they are worth the detour, go for it! You can easily google Daycares Near Me for a list of daycares and start touring! It really is worth seeing what they have to offer in person, versus from a website.

Be wary of daycares who won't give you any information over the phone, especially tuition. The main tactic here is to make you visit the center and get you sold before they tell you the price. It's a good tactic, it works often, but it can blind your judgement a bit.


Here are some questions to ask when touring or on the phone with the Daycare Director
What are your prices?
  • What is included? (Food, Diapers, Meals, Snacks, etc...)
  • How much are waitlist, enrollment, and registration fees? When do I pay each one
  • Do you charge supply fees? (What does this cover? Art supplies?
  • Any other additional costs? What do I have to bring from home?

How is my child's health and safety insured?
  • Does the Director answer all questions honestly, without dodging?
  • Do you feel a good connection with the director? And staff? Were you introduced to the staff members that would be taking care of your child?
  • Can I come breastfeed during the day? Can I stop by any time during the day?
  • What accommodations do you have for breastfeeding moms?
  • At what age can children start eating solids?
  • At what age are they transitioned from the pacifier? Bottle?

How stable is the environment
  • What is the staff turnover? Why is that so?
  • High staff turnover is usual in the industry but bad for your child. Try to find a daycare with low staff turnover for more stability. Daycares who take care of their employees and have dedicated staff tend to have more stable environments. Daycare homes are obviously great for this as well. 

Education and training
  • Is the staff educated? Trained? Loving & compassionate
  • How is information communicated to parents
  • Are daycare policies publicly stated 
  • Biting & hitting policies
  • Notifying parents about incidents or diseases
  • Curriculums: do they prefer a play-based or class-based curriculum

Other Amenities to consider:
  • Water play
  • ​Vacation
  • Garden to tend to and eat from
  • Late Hours
  • Transportation
  • Multilingual
  • Great outdoor space
  • Distance from your house​


I hope that this helps you in one of the biggest searches for your life. 

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18 Comments
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2/13/2018 11:16:56 pm

This is a thorough guide in looking for the right daycare for our kids. I had trouble finding one when my first-born child needs to start schooling. My husband and I don’t know where to start and we’ve been running around in circles because we were running out of options. That was the time when we sought the help of my friend. I encourage you to think about the points that are included in this list. It will surely help you in the future.

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Marie-Anne Holland link
12/10/2018 03:45:39 pm

Thank you so much for the feedback (from February... my bad!)

I did read it then and it brought a large smile to my face. Blogging seems like a fun thing to do until there's a business to run :)

I hope you found the perfect daycare for your family. I know all the daycares I LOVED and could afford had two year wait lists. In fact, my 26 month old never got called back for either spots I put her down for. Really glad I found the daycare I did when I did. Hope you had the same luck!

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Gerty Gift link
12/7/2018 01:58:55 pm

I liked what you said about using Google to check out reviews but to also make sure to ask around in person about specific daycares. I never really thought about checking out and asking people in person about different places we've considered for our kids. It's definitely something that I know will help us to find the perfect place and it would be nice to hear it from someone's mouth rather than read it just online.

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Marie-Anne Holland link
12/10/2018 03:42:11 pm

Hi Gerty!

That is great advice as well. I found all of the daycares I visited through word of mouth (including this one that I purchased!).

I see more and more moms asking on moms groups about specific daycares, or recommendations for daycares in the area. I think most people end up visiting the ones friends end up recommending to them.

Unfortunately, when I was first pregnant, none of my friends were, and recommendations came from people with drastically values as I did. So knowing what you want out of a daycare is just as important as how much people love theirs. Some parents don't see the value in splash pads, basketball courts, science classes, etc... while others would consider those amenities (and the price that comes along) to be completely worth it.

Best,

Marie

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Braden Bills link
3/18/2021 09:48:33 am

I want to find a nice daycare for my son, but I'm not sure how to go about choosing one. It makes sense that I would want to compare a variety of different options before I make a decision! That way, I can weigh them together until I decide which one would be best for him.

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Taylor Hicken link
3/19/2021 11:03:55 am

I appreciated it when you shared that it is important to do thorough research when looking for a reliable daycare for your child. My sister just mentioned the other day that she is planning to work again since she has left her job for about a few years to look after her son. I will suggest to her looking for a reliable daycare where she can send her son while she goes to work.

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Adam Golightly link
4/23/2021 05:33:22 pm

My aunt has been thinking about sending her kids to preschool because she thinks that it would allow them to start early with their learning. She would really like to have them take classes from a professional in order to be a lot safer. I'll be sure to tell her about how they should answer all of her questions honestly because they should have good connections with the staff, and director.

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Braden Bills link
6/28/2021 10:44:47 am

I want to make sure that I get the right daycare for my son. It makes sense that I would want to get a daycare that has a lot of qualified people running it. That seems like a great way to ensure that my son gets the care that he needs.

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beverly minyard link
7/2/2021 10:02:09 am

I like that you said you need to decide on the things you think are most important to you because you aren't going to find a daycare with everything perfect. I am currently pregnant with my wife and I's first child and we are so excited but super anxious to find the perfect child care center. This article has been super helpful and brought me a lot of peace of mind about finding a daycare for our new baby.

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Charlotte Fleet link
7/19/2021 01:34:03 pm

I love your suggestion to make sure the daycare you choose has educated and trained staff that will work with your child. My husband and I are both hoping to go back to work full-time so we need to find a great daycare for our daughter. We'll be sure to ask about the training and education of any daycare we consider before we make a decision.

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Mia Evans link
7/23/2021 07:13:57 pm

Thanks for pointing out that we should call the daycares near us or searching some online to start looking for the one that we would like. I will follow your advice now that I need to send my son to a childcare facility. It's because I will be away from morning until afternoon starting in August.

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Hailey Miller link
8/25/2021 08:20:25 pm

Thanks for pointing out that we can ask a mom's group or some friends when picking a daycare. This is really helpful because my husband and I will be sending our only son to preschool next month. We are hoping to find a great, safe, and fun place where he will be encouraged to learn and grow.

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Thomas Clarence link
9/22/2021 04:51:11 pm

I like how you mentioned that it is a good idea to find a daycare that has a stable environment. I would think that you would want to find a daycare that doesn't have constant teacher turnover. Teachers that will stay at a school for a long time will take the time to get to know the kids.

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Henry Killingsworth link
10/20/2021 05:12:51 pm

I like how you mentioned that it is a good idea to ask for help when looking for a daycare center. My wife and I need to find a daycare center for our son. It might be a good idea for us to ask some friends that have kids as well.

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Prashant Kumar link
10/27/2021 06:10:55 am

I feel happy to put my comment on this blog post!

Here I will also add one of my point that is definitely going to help all the parent. There is one app called Kidvy that Never miss a moment with daily reports, real-time updates, photos and videos. Communicate with your childcare center and feel a whole new level of connection with your child’s learning and development.

I hope you found it useful!

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John Carston link
11/2/2021 12:09:14 am

I like how you mentioned that healthy development and growth environment are one of the important things you must ensure your child is going to. My cousin mentioned to me last night she is planning to enroll my nephew in preschool and asked if I have any idea where is the best option to consider. Thanks to this informative article and I'll be sure to tell her that it will be much better if she consults a trusted daycare as they can answer all her inquiries and will provide good-quality education and memories for my nephew.

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John link
1/25/2022 09:34:49 pm

It really helped when you mentioned that asking for help can give you information that you will need. I have a cousin who is planning to enroll my nephew in preschool and asked if I have any idea where the best option is to consider. Thanks to this informative article, I'll be sure to tell her that it will be much better if she consults a trusted preschool as they can answer all her inquiries and will provide good-quality education and memories for my nephew.

Reply
Kristofer Van Wagner link
2/27/2022 08:05:28 pm

This post made an excellent point that when looking to choose a pre-school for our kids, it is important that we look at their safety level to ensure that they are mindful of our kids' well-being, such as CCTV surveillance, security levels and what not. My wife and I are planning to have our toddler sent ti a daycare center as my wife and I will be returning to the office soon. I will definitely ask about their security level.

Reply



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