Starting the daycare search - what should I be asking about?

[Anonymous]

I am starting super early to research daycares in North Arlington (which is where I live and work). I've read through several previous posts, so I do have information on daycare centers and home daycares in the area (and know of the state website that lists inspection reports, etc...).

So that's great, but what I really want to know is what should I be asking about when I call daycare centers and home daycares? I really have no idea - infant-teacher ratios? Schedules? Teacher backgrounds? Hours? Feeding? What else should I be asking about?

[Anonymous]

Don't ask about ratios...count the number of kids and the number of teachers.

Ask a few of the teachers how long they have been working there...longer is better...shows it's a good place to work and that there isn't a lot of turnover.

Look at the toys in each room...are they age appropriate?

Look at the cleanliness of the rooms.

Look at the art work that the kids have done, is it all the same, or were they allowed some individuality?

Look up any licensing violations and ask questions about any concerns.

Do the kids seem happy? If they aren't, are they being comforted by the teachers?

[Anonymous]

As someone who recently moved her child to a new daycare center, these are some of the things I wish I had asked:

1. What is a typical schedule for an infant? Do you feed on-demand or put him/her on a feeding schedule?
2. How will my infant be engaged in play?
3. Are older children/toddlers in the infant room in the mornings and evenings? Supervision?
4. Are there other children my child's age in the room?
5. Who are the "helpers" who are in the room on teacher breaks?

When we toured centers before our son was born, I looked at cleanliness and safety. But when we started, I realized there are a lot of other important items too. In our first center, our child was often just parked on a boppy pillow. Bigger kids in the room during the morning would make me uncomfortable around the babies. He was the only child his age in the infant room -- everyone else was at least 3 mos older (probably wouldn't happen in a large center). I knew the room teacher but rarely saw her -- typically a lot of part-time helpers were feeding/holding the kids. Just some of our experiences - good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Staff/teacher turnover is probably one of the best indicators of the quality of the daycare. If the turnover is low, then the daycare is a good place to work and can attract the higher quality staff as staffing needs arise. If there are staff/teachers there for more than 10 years, it's probably a good place.

The daycare should also have a thick family/parent handbook that details all of the policies that they have in place from diapering procedures to disciplining methods. The more specific and robust the handbook of policies is, the more they have thought about the potential issues that arise.

Cleanliness is important. At our DC's center, there is never debris on the floor. Teachers are constantly cleaning as they go and the older children learn to pitch it and help. Also, is the equipment in good repair? Does the daycare seem to be bright and cheerful or dark and dank? (Keep in mind that some infant care areas may deliberately have no windows in order to prevent people looking in. Nevertheless, it should not be dark and depressing.)

For infants, there should be a quieter area for sleeping that is clearly visible from many points in the daycare. Sleeping infants should be checked on every few minutes by someone. Better centers keep a log on how frequently they are checked. Also ask about whether the infant providers give you a daily sheet on feeding, naps, diapering, etc. so you can track your infant's input and output as well as adjust your at-home care as needed.

Age groups should have some delineation in physical space, and there should be a variety of activities available to every age group, including those that engage the children on gross and fine motor skills, imaginative play, and literacy (e.g., kitchen play, dress up, play-doh, Legos, puzzles, playground, books, etc.). Our center's preschool area houses two preschool classes (3s and 4s), and each class tends to stay on one side, though they rotate through various "stations" of activity throughout the day.

Finally, trust your gut. There are many daycares that seem to check a lot of the boxes, but have disengaged caregivers. That's really not the environment most parents want. A daycare can be perfectly legal but just not the right place for you.

Good luck and congratulations!

[Anonymous]

How long staff have worked there is big.

I also think a lot of it is gut feeling. After you visit a
few, you figure out what's important to you. I felt a huge connection when I toured the day care that we ended up having kids at for 4.5 years!

[Anonymous]

Don't just look at the infant room, rookie day care mistake. Go to the toddler room and look there.

What are the Toddlers doing. Are the happy? Engaged? Look at the art on the wall, do you see any done by the kids? Is there age appropriate art at kids eye level. Are the teachers playing with the kids?

In the infant room are the babies in bounciers/exercausers? How much floor time do they get?

[Anonymous]

In North Arlington?

"Do you have space for my child?"

"Can I get on your waiting list?"

Get on all the waiting lists and tour the places. If you're lucky enough to get into more than one, then you can decide which one you like better. But demand way outstrips supply here. The centers have new intake in September -- if your child won't be born until the spring, you will have to find some way to make do until the next September, and you will probably get a slot if you've been on a list since you got your positive test result.

Sorry to sound depressing, but that's how it worked for everyone I know around here.