probably a really basic question, but: waitlists for day care?

[Anonymous]

Hi. I am pregnant with my first, and just moved here from NYC. When I told my friends in NYC, they told me I need to get on waitlists for day care ASAP because I could be waiting years. Is this the case here in DC (i.e., you have to get on waitlists before you have the baby)? If so, do you put yourself on multiple waitlists? And does anyone have any recommendations for good day care in the N. Arlington or NW/Downtown DC area? And how much does this typically cost? (Sorry for the really basic questions, but I'm a total newbie to this and have no friends with babies in the area and just found this site while I was googling my OB.) Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Welcome! You should be able to find some threads on this topic, but in general, yes, you should get on wait lists for day care ASAP. And get on multiple lists, because many (all?) of them will not pan out. Sorry - don't have any specific suggestions in N. Va. or DC.

[Anonymous]

Not every center will have a waitlist, but the good ones generally do, and the ones in areas where lots of people work will have the longest waitlists. I live in Fairfax, VA and work in downtown DC and confined my search to daycare options near my house in part because the ones near my office have 1-2 year waitlists, typically.

I visited about 6 centers and at the ones I liked best, I filled out an application and put down a deposit, which was typically about $100. I wait-listed with two centers and would have listed with a third if I'd liked any of the other centers I saw. (I didn't bother to visit the ones that wouldn't have openings around the time when I needed them, because I *have* to go back to work after 6 weeks, and don't want to move my child after a few months.)

you should start checking out centers as soon as possible, and wait-list at the ones you like as soon as possible. (If you decide not to go with a center, just let them know as soon as you know and the spot will be offered to the next person on the list.)

The procedure tends to be different for providers who watch the kids in their homes, vs. the actual centers. I visited about 8 of those, and most didn't have organized waitlists - if they had room and you liked them, you'd put down a deposit and commit. They don't generally know quite as early as the centers whether they will have space for your child, and since you'd likely be asked to commit early, you can probably tour these later in your pregnancy.

If you are looking in Virginia, this website is a good place to start. You can search by county or zip code or provider name to get a complete record of all inspections and any violations the center has committed. Every center I searched has violations, but most are minor paperwork issues, which didn't worry me.

Good luck!

http://www.dss.state.va.us/facility/search/licensed.cgi

[Anonymous]

No worries - I was in your shoes a few months ago, and this is a great forum for asking these questions. Definitely get on daycare waitlists ASAP, the good daycares in Northern Virginia and DC have wait lists of at least 12 months. 2 of the 5 we looked at required minimal upfront fees, while the others didn't. Once you start talking to different daycares you'll get an idea of your chances getting in on time. The costs of full time infant day care can be from 1200-1800/month, with some outliers. My husband has access to some government subsidized daycares, which are much cheaper but not as convenient. I've heard that Bright Horizons at the USPTO and in Crystal City are good, as well as Rosslyn Childrens Center. There are also some other good ones close to Old Town Alexandria, but the wait lists are pretty long. I'd suggest talking to anyone you know to get recs and then researching them on the "daycare discussion" forum here - I've gotten helpful feedback. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

The Bright Horizons in Ballston (Arlington) is good. With bright horizon, they let you get on waitlists for 3 of their centers with one application/fee. Both N Arlington and NW/DC have huge demand for good daycares - so their waitlists will be long.

[Anonymous]

I'm the original poster -- thanks so much for the helpful replies. Based on some of the suggestions and internet searches, I can see some of these places have online applications for waitlists, but they ask for information like birthdate, name, anticipated start date, etc. Given I don't know any of these things yet, how do you handle this? Do you only apply once you have your child and know when you want to start day care? To be honest, I have no idea what my plan is after my maternity leave (i.e., whether I will try to take additional unpaid leave, try to work part time, or maybe even consider a nanny). Also, how young do people typically start leaving their children in day care? Sorry, I really have no idea about any of this stuff and feel totally lost.

[Anonymous]

The form I filled out had alternative questions if you haven't given birth yet, asking for the due date and the baby's expected last name. They did need to know the approximate start date, because they need to know whether they'll have a spot, what with other babies graduating to the toddler room and all. I don't know what happens if you end up needing the day care sooner (or later) than the estimated start date. I imagine you can just keep them informed as your thinking evolves, and they'll let you know how they are space-wise for the new dates.

[Anonymous]

Here's another tip about waitlists. Keep calling periodically. Most centers prioritize federally employed families, so if you aren't one of these, you may be behind fifty people on the list. Lost of folks wind up with other care arrangements. With the day to day operation of a center taking so much out of a person, scrubbing and checking the wait list is not going to be a center director's top priority. Being relatively new to DC, not a federal employee, and not loaded or connected, I didn't start the waitlist applications 'til my son was (gasp) ALREADY BORN! I was fairly certain we were screwed. My son wound up in a center that I felt OK with (he was safe at least), but it wasn't all that. Lo and behold I called around and a space opened up a few months later at a place we were on a list for.

[Anonymous]

You may also want to consider a home-based daycare if you are interested. A pp sent you a website that is a great research tool for all daycares, but specifically certified home daycares. Also, if cost is an issue, home-based daycares seem to be cheaper. We are in a GREAT home-based daycare in Old Town Alexandria and we pay $800/month. There are 2 providers with 9 kids and they do so many great activities. As pp mentioned they don't have a formal waiting list and usually only know a short amount of time ahead of time.

[Anonymous]

We applied to all three Bright Horizons locations in Arlington (as the PP said you can apply to 3 for the same application fee) with Crystal City as our primary. We also applied to Arlington Children's center in Rosslyn and Alexandria Day School in Old Town. Our DD is at the Bright Horizons in Crystal City and we like it a lot. It took us about 7 months to get in. We also just got a call from Arlington Children's Center to ask if we still want a spot (about 9 months after we applied and being told we were #196 on the waiting list). We're happy where we are so we turned them down (even though they're about $400 a month cheaper than Bright Horizons).

After visiting multiple centers we really liked the Bright Horizons center the best. After we visited I said "Oh, that's why they're so expensive -- they actually employ intelligent caring people (unlike most of the other centers we saw)". Plus, they have a very good ratio of 3 kids per provider (the legal limit is 4 and it's sometimes stretched to more than that if they can get away with it).

Good luck in your search. It's really hard to find a place you'd want to leave your child at. Make sure it's a place you really believe in otherwise it's going to be even harder to go back to work.

[Anonymous]

I would get on some waitlists even if you don't know your plans yet, although it will be harder. Daycares accept children anywhere from 6-12 weeks old to start. I would guess around 3 months would be average,maybe? It really depends on the family situation and how much time people have to take off. Put your due date as the birthdate. Guess a start date. The thing is, they will not hold the spot for you if you aren't ready. Our spot at a brand new center was ready early and we had to pay an extra month while we weren't using it just to hold the space.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have any advice on DC in Bethesda? Do the same waiting lists apply?

[Anonymous]

Get on a wait list now. I got on a waiting list when I was 2 months at Bright Horizon's connected with my husband's job and was surprised when they said that waiting list can be as long as 12-16 months. It didn't take that long to get a spot (about 4-5 months) since husband is a Fed. She is listed with her tentative due date and name as "Baby Our Last Name". I toured the place outside of the regular tour hours which made me feel better. They are also open to parents dropping in. The have a 3 to 1 ratio with infants and caregivers. Were accomodating when I asked lots of questions (e.g. how do you discipline children, what's the staff turnover rate). The price quoted was $1350 a month for infants over the summer. It sounds like a lot, but if you think of it in terms of rate per hour at the most if you drop off your kid before work and pick up after around 8 hours a day 5 days a week. The price per hour comes is about $9-10 an hour. The price also goes down the older they get so for toddlers it's cheaper than infants.

You should definently look at different options and what works for you. Also check with your work and what daycare options they have or can make some recs. My work didn't have day care options, but they had a reccomendation service.