Daycare lists?

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry if this is a silly question...just found out I'm pregnant and I have no idea how to find daycare. Is there a resource that anyone can recommend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry if this is a silly question...just found out I'm pregnant and I have no idea how to find daycare. Is there a resource that anyone can recommend?

Do you prefer a center or a home-based day care? MoCo has a great list for home-based day care.

I wanted a center so I just googled and visited MANY. Probably 40 in the DC metro area. Many have wait lists for infants, too, so it's best to get on them now, and also know that the lack of slots for infants will cut down on your choices.

It's a lot of work, but I'm sure you'll find something you really like.

[Anonymous]

Ask friends, neighbors and co-workers for referrals. Also, if you visit a daycare center that has a very long waitlist, ask what other centers they recommend -- they are experts, after all.

[Anonymous]

Where are you located?

If you're looking for daycare in Virginia, use this site:

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

you can search by zipcode or county and it lists all the providers with addresses, phone #s, etc. I'd suggest reading the inspection violation reports before you call any of them - it may eliminate a few and save you some time.

Also look on craigslist under child care - providers will advertise, usually with their general location in the subject line. I checked craigslist every day and found a bunch of in-home providers that way. Nannies and nanny shares also advertise there.

i also did google searches for "infant care Fairfax" and "daycare Fairfax" and any other phrase I could think of. some providers didn't have a web presence, so i called them.

all in all, i toured 5-6 centers and 6-8 in-home providers, put myself on waiting lists starting at month 4 and ended up getting a spot at the first place i toured. (which so far i really like.)

it also helps to figure out what types of daycare you prefer before you start - there's no point visiting a bunch of centers if you'd really be more comfortable with a nanny share, for example. make sure the hours at each place are hours you can live with - some people can do daycares that close at 5:30, but i couldn't. and in this area, convenience can be a huge selling point - it might be worth paying $100/month more if the center is 10 minutes closer to home, for example.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I have to disagree with the PP. I think it's worth touring family daycares and centers. When you're pregnant, it's hard to really know what you'll want in child care. If you're already on a variety of waitlists, you'll be covered no matter whan you end up choosing.

[jgeetter]

I'd be curious about what you learned...we're looking for a daycare in DC (south of Woodley in NW) that accepts newborns. We've looked into Bright Horizons and Huckleberry. Are there others?

[Anonymous]

First Baptist at Dupont Circle (17th & 0).