Top Ten questions to ask before picking a daycare

One thing you will learn about me is that I am not a big fan of daycare. They usually can only afford to pay their employees minimum wage which means they can’t keep employees long and the Teacher’s Aides have little or no experience in the field.

The inconsistency in structure and schedule alone makes me want to consider being a stay at home mom. Unfortunately, in this day and age, that’s just not an option for most of us.

So here are 10 great tips and questions to ask a child care provider so you can choose the right daycare for your little one!

1. Sick Child Policy

Does your provider send the child home at the first cough or do they offer sick care and risk causing the other children to get sick? What if the provider gets sick?

2. Staff Turnover Rate

How long have they had their staff? Do they go through staff quickly? Children need to be able to form emotional bonds and trust caring adults.

Most daycare workers who make about minimum wage do not have a college degree. There’s also a chance that they don’t even have a high school diploma.

3. Child Care Standards

Their standards can vary per state. In one state, the child to staff ratio for 4 year olds is 18 children to 1 adult; in another state, it’s 8 children to 1 adult. It’s never a bad idea to make sure the center is up to date and are following requirements.

4. Late Fees?

You bet! To prevent having to pay staff overtime and to prevent parents from running last minutes errands, many child care centers charge late fees. I’ve even heard of centers that charge $15 for every 15 minutes parents are late.

5. Absent due to illness or vacation

Do you still have to pay for care if your child is sick or on vacation? Most daycare require full payment regardless of your child’s tardiness, because the daycare is still reserving a spot and there are still overhead costs. Think of it as paying to keep your child’s spot.

6. Are meals and snacks provided?

What type of food is provided? Make sure you talk about food allergies if your child has any. Some parents are sensitive about what they feed their children and some daycare prefer to provide food so that everything is equal.

7. Discipline policy

This is a tough one for most parents and this is what ultimately made me leave a daycare. Make sure you are straight forward and understand what approaches are used for discipline and that you are comfortable with it.

8. Security/Safety policies

Look around and take note on cleanliness, temperature and don’t hesitate to ask how often they sanitize their toys. Are there camera monitors? How safe is the outdoor equipment? Is there a secure sign in/out sheet?

9. Philosophy

Why did they decide to go into the child care field? Why did they decide to start a daycare? What is their child care philosophy?

10. Drop in

Can I observe my child and drop in any time? All I’ve got to say to this is if they tell you that it’s not ok, I would find a different daycare. What are they hiding? Yea your child might not behave as well and might act up if they see you, but you should never feel like you can’t drop in! It’s your parental right.

In this economy, most of us can’t afford to be stay at home moms. I hope this information has made it a little easier so you can find the right daycare for your child and you!



One thing you will learn about me is that I am not a big fan of daycare. They usually can only afford to pay their employees minimum wage which means they can’t keep employees long and the Teacher’s Aides have little or no experience in the field.

The inconsistency in structure and schedule alone makes me want to consider being a stay at home mom. Unfortunately, in this day and age, that’s just not an option for most of us.



 

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(Source: www.smartmoney.com/spending/rip-offs/10-things-your-child-care-provider-wont-tell-you-14179=3)