Post by mrssmith613 on Apr 28, 2017 20:57:50 GMT -5
I know quite a few are SAHM but most have some experience with daycare I think. I'm thinking of quitting my job starting an in home daycare. I am so unhappy with my job, they're getting so big, the employee satisfaction just isn't a priority anymore. I just need to do something else.
What do you look for in a daycare provider?
Would hours of 7-445 be realistic?
If Your daycare closed at 3 on Friday's would that be a turnoff for you?
Would your daycare having dogs bother you? ( considering there are no allergy issues)
Just looking for some insight. My mil does daycare so I could obviously ask her but she's been doing it for 25+ years so she may not be as aware(?) of some of the modern day things.
I personally want a good mix/balance of structured play opportunities or projects, but still a relaxed and free play environment. Routine is good but not too strict, and not just tv entertaining all day.
My current daycare is open 7:45-5:15 but I live in a small town and if you work 8-5 you can get anywhere around my town within 15 minutes easily.
I don't work fridays but I know that's unusual, so I think closing at 3 would be tough for some. But if you are looking at specific clientele that's in your area (nurses?) that has different shifts then maybe that would be ok.
Closing at 4:45 would likely only work for people who are teachers or work really early. For me, I worked 8-5 so it wouldn't have worked. My daycare had 2 dogs and that wasn't an issue for me. Her dogs stayed upstairs while the daycare was in the basement. They did go outside with the kids though.
Post by eyelashedviper on Apr 28, 2017 21:48:59 GMT -5
The hours would be doable for me depending on commuting time (when DD1 was in daycare I needed to drop her off then drive to work, do my 8 hour day, and then drive back to pick her up). So closing early on Fridays for me would have been an issue because it would have necessitated me using time off. I'm sure there are others who have more flexible arrangements.
I have chosen home daycares in the past with a dog or dogs present. Obviously I would want to spend time observing the dog's interaction with the children and want to see how much access they have to each other. Dog waste in the yard would be another concern if the kids play there.
Beyond the usual CPR, criminal background checks (for all adults with access to the home), safety stuff I would be looking at: -the menu offered (if you are the one providing food) -Philosophies on discipline, learning etc. -Activities, schedule -General sense of compatibility, comfort with the care provider and the home. You are entrusting your child to this person, I want someone I feel like I see eye to eye with and work well with.
Post by lemoncupcake on Apr 28, 2017 22:07:49 GMT -5
Those normal hours would work for me, but I have an odd schedule. The majority of my working-parent friends couldn't manage it. I wouldn't be able to do the early Friday pick up regularly though.
I have dogs and love dogs, but wouldn't be comfortable dD around someone's dogs when I'm not there. I wouldn't mind that they were on the premises, but I would want them to be kept separate all day.
We use a center rather than in-home, but you'll also want to think about how you handle sick days for you/your kids and vacation. I know those are sometimes an issue for people.
Post by rivers and roads on Apr 28, 2017 22:18:19 GMT -5
The hours would be a turn off for me, and I think most families would struggle with the early Friday closing. I guess it depends where you live and if commuting is part of the norm. It's normal to have a 30 minute+ commute where I live, so 5:30 would be the earliest I'd expect a daycare to close.
However, I have friends who are teachers and send their kids to a "school employees only" home day care near the school where they teach, It's not affiliated with the school at all, but the hours are built around teacher hours, follows the school calendar. So she's closed on days the school is closed, but the families don't have to pay those days (or summer) because they'd be keeping their kids home anyway. It's a compromise and win for the families and provider.
Also a fenced in yard with a variety of outdoor toys/activities.
Another thing, since this is something that's annoyed me lately at my daycare, is serving healthy food.
We have a huge fenced in yard, I was thinking we would put up like a divider fence that the dogs could go outside and not be in the kid area. We also have woods (we have 2+acres) that we're working on mowing so it's explorable (?) we could do "nature" walks in.
Post by mrssmith613 on Apr 29, 2017 6:43:09 GMT -5
I was just thinking about the hours . 7-530 would definitely be doable for me. I just don't want to be like my MiL who has kids start coming at 5am and not leaving until 6pm. Then again she has been doing this for many years and I think people just take advantage of her flexibility. I've been doing a lot of research and the one repetitive thing I see is "just say no" because if you are flexible once then parents will just keep doing.
The closing at 3 on fridays I wouldn't need either, it was just a thought for like the summer when we go camping more. So maybe just an occasional early closing.
Another thing, would you rather know your providers vacation days far in advance like a year or would you be okay with say a 2week notice?
Post by eyelashedviper on Apr 29, 2017 8:46:20 GMT -5
My former provider actually took 4 unpaid weeks off during the summer. It was in the contract, no surprises. When it came to scheduling (she would set her dates in the spring so there was some notice) she would see if/when any of the daycare families had their own travel/vacation plans and overlap that as much as possible. She also takes into consideration that 4 consecutive weeks away makes it a lot more difficult to get the kids back on track afterwards and if she has some headed to kindergarten etc. she needs to be back to help transition them.
Post by swivelchair5 on Apr 29, 2017 9:24:27 GMT -5
My DCP let me know 11 months in advance that she was taking 2 weeks off in December. And when she heard we were taking a June vacation, she asked for the dates so she could overlap the dates of her trip. My DCP is part of a network so if she needs to take a day off, we can use another person in her network and it doesn't affect our billing. I think it would be nice if you could do something similar, even if informally. So if you need a sick day, but you know your MIL or another DCP has capacity for another kid, you could help arrange that. Even tell parents in advance who backs you up so they could arrange to meet them before they need to make a decision about care at 6 am on a random Tuesday.
Post by swivelchair5 on Apr 29, 2017 9:29:20 GMT -5
When I was searching for a daycare for DD, a dog was a deal-breaker for me. But that is because she wasn't even born yet and I didn't know if she would have any allergies (many in our family do). If I needed to find her a new daycare now, I think I would consider a place with a dog. But I would want to meet the dog and see DD interacting with it.
Post by swivelchair5 on Apr 29, 2017 9:35:10 GMT -5
Also, your proposed hours would work for us. They are similar to what my DCP does (minus the 3 pm Friday closing). DH and I stagger our work schedules so he goes in really early and I take DD to daycare at 7:30, then he picks her up around 3:30-4:00, and I get home around 6. But we plan to do this schedule until summer 2018, then switch her to a daycare center with a preschool program and longer hours. That way we can all leave the house around 6ish, and have a lot more family time in the afternoon.
My DCP let me know 11 months in advance that she was taking 2 weeks off in December. And when she heard we were taking a June vacation, she asked for the dates so she could overlap the dates of her trip. My DCP is part of a network so if she needs to take a day off, we can use another person in her network and it doesn't affect our billing. I think it would be nice if you could do something similar, even if informally. So if you need a sick day, but you know your MIL or another DCP has capacity for another kid, you could help arrange that. Even tell parents in advance who backs you up so they could arrange to meet them before they need to make a decision about care at 6 am on a random Tuesday.
From what I have researched on the licensing in my state, I believe it is required for you to have backup options to provide to your families for days that you have vacation/sick days.
I was just thinking about the hours . 7-530 would definitely be doable for me. I just don't want to be like my MiL who has kids start coming at 5am and not leaving until 6pm. Then again she has been doing this for many years and I think people just take advantage of her flexibility. I've been doing a lot of research and the one repetitive thing I see is "just say no" because if you are flexible once then parents will just keep doing.
The closing at 3 on fridays I wouldn't need either, it was just a thought for like the summer when we go camping more. So maybe just an occasional early closing.
Another thing, would you rather know your providers vacation days far in advance like a year or would you be okay with say a 2week notice?
The more notice the better. My daycare provider gave us a schedule in the spring that said all of her time off from Memorial Day until Labor Day. Then she would give us a new schedule for the winter. She also kept one posted on the back of her front door. My daycare was 7-5:30 and it worked fine for me. Because of DH's schedule I did all drop offs/pick ups and was only late to get her once or twice because of snow storms. She would also take H early if I had morning work meetings which was like every 3 months.
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