Questions for Daycare Tours?

[Deleted]

I live in Boston and need to get on waitlists ASAP in order to get a space for when I go back to work in January 2016. Insane. 

Anyway we are touring three daycares next week and I have no idea what to ask them. Are there any STMs with suggestions?

[Deleted]

There's a ton, and Google is your friend here. Off the top of my head:
Teacher/child ratio
Learning philosophies (even ask now. Your child will grow with the center, and it's hard to change up their world later on)
Make sure they feed/change on demand, as opposed to a schedule
Ask to see the sleeping space
Do you provide crib sheets or do they
How do they handle incidents, like accidents
Sick baby policy
How many different people will be caring for your child
How old does the infant room go up to
When baby starts solids are you able to provide your own
Ask about cloth diapering if applicable.

[lilo]

I had a really good list when we toured centers for DD. I think I still have it at home and will post it this evening.

[canadiansciencegeek]

I lived in Metro Boston when I had DD We were lucky to send her at 6 months to a wonderful dayhome, but here are some things I would ask:

Ratio of teachers to kids
Training of teachers
Staff turnover/how long have the teachers been there?
What are the hours?
When does the daycare close (holidays, vacation)?
What is their sick policy?
How do they communicate with you about your child's day? (important, especially with babies)
Is infant eating/sleeping on demand or on a schedule? (You want on demand.)
Do they provide food for babies eating solids or do you bring it in?
Do they take the babies outside?
Where do the babies sleep? Do they adhere to AAP guidelines about back to sleep?

General infant care philosophy questions/look around when you visit
Are older babies in exersaucers/bumbos/jumpers or are they on the floor? (which is better for gross motor development)
Are babies being held and talked/read to?
Do teachers seem interested in interacting with infants?
Are age-appropriate toys present?
Is the space clean?

I'll stop now lol.

[mandy522]

My daycare director was the first person other than our parents that I told I was pregnant. Those waitlists are no joke - we signed up when I was 10 weeks pregnant and DS didn't get a full-time spot until he was almost 7 months old.
/anecdote

Anyway, to your question. @dragonmommy422 has some good suggestions.
Teacher turnover - it can be a be flag relative to how teachers are treated and compensated if turnover is really high
How do they handle door security (we have keycard access but that was unusual, and living in a big city it provides a lot of peace of mind)
What is their vaccination policy (not just for kids, but for teachers)\
What schedule do they follow for holidays (keep in mind you will likely have to pay for holidays as well as finding alternative care for your kid, so a lot of holidays can get expensive)
What is an average day in the classroom like
Do they have outdoor activities in warm months
Are their enrichment classes / trips (like music classes, language classes, field trips) and if so is there an additional cost
What is the policy on drop-in visits

[Deleted]

These are great!! Thank you so much everyone. I am hoping to secure and put down a deposit by our 8 week ultrasound so that *hopefully* we will be in when I go back to work. We will have to get a nanny short term if we aren't able to get a spot. It's insane how early we have to think about this in some areas!! I am adding all these questions to my spreadsheet:)

[canadiansciencegeek]

I need to get my ass in gear and get on waitlists here too. And that's with a one year mat leave - so we're talking Sept. 2016 already filling up!

[riderchik]

Daycare is crazy everywhere I have to figure out what is around here soon. As soon as I found out I was pregnant in July I was put on a wait list for March. I'm going to miss my daycare because it was made for healthcare workers so it had extended hours.

I also want to add that I would rather have a Daycare Center than a sahm who runs a daycare or a dayhome. I understand being closed for federal/provincial holidays but I don't want to have to always try and find alternate childcare due to someone being sick or wanting a day off. 

[Deleted]

Jan 22, 2015 12:21:17 GMT -5 @littlestjerry said:

Jan 22, 2015 11:53:42 GMT -5 @sterling said:

I made the mistake of only paying attention to the infant rooms in our first daycare. We like them, the teachers were great, but when he got to the toddler room it was chaos. So I'd definitely pay attention to that. Also, staff ratios, food policies (bring your own or provided, what about allergies, etc), diaper changing frequency, do they bus to schools you'd go to eventually, what do they do for young babies in terms of sleeping/eating on demand and what age does a stricter schedule start.

Good luck, daycare is so stressful at first. We love ours now and DS is thriving. If you have Primrose near you I'd highly recommend it.

I second sterling's point about thinking beyond infant care. Pay attention to menus. Our first daycare served crap food, but I didn't even notice because I was only worried about the infant room.

Thinking about the toddler rooms is a great idea. I prob won't have thought about that much!

[Deleted]

There is one daycare on my work campus, its literally across the parking lot. It's not affiliated with my company (I wish!!) but I hoping that I lIke that one and it magically works out because it would be SO convenient. I hope they check all the boxes and aren't $3000 a month!

[lotusbee]

Holy anxiety attack! Didn't even think to start looking into this.

[swbrigadoon]

Jan 22, 2015 12:41:25 GMT -5 @preppy said:

There is one daycare on my work campus, its literally across the parking lot. It's not affiliated with my company (I wish!!) but I hoping that I lIke that one and it magically works out because it would be SO convenient. I hope they check all the boxes and aren't $3000 a month!

I was shocked at how expensive daycare was in this area. Not sure if it is because I was a FTM or new to the area, but jeesh! Good luck, and I hope that place across the parking lot works out for you! Everyone gave great suggestions about what to ask.

[cruisegirl28]

DD goes to an in home daycare. She can only have 2 infants, so I need to let her know soon.

[mschanandelerbong]

The others mentioned all the questions I can think of. We looked at a lot of daycares and I got the best overall feeling from the one we chose. They spent the most time with me and showed me every part of the daycare and explained everything in great detail. It really helps to visit them in person and compare them all. We're still at the one we chose when DD was an infant. And I just walked in, didn't make an appointment and give them time to prepare.

[charliefox]

I want to add: make sure you talk to the teachers in the different rooms. Obviously some might be busy and not available to chat, but you should get a chance to speak with some of them. They should be able to answer most of the same questions as whoever is giving your tour. If the teachers can't answer your questions or you're not really 'allowed' to talk to them then that's a big red flag.

Also, if you haven't already, do a little research about different philosophies. A lot of centers will throw around key words because they sound good but might not mean much. Just because they say they're Montessori doesn't mean they truly follow that philosophy etc.

Almost forgot...ask about parent hours or other requirements. Usually they'll be upfront about it, but I've seen parents get caught off guard because they didn't realize they had to volunteer X amount of time or pay the difference.

[bazingaa]

I did so much research when we were interviewing for DS and ultimately I felt like they were prepared for all the questions I had and even answered them before I asked. In the end, we just knew. When we found the place it just felt right.

[milfintraining]

Jan 22, 2015 21:49:55 GMT -5 pineapplesmoothie said:

Jan 22, 2015 11:45:08 GMT -5 @dragonmommy422 said:

-snip-

Jan 22, 2015 12:57:28 GMT -5 lotusbee said:

Holy anxiety attack! Didn't even think to start looking into this.

OMG, me either! I am so glad I opened this thread. Lots of good advice.

Funny, one of my friends used to work in daycare centers and I asked her today regarding the costs. Then I decided that we're taking her with us during the visits. We'll probably start looking after our next drs appointment.