Daycare/nanny questions

[frecklesnbrains]

DH and I have arranged tours of 2 daycares and are also interviewing 2 possible nannies next week. What are the most critical questions I need to ask in both situations? Thanks!

[mymilkshake]

We asked about licensing; worker to child ratio; communication of day's events/details (like do they send home a sheet of when the feedings were/dirty diapers etc); what happens with holidays and snow storms in regards to maybe a make up day or do I just eat the money? Same thing with vacations.

[sandandsea]

We asked about the following knowing we wanted a place DS could stay until kindergarten. It's been 4.5 years and we are happy with them and sending #2 there as well.

Breastfeeding- what their policies are on breastmilk (when they toss it, what about unfinished bottles, etc)

What the schedule is in each classroom and what feedback parents get from the Child's day.

What academic curriculum they do in each class

Sample lunch and snack menus

Experience and credentials of teachers - cpr certified etc.

How they resolve conflicts/biting/etc among kids.

Tuition and availability/wait list times.

Any infractions in the past two years and how they were resolved

What student child ratios they have in each room.

Mostly it's about getting a feel for the place and the teachers and if you are comfortable with them. We toured 5 places after doing Internet research and 1 was out almost immediately due to a bad feeling.

[sandandsea]

Jul 1, 2016 11:39:37 GMT -5 mymilkshake said:

what happens with holidays and snow storms in regards to maybe a make up day or do I just eat the money? Same thing with vacations.

Around me it's always a sunk cost and there are no make ups, vacations, etc. which I guess makes sense as they have to pay the teachers regardless of how many kids there are. But id love to not pay during vacation or when grandparents visit!!

[happyday]

Thoughts for when they get a bit older:

How much outside time?
How do they handle behavior issues?
How/when do they transition rooms? Is it based on age? Development?
Holiday schedule
Bad weather policies
Do they provide lunches?
If I provide food, are there rules? (Allergens)
I would ask each childcare provider you see "how long have you worked here?" To get an idea of turnover.

For a nanny, we take dd to her house. So I went and previewed her home, talked about schedule/days off, discussed what I would need to provide vs what she could provide, talk about the legalities, etc.

In the End I have always just gone with my gut. The place that loves my kids is most important.

[mymilkshake]

Jul 1, 2016 11:49:28 GMT -5 sandandsea said:

Jul 1, 2016 11:39:37 GMT -5 mymilkshake said:

what happens with holidays and snow storms in regards to maybe a make up day or do I just eat the money? Same thing with vacations.

Around me it's always a sunk cost and there are no make ups, vacations, etc. which I guess makes sense as they have to pay the teachers regardless of how many kids there are. But id love to not pay during vacation or when grandparents visit!!

That's what we found out too!

[babyzebra]

In addition to what has already been stated, I would ask a lot of questions about sleep in the infant room.
- does every baby get its own crib?
- what is their policy on blankets in cribs?
- are sleep sacks encouraged/allowed?
- are babies allowed to sleep in bouncers/swings?
- are babies always taken out of car seats right away if they come in sleeping?
- are babies always placed on their backs to sleep?

There are a lot of things to consider, but safe sleep practices are most important IMHO. I would want any center or nanny to answer all those questions correctly.

[woodengirl07]

These are good questions. I've worked as a nanny and I'm a daycare so I would add:

Sick/injured:
What sort of first aid and CPR training does your staff have?
What is your policy on injuries/sickness that occur at the center?
What is your policy on informing us if other children have communicable diseases we need to be aware of?
What policies do you have if my child is sick (such as not allowed at the center for 24 hours after a fever clears up).

Closures:
How often have you closed the center with little/no warning?
Have you ever closed the center if there are not enough kids?
So you send staff home if there are not enough kids?
What is your holiday policy?

Other:
What type of supplies do we need to provide vs what is provided?
How much time will children be held daily?
What type of sleep policies do you have? (Letting them cry, held and rocked, given a binky, etc.)
How are feedings and changings monitored? Will this information be given to me? Do you go on the child's cues or do you have a schedule for feedings etc?

[mladerri]

We had a nanny for ds until he was 2. When ds was 12 months and under I asked them to give me some examples of activities they would do with ds during awake time. If they are infant Cpr certified. During the interview I'd have them hold ds and see how they interacted. I relied a lot on references. I don't have more to add then what's already been said.

[ArgyleEnigma]

babyzebra what's the right answer on sleep sacks?

For a nanny, my biggest concern would be references.

[Stringy]

One good first step measure of basic quality for day cares is if they are NAEYC accredited. If they aren't it doesn't mean they aren't great. But if they are it means they meet many of the best practices on things everyone mentioned above.

Eta: you can find this out on their website which is probably NAEYC dot org. But you may have to google. They may also have a list of things to ask.

[babyzebra]

Jul 1, 2016 16:15:26 GMT -5 ArgyleEnigma said:

babyzebra what's the right answer on sleep sacks?

I would want sleep sacks to be allowed and encouraged. I've toured a bunch of centers and there are a couple different stances on sleep sacks. A few centers I've toured require each baby to have a sleep sack, some centers don't care, and one center didn't allow them (not sure why, I stopped listening after that). My biggest concern for those that don't use sleep sacks is that they would use a blanket instead. I'm opposed to blankets in the crib for babies under 1, but particularly in the daycare setting where there is less supervision of their sleep than at home with a parent.

[frecklesnbrains]

Thanks for your advice everyone! We toured a daycare this morning I think we like. It's the ONLY place out of like 25 I called that has availability when we need it (the others have waiting lists of at least 2 months after our need). So, I think we're going to go for it. The major downside is that it's near my H's job, which is a 40 min drive from where we live and even farther from my job and I don't have a car. So this basically puts all the burden on my H for pickup drop off and sick day duty. He says he's fine with it, but I feel bad! Do I just need to relinquish control? He's a really good dad... I know he'll be 100% responsible, and his job has the flexibility necessary (even more than mine, tbh). Our other option is a nanny, which is not really in our price range and I'm nervous about finding a good and safe fit. At daycare there's the regulation that I like.

[mladerri]

That is very nice of yh and if he's okay with it go for it. If it ends up not working, you can always find a nanny as backup plan.

[manybellsdown]

Jul 5, 2016 10:28:23 GMT -5 mladerri said:

That is very nice of yh and if he's okay with it go for it. If it ends up not working, you can always find a nanny as backup plan.

+1. You like it, it's available, and you can always make a change later if necessary!

[frecklesnbrains]

Yeah we only loose our $500 deposit if we leave before a year, which sort of sucks but in the grand scheme of how much daycare costs $500 is a drop in the bucket.

Honestly I worry most about breaking bonds he forms with the providers.

[Stringy]

If YH has the flexibility I think that's a big plus. Drop offs run late or kids get sick. If you like it try it. And while I agree with you about the bonds with providers- most people change at some point and kids are more flexible than you think- just take it year by year. (Or less)

[manybellsdown]

Jul 5, 2016 10:41:32 GMT -5 frecklesnbrains said:

Yeah we only loose our $500 deposit if we leave before a year, which sort of sucks but in the grand scheme of how much daycare costs $500 is a drop in the bucket.

Honestly I worry most about breaking bonds he forms with the providers.

Bonds are awesome but I wouldn't worry just yet. We had to fire our first nanny when DD was 18 months old, and she was definitely bonded. She took a couple days to warm up to the new (most excellent) nanny, but it was not a big deal. If we changed now that she's almost 3, I would definitely worry about breaking bonds.

All this to say, in the first year, I'd wager he'd be pretty flexible about any change that's right for your family.

[babyzebra]

I'm glad you found a place you like frecklesnbrains! I wouldn't be concerned about your H needing to do all the drop offs and pick ups. I also wouldn't be concerned at this age about breaking bonds if you ultimately need to. Good luck!

[ArgyleEnigma]

frecklesnbrains I think it's great your DH will do the heavy lifting--you did so much with feeding, not to mention carrying the baby, now he can feel like a more full partner this way, and build his bond.

Was that lucid?