Parenting
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Organic Mom: 14 questions to ask your daycare provider
partner
Trying to navigate daycare in my corner of Brooklyn is probably ten times harder than dealing with getting into college 20 years ago. My older daughter is only 21 months, but I'd like her to socialize a little with kids her own age come fall -- an idea much easier said than done. Her birthday is in November, so she misses the age 2 September cutoff and will probably have to wait a year to go to most of the daycares and schools that exist within walking distance. This means finding some kind of daycare-preschool alternative, usually an in-the-home situation with mixed-aged toddlers. I went to visit one such situation a few blocks away the other day and thought I'd be pretty relaxed about how organic the environment was. Then I noticed I was holding my breath and not feeling relaxed at all. A lovely Russian woman showed me around and explained how Saoirse would spend her time, but I was counting the seconds until the tour ended and we could get back onto the street. I thought about the list of questions I wouldn't even bother asking, and that I will share here for your own daycare search. My advice is to email or get them out of the way on the phone before making the pointless schlep:
1. What is the ratio of daycare to babies/toddlers?
2. Can the infant/child nap when he/she wants, or does she have to nap with the group?
3. What kind of mattress or bedding will the child be sleeping on? If it is non-organic or contains PVC can you provide your own bedding?
4. What kind of ventilation is there for different times of the year?
5. Is there wall-to-wall carpeting?
6. If leaving a baby will the staff use a provided sling?
7. If you use cloth diapers will they too?
8. Will they feed the baby pumped milk?
9. If they are making formula for a baby, is the milk in the facility filtered?
10. If you have more than one kid going there is there any kind of discount?
11. What, if any, kind of field trips will they go on?
12. What kind of cleaning products do they use? (You could considering giving them some non-toxic versions.)
13. Are there any non-plastic toys?
14. Have they gotten rid of toys suspected to have lead in them?
I'm not sure what we'll end up doing for our daughter., but since I'm only looking for few hours a week of same-age fun for her I'm starting to consider organizing a group playdate with a couple of friends who have similarly-aged toddlers. When I was a kid my mother organized her friends so that they could drop all the kids at a rotating house and go play tennis. Maybe it's another "easier said than done," but it's also obviously much cheaper and if it happens that you know enough people who are flexible you can put the saved money toward some element of the experience.
The situation's a little nuts right now: a daycareopened a few blocks away at the beginning of the summer, replacing an expensive baby clothing boutique, and was filled to capacity within days. According to this recent Times storythere's a major crunch for elementary education in New York because parents are choosing to stay in the city. Schools are expanding or starting from scratch to accommodate the boom. This weekend we went to the playground of a very exciting elementary schoolin Pocantico Hills. We stopped by the great Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a foodie paradise on the old Rockefeller estate just across the road, and hung out with the pigs and cows and baby turkeys. Not sure if we can afford the house that would allow us to go to the great school, but Saoirse sure liked those cows, which might mean our city days are numbered.
posted by Deirdre
Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.
Related: tips, school, preschool, pre k, parenting, day care
-
Posted by Caramel Cake Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:27am PDT
I didn't ask all of these questions, my daycare just kinda told me. If you walk off in there and they aren't expecting you, then you can kinda know what's going on. I love the daycare my kids go to.
Report Abuse
-
Posted by Samethia Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:19pm PDT
I HAVE A 18MTH OLD BOY. HE HAS BEEN GOING TO THE SAME DAYCARE SINCE NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR AND I AM IN THE PROCESS OF WITHDRAWNING HIM.IT IS IMPORTANT TO ASK GENERAL AND BASIC QUESTIONS. ALSO QUESTIONS TAILOR MADE TO FIT YOUR CHILD. ME BEING A NEW MOM I HAVE LEARNED THAT THE HARD WAY. I HAVE ALSO LEARNED TO FOLLOW YOUR FIRST MIND,AND YOUR MOTHER INTUITION.THAT CAN BE A POWERFUL TOOL!
Report Abuse
-
Posted by JessicaC Sun Aug 17, 2008 1:42pm PDT
I guess if your only care is about the organics of t those would be ok questions to ask but seriously there are more important question to ask a Child Care provider remember they are not providing care for days the are providing care for children. So important questions to ask that this author sadly failed to ask are..
What is the education level of your providers?
How much experience does the provider have with this age group?
What is their provider turn over rate?
What kind philosophy do they use?
How do or don't they discipline the children?
Have they ever been site by a licensing or been investigated?
Report Abuse
-
Posted by Adi'sMommy Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:04pm PDT
I called around and asked questions before ruling out which daycares I didn't want to look at and which ones I did. I also asked them flat out how they felt about me just showing up unannounced. The ones that didn't care were the ones that I toured. I ended up finding a great day care for my daughter, granted I live in a much smaller community and the fight to find a day care provider isn't as difficult. But knowing if you can show up whenever is important because if they want you to call ahead that is suspicious.
Report Abuse
-
Posted by JenM Tue Aug 19, 2008 12:04pm PDT
I'm a child development student in my senior year at a university and have been working as a care provider in many different settings. Parents need to know, the center should absolutely have an open door policy meaning you can come to the center at anytime. Parents have a right to ask for the accident report list of the accidents at the center in the last year (in some states since opening). What the procedure is for accidents is also important because children do get hurt. Our center calls to inform the parent if there is any injury based on conflict or injury to the head. It's very important to ask about philosophy, early childhood education in about experiences socially, as well as cognitively/physically etc. Also many child care facilities asses children's development (infant-preschool) and it is important to understand the assessments the facility uses.
Report Abuse
-
Posted by Mrs. Mommy Tue Aug 19, 2008 4:07pm PDT
Thanks for this post. i wasn't sure what to ask and how to investigate what my needs are for my baby. Thank you so very much to the other posters that replied. I like what is written and plan on using you ladies advice when looking for sitter.
Report Abuse
-
Posted by cetannae Wed Aug 20, 2008 8:28am PDT
I asked most of those questions. My sitter, Denise has been watching my son since he was 3 months old-now he is 2-1/2. We absolutely love her. The true test was when she first met him. He was crying and she picked him up and soothed him and he smiled. I knew that this was the woman for us. It's an intuition thing. The best situation I think is one that they do it out of their owwn home so it's not so institutionalized. I was molested in a day care center so I refuse to send any kids to one. Go for the home. Shop around-take the time. Someone will catch your eye. Be picky- this is your child after all.
Report Abuse
-
Posted by Jen-Jen Wed Aug 20, 2008 8:37pm PDT
You might look into organizing a natural parenting coop instead, where the moms take turns with the kids (like it's three days a week, and a third of the moms stay one day a week). You could even follow the Waldorf methods if you wanted to be really crunchy.
Report Abuse
-
Posted by Zuri Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:58am PDT
I used to be the director of a daycare. Never, never send your child anyplace that doesn't have an open door policy, even if they rationalize it by saying they don't want to upset the child by having parents come and go. Also, find out the minimum age the employees are allowed to be--I would not want high school kids taking care of babies. Look for a daycare that provides health insurance benefits for employees. You will have a healthier staff overall and MUCH lower staff turnover. Plus, employees are more likely to act professionally when they are treated as professionals.
Report Abuse