Evaluating child care providers

November 7, 2005 7:16 AM

What are the questions we should be asking when evaluating a child care provider?

With our first child on the way in 4 months, we need to get day care sorted out. Besides the obvious issues of location and cost, what did you ask potential providers, and, perhaps more importantly, what do you wish you'd asked?

posted by borrowed_tunes to health & fitness (12 comments total)

Are you in the UK? (Your website suggests you might be) You might ask about CRB checks - these should come as standard for anyone working with children in the UK.
posted by biffa at 7:55 AM on November 7, 2005

Some of these are more pertinant to a home daycare provider, so keep that in mind:

Do you take the children on outings. If so, where? How do you get there? If you drive, do you have proper car seats? Insurance coverage all up to date? etc..

What do the kids do during the day? What activities do you schedule? Do you do special crafts/stuff for holidays? How often do the kids get outside during the day?

Sleeping arrangements: Where do the kids sleep? What if my child can't fall asleep with other kids in the room?

What happens if you get sick? Do you have an alternate adult set up? Do we have to pick up our children? Do we get refunded for the lost day?

How many children do you take care of? How many of them are under 1 year of age? Do you have help during the day?

That's some that I can think of. Good luck!!
posted by smcniven at 8:00 AM on November 7, 2005

We've had some horrible day care experiences. One involved the day care ignoring the care plan we'd agreed upon for our child. The other involved the day care suddenly closing its doors to children under 19 months of age (a major policy disconnect here in my part of Canada). That said, I'll point you to a few resources our provincial government has put out: Finding Quality Child Care. Towards the bottom of the page there are two links to semi-useful booklets on choosing day cars/day homes that might give you a start.
posted by hamfisted at 8:15 AM on November 7, 2005

In Texas to check licensing, regulations, and performance of daycare facilities my wife checked Department of Family and Protective Services.
Not sure where you are located, but my wife also came up with these:
1) Reg. departments for all states
2) National Association for the Education of Young Children—stricter guidelines
3) Direct link to NAEYC-accredited program search
posted by sailormouth at 8:30 AM on November 7, 2005

Less important, but still worth putting into the equation at some level, especially if you will be using public schools: school district of the daycare center vs. school district that you live in. Here's why: We started our kids at a center in our town, and once our son hit age 5, he got bused from (half-day A.M.) kindergarten to the daycare center (for the afternoon "wrap" program) with no problem. But there are some kids who he's been with since age 2 who are from different nearby towns, and their schools DO NOT bus to daycare across town lines. I believe those parents had to either change daycare centers, which can be reasonably traumatic/hassleful for kids and/or parents, or figure out how to get the kids from school to the center on their own at lunchtime every day.
posted by chr1sb0y at 9:13 AM on November 7, 2005

Sorry, not in the UK, in Boston, MA - so any local recommendations are welcome!
posted by borrowed_tunes at 9:44 AM on November 7, 2005

We're in the same boat - just starting to look for daycare ourselves. We're starting out by asking family & friends to let us know of any places that they really loved and will then do our own research.

One piece of advice we received from a close friend who is also a first grade teacher: spend an entire day at the place(s) you've shortlisted. Don't just spend time with the head honcho - even though s/he will probably have all the right credentials and say the right things, the people who really matter are the day-to-day caretakers who are actually caring for your child. Do the kids smile? Do they seem happy to be there (separation anxiety aside)? Do the caretakers seem to be genuinely enjoying what they do, or is it just another job? Ideally, you'd want the daycare to treat your child(ren) as close as possible to the way you treat them.

Good luck - I know it's really overwhelming!
posted by widdershins at 9:45 AM on November 7, 2005

Go ahead and ask "Have you ever abused a child?"

Of course he/she will say no, but the way it is said and the body language that is used can tell you volumes.
posted by ilsa at 11:15 AM on November 7, 2005

Here are some Boston area resources that might be useful.

Boston central

The Child Care Resource Center

and Warmlines.

I've never used these, but we've used similar places in San Francisco, and they are a good starting place. Word of mouth is also a good resource, as are child care centers at local universities, which often have slots for community members.

For infants, you probably want a relatively smaller setting or a family day care program. When our kids were just starting in child care, we banded together with other families and found a nanny type person, who would provide care for our kid and two others in each of our houses. For this route to succeed, you really need to find a good, warm, RELIABLE person, and write a contract specifying what your expectations are. Sharecare nannies have lives of their own, so be sure to plan out what your backup plans will be if your person is sick or otherwise can't make it on a given day.

If you are considering a center or family day program, the main thing is for you to visit each place and watch the provider to see how they interact with the kids. Don't just go during naptime! If the person does something that makes you feel uncomfortable, note it down and talk to them at another time - you can learn a lot by seeing how they respond to your concerns. If they're dismissive and/or defensive, move on...
posted by jasper411 at 11:44 AM on November 7, 2005

email me.
posted by palegirl at 11:55 AM on November 7, 2005

Interview the parents. You might assume that anyone who's got their kids there must obviously approve of the level of care, but t'ain't so. Sometimes it's the only place that had an opening when they needed it, or the only one that would accept the welfare voucher, or was on the way to work, or open late enough for their crazy swing shift hours...whatever.

Also, even the parents who love their daycare have a wishlist of things they'd like to be different. Ask specific questions about *what and why* someone appreciates about the daycare. Knowing that everyone loves it is reassuring, but their reasons for loving it may not be the things that are your highest priority.

Also spend time just observing. Ask to sit in for a full day, and pay attention to how the adults interact with the kids, what kind of food they serve, what activities they offer, how structured the program is, how they set out limits and deal with disciplinary needs, etc. People range widely in how they approach childcare; ideally you want continuity between the style of care (and set of values) s/he gets from you at home and the people at daycare.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 1:36 PM on November 7, 2005

A mishmash of tips for assessing daycares from my recent experience:

Don't just focus on your immediate needs in the infant room, think ahead and look at their toddler and preschool facilities. Soon enough you'll need them and it's a pain to switch locations. We picked a daycare with a Montessori preschool.

The director may schedule your visit/tour for a quiet time so they are not distracted, but you should visit again around lunchtime to see how they deal with chaos.

Ask how they cope with different naptime needs; some babies like to be rocked, held, bounced to sleep. Are they able to accommodate individual needs? I don't know how our son's caregivers did it, but they always managed this.

Take a look at what toys are available, if they are in good condition. Are infants given tummy time and encouraged individually in their skills development, or do they spend too much time in exersaucers and bouncy chairs?

Do the directors encourage their caregivers to learn and apply new skills? Our daycare brought in people to teach the staff baby sign language, infant exercises & development.

Find out how strict they are about sending/keeping kids home with fever, diarrhea, etc. This is often mandated by the state. Of course stricter is better, but I've found that I prefer a reasonable philosophy about symptoms, for example our son ran a fever from his immunizations and they were OK with him coming in. (Note that there will always be runny noses; you can't do much about colds going around. And don't get me started on ear infections.)

What are the experience levels of the staff. Mostly young folks learning the ropes or a good mix?

What is the visitor policy. Can you drop in anytime, can grandparents drop in? Can mom come in to breastfeed?

If you're a worrier ask about: disaster preparedness, power outages (we had one last week, the kids had FUN), security procedures for entry, employee screening, how often they clean the toys and bleach surfaces.

Assessing a daycare before you become a parent and know your baby's specific needs is daunting; we ultimately trusted our instincts on what felt right for us.
posted by girlhacker at 2:53 AM on November 9, 2005