Tell me what to look for in a daycare

So I've been out of work for 6 months and just got a job. My son is 20 months and will be going to daycare for the first time. I have appointments at a few places this week.

Tell me what to look for or what are questions I should be asking that may not be obvious! I'm a nervous wreck over this!

Re: Tell me what to look for in a daycare

First off use this site to see if they've had any recent or really bad violations

http://it.ocfs.ny.gov/ccfs_facilitysearch/

When I was looking I looked for specific things for my needs and my own sanity. I also worked for years at a daycare when I was in college

teacher/kid ratio for the age
nap schedule
do they provide food or you
what holidays do they close
cleanliness
curriculum
when I was there I looked for the following-
make sure the manager or owner gives you the tour. Once the manager sent me with the teacher and it bothered me the entire time she spoke to me and took her eyes off the babies. No other assistant was there
is it clean?
do they have carpet or tile. I prefer tile. Much cleaner and make sure it's cleaned each night along with a lot of the toys (that's mostly in the infant room)
wear gloves for changing diapers
do they send home a sheet of your child's day (including diaper changes, what they ate and anything extra)
how do they handle a sick child
for 20 months they sleep on mats. Ask about what you need to bring for it and you should take it home every Friday
policy on television if the kids watch how often (usually it's early or when they just get up from a nap and just educational cartoons if any)
certified
check to see if pple get buzzed in and what the policy is if another person picks up your LO
deposit amount and nonrefundable?
make sure plugs are covered, corners are covered, room is clean, cleaning products are locked away if not being used and look at the children along with how the teachers are with them
do they eat lunch in the room or separate lunch area
birthday or holiday policies of bringing things in
anything you should not bring in
potty training and if they also work with your LO when it's time
accident policy


That's all I can think of for now. LOL! Good luck! I went to about 5 before choosing one when I was 20 weeks pregnant with my first DS.

Re: Tell me what to look for in a daycare

In addition, who is CPR and first aid certified?
Are they mat (medication administration) certified?
How do they handle discipline? Bigger issues like biting?
Age range within each room.

A big part of it is overall "feel"

Tell me what to look for in a daycare

I never had to ask many questions because IMO a good daycare should tell you all of the above without asking.

Also if they are certified so much is regulated by the state do if they didn't do most of the above it would be a violation.

I went on feel at the end of it all and I'm glad I did. They are an extended family for my ds.

Re: Tell me what to look for in a daycare

Tell me what to look for in a daycare

Thanks ladies. The last appointments are today and I have to make a decision.

I live in pa, and here the have something called keystone stars which rates the daycare centers. 3 of the centers I looked at had 3 stars out of 4, it's based on the education level of the teachers and what additional training they do every year. But they all have a long list of violations- every single one does even the highest raked daycare with a giant waiting list. Most are silly, like a missing garbage can lid, but there are a lot of missing paperwork ones- ceritications, kid health assessments wtc. I work in healthcare and I knew state inspections are occasionally ridiculous, but it still makes me nervous.

Also is it normal for daycares to be closed for every random holiday? I work in a hospital, it never closes and it's going to be really annoying to figure out backup child care for a week in August, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, teacher inservice days, etc.

Re: Tell me what to look for in a daycare

Re: Tell me what to look for in a daycare

Mine doesn't close for every holiday. They closed early for NYE and Christmas eve but for presidents day and holidays like that they were open. Also with the passed storm they opened with a delay even though the district was closed. So thankful for that because I work in healthcare as a nurse and I gotta make it in too. I spent two days shoveling and working... no time for sleep. So I was greatful that DD was able to make it in and I could get some rest!

As for violations, I agree, you aren't going to find a place without them. Some places around me were actually shut down because of major violations.

When you see the center, I think you get a pretty good idea of how they run and the cleanliness and its safety.