Daycare Questions

Where do you begin? Is it super expensive? Those that have done it are you happy with it? I'm sure these are questions that always get asked but I have no idea. We're trying to see if its worth it. I live in queens but work on li any reccomendations/suggestions?

Re: Daycare Questions

Best thing to do is go to a # of daycares in the area and see what you like and don't like
this way you can start narrowing it down
When DS was only about 3.5 months old I put him in daycare 5 mins from my office. I liked the idea I could go there at lunch if needed or get there fast.
Now he's 21 months. We moved and live in NJ now and he's closer to my home. Now we're near my parents and where DH usually works so anyone can pick him up
See what the daycare prices are when you go. First just get a list in the area you want to put LO, make calls and appts.
The sooner the better b/c they book up fast for the infant rooms
Good luck!

Re: Daycare Questions

Thank you for your help, I appreciate it, its such a tough decision to make, day care or not, MIL or not I just want to see my options I guess

Re: Daycare Questions

I had a pretty good idea in my head of where I wanted to go, even though I know it is a little $$, but a co-worker uses them and absolutely raves about them. I brought DH with me to go look at them and we both were very very happy there. I did encourage DH to research out more places though (especially because I figured I wouldn't be as objective as he would be). He looked at a few different places, but we ended up going with the original.

The pros for us that made the decision (even though it was between 20 - 50 more a week than the other places) were:

Location: It is across the street from DH's job, a few blocks from MIL, and about 30 mins from my parents.
Hours: They have pick-up until 7pm, which is great in case I get caught in traffic or stuck at work late some time.
Educational: They have a curriculum for every age level which I thought was great because he will be learning through the day, and makes me feel better about leaving him all day long
Health & Safety: You have to have a code to get through the door otherwise you can't make it in until they let you in. You have to wear booties to enter any room where kids will be crawling around.
Comfort: Overall we were just so comfortable with all the staff that we met. And the director knew every child as well as each kid's personality - like who were good nappers, who was having a bad day that day, etc.

OK, that came out really long, but I hope it helps!

Re: Daycare Questions

No that was incredibly helpful, I work in huntington so I want to start there of course. We're still on the deciding track with everything. I'm going to start looking into the ones out on the island and see where that takes us. Thank you for the help! I will be looking into all of those charicteristics! I'm glad I have an idea what to look for!

Re: Daycare Questions

We live in Suffolk, but we're going with a place right by DH's job (we both work in Nassau). This way if there is a problem or emergency we can get there quick. Also rather than being with strangers for the extra 3 hours a day (of our commutes), both Mommy and Daddy get a commute with him...it stinks because we are in the car the whole time, but we'll at least be with

Re: Daycare Questions

i have gotten prices from 925-1450... it depends on the place, if is a chain, is it a center or a home based, etc...

Re: Daycare Questions