ADVICE RATING |
 4.65 (Highly recommend) from 11 votes (327 Visits) |
My biggest worry when i had to return to work full time was whether or not my boy would 1. Enjoy daycare and 2. Grow. I've found the best daycare (i think) that suits my & my partners needs and most importantly, our sons needs & requirements. These are some
of the things i learnt when i started looking for one.
1. Area- Do you want your daycare near your home or near your work? Both have pro's & cons about them- near your home allows you time to drive to and from work without baby in the car allowing you time to think of your day ahead without any distractions in the back, and to wind down just a little bit before you pick them up. Near your work may allow you a little more leeway in getting there & back (time wise) and may also allow you (if you want) to see your child(s) during your lunch break (daycare permitting of course).
2. Getting to know you time-the one thing that really cemented our choice of daycare is that they ask you to bring you child(s) in at least the week before you put them in there to allow them to get to know the staff,centre etc. This is a service they provide free of cost to the parents. The first day they ask you to stay with them so your kids feel safe with you there and you can interact with them, then the next couple of days they ask you to leave them there for half an hour. This gets them used to the idea that you won't be staying there with them all the time.
3. Needs & requirements-Our daycare has its own kitchen and all food is prepared just before they serve. All our food is checked thoroughly for nuts etc (anaphalaxis) and is very nutritious. They also supply all nappies for use during the day (we just have one in the nappy bag for coming home in), and parents must supply their own formula. All rooms have a list of activities that is changed monthly, and each child is assigned with a number, which they write alongside the activities, so you can monitor what your children do during the day, what they excel at, what may need improving (this is based on sharing, interaction etc, not school based lessons!) and everyday you get a run down of what they've been up to that day-whether they were good or not, whether they ate, slept etc. We always know exactly what our boy is up to!
4. Facilities-our daycare is separated into different age groups for most things-drop off in the morning everyone is in the main room, but during the day, the babies are in their room, with the toddlers and older children in theirs-although the kids are allowed to roam freely between each room. All outside play areas are separated and completely shaded, thus allowing the older children to run around without having to worry about them bowling over little kids along the way. There are plenty of things to play with, on, climb on etc and more than enough toys etc to go around.
5. Your feelings-a daycare you may look at might have these things, but if there is something you don't like about it (off putting, gut instinct) don't use it. It might be close, or look nice, but you can't leave your children in a place where you aren't totally happy with everything. You won't be working to your full abililty as you'll be worrying about your kids, and children can sense when you aren't totally comfortable with something, and this can rub off on them, and they won't want to go.
Hope it gives you some ideas! (i looked at 5 daycares before we found ours)
(August 2006) (
