Choosing a Daycare

Everyone knows that they want a safe daycare for their children. They want teachers who have passed backgrounds checks and health checks. But, there is more to choosing a quality daycare then this.

I always thought that I wanted to be a preschool teacher. I loved working with children and quickly decided to pursue child care at college. I observed at the daycare training center on campus and loved it. I would've sent my children there in a heartbeat. The center was bright, friendly, and innovative. Then, I got a job at a daycare center. I quickly changed my major knowing that I didn't want to do child care my whole life. When I was finishing up my graduate degree and looking for a job I landed in another daycare center. It appeared to be small, friendly, and clean. The director presented herself as very active in the daycare and they said that they had low turnover. They said they were hiring because of expansion. They were family owned and operated and seemed to love the children. It turns out that a lot of that was inaccurate and 6 months later I found myself looking for another job. But, I did leave with a better idea of what to look for in a quality daycare.

Observe the room for a day and check out the ones your child will be advancing to. In theory many schools want to follow positive discipline strategies. They may even have them in their policy book, but in practice they may be following something different. At the last place I worked at the parent policy book said that we didn't do time-outs, but I was quickly taught to use them. Also, stay for naptime and see how children are put to sleep. Is there soft music playing? Are the teachers helping the children sleep? How is the atmosphere? Also, are the kids engaged in activities? Do the teachers get down to the children's level and play with them? Is the ratio maintained at all times?

Ask specific discipline questions. What do they do when a toddler is biting? What do they do when a preschooler is biting? These should be different answers. Remember though that they may tell you what they know you want to hear and that is another advantage of visiting the classroom.