All working moms and dads who need someone to look after their toddlers and young children during their working hours understand how important their daycare choice is.
Moreover, even if you’re a stay-at-home parent who has a marvelous opportunity to look after his really young kid(s) on his own, you know that it’s quite useful for your child and his development to communicate with other kids of similar age.
Children need to develop their social skills, overcome social awkwardness, learn various new things and participate in different group activities.
Even a couple of daycare hours 3 days per week will do the job.
And, parents may use those ‘child free’ hours to take care of their business (like run errands, concentrate on house chores and get them done without a screaming child begging for your attention, have a little bit of ‘me time’ or even do some work-from-home related stuff).
Another significant bonus that makes daycares so attractive is that they cost parents way less than nanny’s services.
What I’m trying to say is that both kids and their parents benefit from the fact that little ones attend daycare.
But, you need to find the center that creates suitable environment your child feels comfortable in and meets a couple of other criteria which make it a decent daycare.
So, here’re a couple of tips and things to look out for while finding a perfect daycare place for your little one.
Things to check to find a good daycare
1. Conducting local daycare research
Compile a list of local daycare facilities you might potentially like.
To do that, ask your friends and family members if their kids attend daycare in your local area and if they’re satisfied with the service.
Go to HireRush.com to post a daycare request or find and contact certain daycares to find out as much details about those facilities and number of services they provide as possible.
Check online reviews and ratings as well.
2. Checking centers’ license and accreditation
After that deep research, try to narrow down your daycare list to 2-3 facilities.
Asking the daycare workers to give you the proof that their center has obtained the license that allows them to work with children of certain ages and ensures that the center’s conditions are adapted to their presence is one of the first things you need to do after your arrival to the daycare facility.
Don’t forget to check if the centers of your choice meet the state’s licensing requirement when it comes to their operation. Stick to those that have gone through the state accreditation programs and have current health and safety licenses.
And, it won’t hurt if you call the Department of social services of your town to confirm those licenses and permits.
Visit Childcareta.acf.hhs.gov to learn more about those requirements.
3. Daycare’s stuff and its professionalism
The wisest thing to do is to visit chosen centers during their working hours without any preliminary notifications. You’ll be able to see how the members of their stuff take care of children.
Pay attention to the way teachers interact with kids. Observe their child care approach, as well as how they deal with kids’ meltdowns and misbehavior, what they do during the day, etc. on practice.
Check if the facility’s teachers are certified professionals that have child care education, as well as the first aid course’s certificate. Their working experience, additional credentials and positive referrals add to their competence as well.
Naturally, your child has to receive necessary amount of attention from the daycare workers. That’s why the group your child will potentially attend shouldn’t be overcrowded.
The ideal situation is when 1 worker takes care of not more than 3 kids under 12 month old or not more than 4 kids under 30 months old.
Smaller age-formed groups (8-12 kids) are proven to be the most comfortable for children to stay in.
4. Daycare’s conditions
Examine daycare’s buildings, playgrounds and gardens to make sure that you like the way everything is organized for little children. It’s important for all the buildings, rooms and outdoor areas children might get access to be safe for them.
The level of tidiness and comfort will influence your decision significantly.
Pay attention to windows, staircases, protection on radiators, electricity sockets, baby gates, smoke detectors, availability of first aid kits, the state of furniture, toys, books, etc. Inspect beds kids take naps in (fresh bedding is a must-have).
The safety of outdoor playground sets, as well as stranger security must meet general standards as well.
5. High quality food and sanitary conditions
Child food menu and schedule is something you need to discuss as well.
Find out whether you’re supposed to provide your child with lunch or the daycare center will feed your child with the food they prepare ‘on spot’.
The last option might sound really convenient.However, in that case you need to check if the circumstances that food is cooked in meet sanitary and health standards.
It goes without saying that the food they’ll give your child should be healthy and consist of good quality ingredients.
6. Educational programs and schedule
Reliable daycare centers your child may really benefit from should have special educational and entertaining programs for children of different age groups.
Those should include wide range of activities, preferably those that are minimally related to TV and other technology.
Talk to one of the teachers that work with children of your little one’s age to learn about those programs in detail. If you have a chance, talk to parents of those kids, who already attend that daycare. Their honest opinion is priceless.
Strict and balanced out schedule, as well as flexible hours (the time you might drop your child off at the center and the time you may come to pic him/her up) is important as well.
You need to know that your child stays within a decent and stable routine. And, of course, you need to find the place that’s ready to take care of your child when you need it the most.
Lastly, you just need to step aside and watch if other kids are generally happy while staying in that particular daycare. As you definitely don’t want to turn it into a horrible experience for your little one.
I think one of the hardest decisions a mom ever has to make, is choosing childcare for her children. I’m currently looking for some after-school program or daycare to send my daughter to. I think checking a daycare’s conditions is an absolute must. Otherwise, how can you know that your child is in good hands?
If you do want to find the best daycare around, you can start doing your research. You can check online reviews, ask around for references, and check out the facility in person. That way, you can get an idea of what the place is like. Then you can make a better and more educated decision.
I appreciate this information about how to choose a successful daycare business. It is good to know that high quality food and sanitary conditions are two important things to consider. It would be best to leave a child in a healthy environment. Something else to consider would be to select a service that is conveniently located to lessen your commute and save you time.
I really love your advice to make sure the facility is clean and safe. I think that we often underestimate the importance of having a clean day care that your children will go to. However, you really want your kids to not have health concerns. Their environment can really make an impact on whether or not they will be healthy. Do you have any other tips about finding a good daycare?
I would like to have a day care for my kids. I want to make sure that I have enough time. It would be nice to have a daycare that can hold my kids while me and my wife go to school and work.
Great article. It is so important for a parent to choose a good and safe daycare for their children. Thanks for sharing this useful information.
I like your tip to talk to the parents of the other kids to learn more. I think it’s also a good idea to consider the rules of the daycare. I wouldn’t want my kid going anywhere with too many or too little rules.
With my kids getting a little older, I am considering going back to work. I am wanting to enroll them in a daycare but I am not for sure how to determine whether or not that the center I choose is a good fit for me and my kids. The suggestion about visiting different chosen centers, and see how their staff approach child care, especially what they do daily and if a child has meltdown. It will really help with giving me a sense of relief knowing what my kids are doing and that the staff is taking real good care of my children. Thanks for all the useful information about what to look for in a great daycare! I will definitely take all of these things into consideration!
You have some fantastic tips for finding a good daycare. My kids need a place to stay while my wife starts going back to work, so this is great. We’ll sit down tonight and make a list of potential child care sites in our area!
That sounds great that a good daycare should have a lot of activities. My daughter is old enough to go to daycare, and I want to be sure that she learns things and actually plays with other children. I’ll have to be on the lookout for a good child care program.
My niece has allergies to peanuts. In addition to making sure the food is healthy like you mentioned, I think it’s important for parents to make sure that if their child has allergies, there is an alternative option for food or a warning ahead of time so that you can pack a lunch. I don’t expect everyone else to cater to my niece’s needs, but I’d at least like to know when I need to pack a lunch so that she can still eat.
That’s a really great point to make sure the facility meets the licensing and accreditation requirements. I work during the days so finding the right schedule for a daycare is essential. I’ll make sure to check accreditations before making a decision.
It is so true that parents just need a break sometimes! My wife can only handle our son for so long before she goes crazy. Like you say, even a few days a week would do the trick. Thanks for the article, very helpful!
I like what you say about visiting some daycare’s first. It’s certainly good to make sure they know what your needs are and can accommodate them. We’re looking for a new child care center for our little one, so we’ll make sure we sit down with some before we decide where’s he going.
These are some really great tips to read through! It’s just so hard to know how your child will be treated on a day-to-day basis. You could find a seemingly perfect childcare center but they could end up being the school from Matilda! Luckily, I found a great place for my small human and I hope others can find their perfect daycare from reading this post as well! https://www.hirerush.com/blog/how-to-choose-a-daycare/
Thank you!
I do like that you suggested visiting the daycare center that you’re interested in during working hours so you can see how their staff members interact with the children under their care. My husband and I are looking to enroll our daughter in a daycare center. We want to have peace of mind that she’ll be treated with compassion and utmost care when we’re away so she can enjoy learning even without us. Thanks for sharing this.
I found it helpful when you said that visiting daycare centers during working hours can help you to determine how their staff members take care of the children that are under their care. My husband and I wanted to find a child development center for our son. What we wanted is to have peace of mind that he’ll be treated right when we’re at work to ensure that he’ll see learning as a fun experience. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you for your feedback! Hope, you find the right place for your kiddo!