If you use in home day care...

[rugbywife]

How many people did you interview/look into?  I am starting the process now and I am wondering how many people to meet with before making a decision. 

[Deleted]

One.

I'm a saticficer, not a maximizer. She met all my criteria. We've been there three years.

[badtzmaru22]

Only one in-home. I also looked at a bunch of centers. We are very happy!

[Deleted]

One in home, a couple centers. We had family referrals for the in-home though.

[aspentosh]

We had DD at an in-home before I quit and SAH with her. We looked at three different places, but the third was definitely THE ONE. We kept looking because I didn't feel comfortable with any of the others.

[anna7602]

Only one had a spot when I absolutely needed it and the flexibility I was looking for with my unpredictable schedule.

I don't love it, but the reasons I don't were all apparent to me from the beginning- lack of outdoor space, only 1 nap per day for DS and some initial resistance to BLW (the DCP put everything I sent for lunch through the blender at the beginning before catching on that DS didn't want to be spoon-fed).

ETA: I will say that most of my leg-work was done for me. Other moms in my neighborhood organized a Google spreadsheet of local in-homes and people go in and say what they know about it (ratios, rates, etc.). So I scanned that and only called the ones that seemed to meet the criteria I wanted. 

[lmb5109]

I called about 10 and interviewed with the one I really liked and went with her. Then we she closed, I called about 6, met with 2 and went with the one we really liked.

[hetty]

I did three interviews before finding one I liked. When I found one I was happy with, I stopped looking.

Eta: we called probably 25 people and only the three we interviews had an infant opening when we needed it.

[mrsGreeko]

I called every single one in my area, probably 30-40. I kept a spreadsheet, ha! In any case we met with 2 in homes and one center. We've been with our in home for 8.5 years.

[gibbinator]

One. We liked the first one we found in 2012. When she moved we liked the lady she recommended.

[cincodemayo]

We called like 18. Only 2 called back and had openings, so we visited both and chose the preferred option.

If it had been up to me I would have looked at a few more, but my H felt pressured to nail it down.

[Deleted]

When DD first started daycare, we called around to a ton and looked at 2 in-homes, and went with the second. Honestly, we were really limited at the time of what was available, so we took what was available and what we liked/felt comfortable with.

This time around, I didn't want to go the in-home route at all, but after touring 3 centers (and one that I desperately wanted DD to go to but didn't have the space) and being unhappy with them, I found an in-home that is definitely meeting our needs until she gets into preschool.

[imimahoney]

I visited 4.

[antoniamarchette]

Just 1.  We met with her and I just had a good feeling.  We have been there almost 2 years and love her!

[qcinoct]

meet with as many as you need to feel comfortable.

I think I visited about 6 before placing DS1 in one at 12 months. But, it turned out to be a bad fit and I moved him to a new place after 6 weeks. I think I visited another 6 or so before picking the second place. There were a couple of places that I would have considered but either they didn't have a spot when I needed them, or the place I ultimately chose was more convenient.

We ended up moving to a centre before it was DS2's time to enter care since the in-home provider wasn't going to have full time spots for both the boys. We lucked out that we got DS1 into the centre part-time while I was still on mat leave, so we were able to get him up to full time, and then get Oliver in full time, within a month of me being back to work.

I feel like it's much harder here to find an in-home provider since most of them aren't licensed in ON. The second one that we used (that I loved) was a rECE and she had interns (typically college students) as supply staff so she never had to cancel for illness/appointments and she had extra sets of hands for the afternoons. Even though she wasn't licensed, she kept to the provincial regulations w/r/t #s, ages, etc.

[dottyblue]

We used an in-home the first two years for DS. I was a crazy FTM and visited 6 licensed in-homes before going with the one my gut told me was right on day one.

Stick with your gut.

[simpsongal]

We interviewed 2 when we changed providers a few weeks ago.

[irishbride2]

1, but she's the only one I would have gone with anyway. She's a family friend. If it hadn't worked out I personally would have gone with either a center or a nanny. So I didn't look beyond her once I loved her set up and found out she had room.

[Deleted]

Jun 22, 2015 13:32:12 GMT -5 wavepool said:

Jun 22, 2015 12:47:20 GMT -5 @tokenhoser said:

One.

I'm a saticficer, not a maximizer. She met all my criteria. We've been there three years.

Same. Except I don't know what a saticficer is.

www.wsj.com/articles/how-you-make-decisions-says-a-lot-about-how-happy-you-are-1412614997

It means good enough is good enough. 

[mandapanda18]

Jun 22, 2015 12:46:24 GMT -5 rugbywife said:

How many people did you interview/look into?  I am starting the process now and I am wondering how many people to meet with before making a decision. 

3 in-homes, 2 centers.

We knew right away when we found the right one, C was just so at ease with the provider. She does not speak english well (he is in a full-immersion/spanish speaking home) so I was nervous but relieved when I saw him settle down right away with her. We met her first and toured the place, then went back a second time with C, he was asleep when we arrived and woke up scared in his car seat in a strange new place, she asked if she could get him out and we just watched in amazement as this complete stranger instantly connected with our kid. He has been with her ever since (started at 9 weeks old, he will be 2 next week)/

[Deleted]

I met with 3 the first time and 3 the second time. The last time, I met with only 1 and decided to look at centers. I guess I had run out of good luck as that woman I interviewed couldn't be trusted to watch a pencil let alone something living. Trust your gut.

[dana2006]

I called probably 15 and visited 6. H and I liked the first lady we visited, but I didn't like her house. We were really wowed by the 3rd place, but she didn't have an immediate opening, which was what we were hoping for. We kept looking, but nowhere else came close. So we went back to the 3rd place and put down a deposit for an opening for 3 months away. In the meantime we have to adjust our schedules and limp along.

[mae141]

I went to a bunch of centers and was just meh about them. Then my friend told me about the in-home her grandkids went to, and as soon as I walked in the door I knew that's where I wanted DD to be. We've been there for over a year now.

[everafter07]

We met with one, and were really happy with her. I called a couple of parents of kids that go there and they raved about her. I'd definitely ask for a couple of current kids' parent contact info and talk to them.

[krystee]

Just one. We had planned to use a center, but a friend of a friend recommended this particular in-home daycare. When I called her, I realized I knew the family because the daughter went to school with my brother and I had always liked them.

[blueberry10]

I chose the fourth one I visited - she was head-and-shoulders above the others so I ended the search after that interview.

[meltoine]

Two. We get a list from an office on base of their certified providers. They offer 20 free hours of care when you move. When we moved here we took DS1 to one place the first day and it was fine but not outstanding. We took him to a different place the second day and she was so amazing we signed him up for two mornings/week.

[lolo]

I toured a few daycare centers when DD was still very young, then we toured one center when I was looking for an MDO program when DD was 13m, and we recently visited two in homes to try to find a good option for her now (2y).

Typically I can disqualify right away, and then if everything seems right, it still takes a bit of time once DD is actually enrolled for me to relax and fully trust the new place.