In home daycare questions?

[mcfelix]

I'm visiting my first in home daycare this evening. I've only visited centers before so is there anything I should be sure to ask/look for when I visit? This would be for about 7 months for our infant daughter until a spot is available at my son's school. I was referred to this in home place by a woman on my local moms board who has two kids there, which certainly gives me a comfort level higher than some place I might have found on my own.

Thanks for any tips!

[rugbywife]

FOLLOWING!!!!

[Deleted]

First up: trust your gut. People send their kids places you wouldn't like. If this isn't for you, that's ok.

Ask about the general schedule to the day, how much time they spend outside, if/when TV is on, how many kids she keeps and what ages they are.

[countthestars]

I would ask about pets, where the baby will sleep, whether they walk/drive to places and what that procedure is

[jeaniebueller]

Ditto the others. Ask about what you have to provide as far as food, etc., ask if you can leave a change of clothes or other items, sleeping arrangements, how they separate the little kids from the big kids. Ask about her sick day policy (if the DCP is sick or takes vacation days). Ask if they work on any educational activities, if she reads to them, etc.

[chicago]

Hours and policies if you're running late
Daily schedule (if there is one)
Ask to see where kids sleep
Policies if dcp is sick
Does dcp have help? Maximum number of kids
What do you provide? What does dcp provide?

[Deleted]

Whatever is generally important to you (food, outside time, TV, backup childcare policies, holiday/emergency scheduling, sick policy, trip procedures, etc). More than anything, it's important that you trust this person.

[jenn248]

In addition to sick day policy, I'd also ask her snow day policy (e.g., does she follow the county, school district, etc).

I would also ask about frequent visitors to the house. Anyone that lives there likely needs a background check, but our in-home provider had random family members stay with them on a regular basis. It didn't bother me much at the time, but in retrospect, I had no idea who these people were or how much time they were or weren't spending around my kid.

And ditto the rec to trust your gut. We visited one in-home that was in a beautiful house in a nice neighborhood, but just got a weird vibe from it (everything was a little too perfect and the kids were just sitting there quietly, waiting to be picked up, rather than playing).

[lolo]

With in homes, I also ask about guns in the house.

[anna7602]

Is it creepy of me that I went to visit around pick up time and casually walked out with other parents and chatted them up about their experience there? Because that's what I did (although that wasn't my original intention, coming at the end of the day was just what worked best for the DCP's and my schedule).

[Deleted]

Aug 13, 2015 12:15:15 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

Is it creepy of me that I went to visit around pick up time and casually walked out with other parents and chatted them up about their experience there? Because that's what I did (although that wasn't my original intention, coming at the end of the day was just what worked best for the DCP's and my schedule).

Nah, sounds smart.

My brother is a cable installer, and totally picked their dayhome based on his work visit to the house. 

[mcfelix]

Thanks everyone! This is incredibly helpful.

[VillainV]

What happens when the provider is sick? Or if their kids are sick? Is there a backup?

Are there guns in the house? How are they stored?

Who else loves in the house and will they come in contact with the kids?

What are their policies on screen time?

What ages are the other kids in their care?

[patbutcher]

TV?
food - homemade? sample menu?
do they do any activites like playdates with other in homes/library storytime etc
do they drive the kids?
who else lives in the house? Have they got a police check?
How do they contain the kids when they are carrying/putting them upstairs for naptime?
where do they nap?
Do they do cio?
Will they give daily updates on pick up or text photos during the day?

[patbutcher]

Aug 13, 2015 14:46:47 GMT -5 VillainV said:

What happens when the provider is sick? Or if their kids are sick? Is there a backup?

Are there guns in the house? How are they stored?

Who else loves in the house and will they come in contact with the kids?

What are their policies on screen time?

What ages are the other kids in their care?

 I would never have even thought to ask this. I guess it is different in Canada but this makes me sad. 

[cayl]

My kids went to an in-home daycare and we absolutely loved it. I would try to get a good idea of what a day will look like for your baby. For example, our daycare had the main DCP, her husband, and her mom all certified, and she and her mom ran it day to day (with her mom only being there for ~6 hours, depending on when kids were coming and going). She has 3 kids, the youngest of which is 13, and her kids all loved the daycare kids and spent a lot of time with them after school and on breaks, and the youngest child had friends over on occasion and my kids would talk about playing with them. The focus here was more on making it a family type atmosphere than on learning, which was fine with me when they were younger (and now at 3.5 they're going to preschool).

I agree with everyone who said to trust your gut. When looking at preschools I looked a lot more at what they would be doing, how much feedback we would be getting on their activities and progress, etc. With the daycare it was very much about a gut feeling and feeling comfortable that my kids would be well cared for and loved while we were at work.

ETA - Sick days and the hours she was open was a real pain in the ass.  She didn't get sick often, but her daughter competes competitively for cheer, so she would have occasional trips and would have to close (since her mom couldn't run it alone based on numbers).  And she had a strict closing time of 5pm.

[MamaMaui24]

What can you leave there vs. what you take everyday. In home seems to be more flexible about this.