Questions to Ask at Daycare (f/u from tour)

[niq]

Go. (or send me a link to a good list, I think there's one on The Other Site?)

[InBetweenDays]

How long has it been in business?
What sort of turnover do they have?
What are the staff credentials and training?
Have they had any complaints or reportings about teachers? (I think they have to divulge that if asked)
What are your hours?
Are you limited to a certain # of hours per day? (some centers are open for 12 hours, but the max you can have them there is less than that)
Are you closed for holidays?
Is there a fee if you are late picking you child up?
Do they provide food for the older kids (most likely not in the infant room)? If so, what is a typical meal?
Do they do field trips?
How do they decide when to move kids up to the next room?
What sort of communication do they have with the parents? Regular written reports? Parent/teacher meetings?
Do you have set curriculum?
What will my child be doing on a daily basis?
When/where would your child sleep?
Do they follow a schedule? Or follow your child's schedule?
What is the policy if they are closed for emergency reasons (snow closures, etc.)? Do you still have to pay (most places you do, but we can take two week "vacations" at a prorated rate)
How do you let families know if they have to close?
What security measures are in place?
What are the emergency protocols?

[niq]

Apr 9, 2013 13:01:54 GMT -5 spunbutterfly said:

Oh, also you mentioned your wife works at UW?

UW has a back up care deal with Bright Horizon (I think). You might want to look into whether you guys qualify for that benefit 'in case of emergency' type care situation deal.

Yup we have backup care there and sick care at VM.

Even on a tablet, I blame all wrong words in Swype

[niq]

Thanks everyone for all the help! You guys were right, they covered almost everything on these Q&As without me asking. There were a couple but overall the manager was really thorough .

The manager was this nice lady who was really old. She has very little administrative staff ... just her and one assistant director-type person who I think pinch-hits with the toddlers. They're a lot cheaper than some of the other downtown DCPs but it still looked like a nice facility.

The only downsides were
* No nurse (but staff trained in CPR & First Aid)
* They don't take many pictures of kids and definitely don't post or send them.
* No waitlist fee so I'm sure it's a million kids long .
* Fewer administrative staff probably means less responsiveness when dealing with parents
* Super crunchy granola discipline ... they give the kid a peace flower and put you in timeout where you think about things and then apologize. Does this actually work with a 3-yearold?!?

But IDK if any of those should be dealbreakers. They split kids by 6-month groups until age 2.5, when everyone gets put in the montessori preschool that goes from 2.5 to 5. I was really excited about that. And hey, cheaper without really feeling cut-rate!

[jennlin]

Apr 10, 2013 13:19:01 GMT -5 niq said:

The manager was this nice lady who was really old. She has very little administrative staff ... just her and one assistant director-type person who I think pinch-hits with the toddlers. They're a lot cheaper than some of the other downtown DCPs but it still looked like a nice facility.

you should mention this is a baseball term. it took me a few minutes of staring to realize that she wasn't abusing children.

[niq]

Apr 10, 2013 13:29:16 GMT -5 jennlin said:

Apr 10, 2013 13:19:01 GMT -5 niq said:

The manager was this nice lady who was really old. She has very little administrative staff ... just her and one assistant director-type person who I think pinch-hits with the toddlers. They're a lot cheaper than some of the other downtown DCPs but it still looked like a nice facility.

you should mention this is a baseball term. it took me a few minutes of staring to realize that she wasn't abusing children.

oops! sorry