What to look for in a daycare for an infant?

Answer 1

When i took my daughter to find her first daycare i looked for the following,,,
1. Clean and safe environment--- no trash dogs or untidy appearence
2. that they had a licence and checked it out by calling DSS certified
3. Kids her age were there
4. They had rules
5. Ask what they do for meals... make sure its healthy
Another tip: after enrollment stop in for a surprise visit... always helps to catch providers off guardjust in case... Good luck

Answer 2

I think smaller in-home day care can be better for infants. They don't need the bigger social environment of a daycare facility. Along with the obvious - licensed (you can call to see if there have been any complaints), clean, friendly, there are a couple things I wish I'd thought about:

Is there an outside play area? In the beginning our caregiver took the group to the park for fresh air, but found it too hard and they were inside most days. She also started relying way too much on videos.

Is there backup for the caregiver? If our caregiver was sick (or her daughter was) there was no back up. I had to miss work when I was sick, when my son was sick AND when she or her daughter were sick. Some in-home daycares have two or more caregivers plus part-time help that can fill in during illness.

Answer 3

as well to getting a listing of previous and up to date references, you'll favor to ask the caregiver about her childrearing philosophy and journey, ask: what's a accepted day like: Is there indoor and outside play time, tale time, nap time--on the caregiver's agenda or the youngster's? Does she grant snacks and lunch or do you want to? what type of foodstuff does she grant? Does she ever take the toddlers outdoors the residing house and backyard for any reason? Does the caregiver have a backup to take care of the toddlers even as she's ill or on vacation? who's it? Will the service inform you what your toddler does each day? Is there an open-door coverage for oldsters? If not, look elsewhere. what's the ailment coverage? Can a toddler with a runny nostril or ear an infection be delivered to the middle. Does the daycare service have an emergency plan? How does she discipline a toddler in the journey that they throw a toy or hit yet another toddler? What ought to she do if a toddler cried for far of the time? be confident to talk hours and fees, which include previous due %.-up costs, diapering costs, or the different costs. also ask for references and a vacation agenda. you'll hit upon a good daycare service, yet when she takes a 4-week vacation in August and your corporation organisation provides you in elementary words 2 weeks off, you've were given to cover those last 2 weeks one way or the different. make confident they're approved with the state and examine with the state to ensure if there are any negatives on their comments.

Answer 4

I've worked in many daycares...so this is from the other side of the fence...

1.) Ask to speak to some of the staff, not just the head of the department.

Working at one place, I quickly discovered that one woman didn't speak ANY English (she spoke Russian I think)...I'm not even sure how she got hired. She got FIRED however for;
a.) heating up the childrens juice bottles (nothing like a slightly fermented juice to put a kid to sleep)

and

b.) for washing an infant girls face with Clorox bleach wipes...she was unaware that they were "that different" from the baby wipes, AND while she never used them on the childrens genitalia, would often use them on their faces and hands (according to her translator). We also had a staff member who, while great with the kids when they were happy were not so composed when they started crying. She didn't shake them or anything, she just got really flustered and couldn't figure out what to do...very often it was something simple like, changing a wet diaper.

2. Check out their cleaning routines.

Ask how often they clean the toys, cribs, highchairs and changing tables. You'd be surprised how seldom it's actually done. A young lady and I would voluntarily come in an hour and a half early at one job to do these things, because it was not on the cleaning schedule and as such was never done. The incidence of children being sick mysteriously decreased dramatically once we started.

3.) Check their feeding routines.

Make sure that they've got what food belongs to what child clearly labled in the fridge and pantry. Casually drop by during lunchtime and see how the staff interact with fifteen hungry infants and toddlers...keep in mind that it will be chaotic with kids flinging food and staff dodging cut up bits of hot dog, but it should still be a very fun atmosphere, with staff assisting children who need help, while still interacting with children who don't.

Most importantly...

4.) Trust your gut.

If you walk into a place and don't feel right leave. If you're talking to a staff member, or even the head of the facility and you just feel...wrong...LEAVE. If you walk in and all of the staff are sitting around reading or talking and all the children are confined in playpens watching tv LEAVE. If you see dirt anywhere, LEAVE. Your gut instinct is going to be one of the better judges for you and your child.

Please, please, PLEASE do not be afraid to ask questions and call attention to the things you find wrong or odd. Guage the reactions of the people you're speaking to. If they seem unconcerned or seem like they're faking concern or embarrassment than get out of there! Good luck with your little one, and congratulations!

Answer 5

A daycare that is licensed and registered. Also go visit without calling. See how they interact with the kids. I looked at one and the staff was sitting in chairs while the kids sat on the floor with no toys!!!! I understand time to crawl but that was unnecessary. make sure there is an adequate amount of staff to children ratios. some daycares put too many kids in one room. I went to one that had like 5 staff but 16 0-6 months in one room is too much. Also be understanding. Your child will not get one on one care all day. Be aware children carry germs. TALK TO OTHER PARENTS

Answer 6

Some of your criteria will vary depending on if you are looking at a daycare center or if the daycare is in a person's home. Adequate caregiver to baby ratio is important in both settings. I am a licensed home daycare provider and I am allowed to have up to 2 infants in my care at any one time. Infants are considered any baby under the age of 18 months. You will want to see where the baby will sleep. Is there adequate ventilation? In a center, do they provide cribs, in a home, do you have to bring a portable crib? If it is a daycare center, are the caregivers interacting with the babies in the baby room? Or, are the babies in swings, laying alone on the floor, or sitting in baby seats with the care giving staff doing other things? See where the babies are changed. Are adequate diaper changing procedures in place? In a daycare home how many other children are also in care? Are babies fed or put to sleep on demand or are all the babies fed and napping at the same time? You should look for a place that you feel comfortable in with care givers who genuinely love taking care of babies. Ask about diapers, do you provide them or does the daycare? How is formula handled - will you need to bring pre-made bottles or can you provide powdered and they will mix. If you want to bring expressed breast milk do they have experience in proper handling? Do they have a handbook for parents containing what is expected of you and what you can expect from them? Are parents welcomed in to the home or center at any time? Is the enviornment clean, bright, and are there adequate toys and equipment? Finding a place that you trust for your baby can be daunting task. It can take many phone calls and many visits to homes and centers before you find the right one that meets the needs of you and your baby. Look in the yellow pages of your phone book under the heading of Child Care Referral Services. You may have several agencies who will be able to help you find a daycare that is right for your needs.

Answer 7

Will the older kids have access to the baby? How closely is this monitored? What is the general appearance of staff? Is the nursery reasonably clean? Are the other kids looking happy? Don't be afraid to talk to other parents. Would staff be willing to stick as much to baby's routine as possible?What type of activities do they do? Would they often take baby out for some fresh air?

Hope you are going to find a good place. Don't be satisfied with second best, but remember babies quickly get used to it. Good luck to you though. It broke my heart at first leaving little one, but he is very settled and happy in nursery!

Answer 8

Low staff-to-child ratio. In the state of NJ I think it is 4-1 meaning that each teacher alone is only allowed to watch 4 children. Also, signs of good care include: clean diaper at pick-up, lots of interaction between child and care giver, little injury to your child (meaning that they are being adequately supervised), creativity in the curriculum, and being able to come in at any time as a parent to observe (be wary if you have to make an appointment, that means they are hiding something). Good luck.

Answer 9

-is the day care licensed/insured
-do all staff members know CPR and/or are they fully licensed and trained in child care
-cleanliness and hygiene of staff
-cleanliness and hygiene of the facility
-are the toys and activities age appropriate
-are the infants separte from older children and toddlers
-do the hours of the day care meet your needs
-safety-what type of emergency action plan does the day care have?
-do the other children seem to be well cared for? ASK other parents their opinions and likes/dislikes of the day care.

Answer 10

Cleanliness of the establishment. What type of meals they serve. Reputation (word of mouth or testimonials) I have included a link to a document called Day Care Questions http://ca.geocities.com/__geri/DayCareQuestions.doc