questions for parents who have had there children in daycare.......?

Question

i would like to start a daycare later on
but i would like to know, what you want from a daycare person, we have stoped taking our two yr old, shes been to 7 different ones!!!! so i know some things that i want to change but i want to hear others.
what would you like to see change in daycares?
do you feel they eat well?
do you feel they learn at daycare?
how do you feel about the timeouts?
do you feel the provider is there for all the children?
please let me know thanks

this will be a home daycare not a center

i know gyspy g, this is what i want to change, i know how you feel all that money and for what!!!
our two yr got her arm broke at a daycare because they took some other child to the bathroom and shut the door not watching the other children!!!!

please keep posting everyone
thanks to those who answered!!!

Answer 1

Daycare is great if you are the right one to do it. We have had some bad expereiences with ones who are impatient and view the children as a burden, they pick up on that.

I like to see:

Low staff to child ratios
Good solid meals
Fieldtrips at least monthly if not more
Variety in activities
Learning stations where each child can see and do different things in the room.

Answer 2

My girl is only 3.5 months old and been in daycare since seven weeks.
My biggest concerns were they ignored her...shes very quiet and never cries...they even admitted to me that they have to be sure to check every so often to see if she'll eat because she won't cry! They've got 2 other small ones about her age that are constantly crying so she gets pushed to the wayside. I had real issues that they just stick her in a seat or swing and never picked her up. They seem to have gotten a bit better about spending time with her, though I continue to look for a home daycare provider who is state certified and cpr certified as well as will stick to my feeding, which is my provided breastmilk.
Another issue I'm having is the cry babies in her room are constantly crying and loud!!!! I go feed her at lunch and these two just do not shut up!!! My poor girl rarely takes a nap @ daycare and is completely wiped out by the time she gets home, and poor thing can't even hold her eyes open by the end of the week. Really, I'm shelling out 180/wk. for childcare too; how long before they determine it just isn't working out with that child and tell the parents they need to find alternative daycare?
I'm stopping here before this turns into a vent of outrage. It just flies all over me that they got you....for "Quality" daycare for a young infant you have to spend a fortune. When all they do is stick them in a seat and check them every 20 minutes or so.

Answer 3

My daugther with 3 babysitters, before the daycare center she is in now, so I can understand your questions. The previous babysitters I had plenty of promises, but fell short every time. In a daycare center I look for patient people, I listen to their words ie. today my daughter school went to the preschool pool and I said oh these kids are going to go nuts at that pool, and the teacher aide said yeah, they do get very excited at the pool. Call me crazzy, but I liked her words. My daughter is 2 and she knows her ABC's, numbers fron 1-22, 1-12 in spainsh and french. When she talks its very clear, and she uses words in its correct content. I also look for good meal planning, how often is mt child being offered juice or milk, are they reinforcing potty training, are they allowing the other childern to pick up the smaller children (my baby is small). I can tell my daughter is learning, eatting well, she is opening up, and she loves to go to school. Timeout are great, I say this because you can get a kid to understand more clearly when it comes to sitting alone while dancing and singing is the next activity. I know my childcare provider is there for my daugher because, at one point I was only working part-time and the tution became too much for me to pay, the director gave a 50% discount they didn't want her to have to leave and loose all that she had gained since she started. In my daycare center, I wouldn't change anything.

Answer 4

I like our daycare because the kids don't seem to fight or get upset. When I took my daughter in today, she was late and the other kids were so excited to see her. I think they try to make it a real "family" kind of atmosphere.

Also, there are four ladies who work there (not all at the same time, 2 all day and 2 part-time) and they have Nextel phones, so if they need help, they beep each other.

When picking a daycare, I was put off by places that seemed too small and crowded or had kids old enough to walk that were still kept in play pens.

I feel like it is MY responsibility as the mother to make sure she learns her basic skills, so I'm not too concerned that it is educational. I just want her to be able to have fun and learn to be social.

Answer 5

I used to work in a daycare and that experience completely turned me off the the idea of ever putting my child in one. We made some sever financial sacrifices (sold a car, downsized our house, quit doing anything recreational that cost money, etc) so we could afford to live on one income. (now, thankfully my husband has a great job and we are enjoying the comforts of life again lol)

If I could change anything, industry wide...it would be training requirements for staff and monitoring of daycare performance.


Too many times, the "head teacher" in the daycare at which I worked would shout at the kids to try to settle them down, they actually had a section of the day that was called "t.v." time, she didn't have consistent discipline for all the children, most days she showed up with sweat pants, a wrinkled t-shirt, her hair stuffed in a pony tail and would then sit down at the kid's table and eat her breakfast.

In my opinion, there is a complete lack of professionalism in the daycare industry (I am sure there are some exceptions) Why shouldn't a daycare be run to the same standards as a preschool?? :)

Answer 6

I personally would never use anything then a home daycare. I think that daycare centers are lacking the attention that they should give to kids. They usually are crowded with kids that they cannot keep track.
I had a home daycare lady that took care of my children when I would work during the winter and she was WONDERFUL!!! certain women have the skills and talent to work with kids and others do not. I would never use anything but a home daycare

Answer 7

i found that the only thing i didn't like about daycare when my son was there is some of the children had really full nappies and were not changed enough. My son wasn't in nappies then as he was 2 but i did once mention that a little girl needed changing as she smelled and they sort of didn't seem to say o right and change her right away. Other than that i was quite happy with it the food was okay and he always said he had a nice time and was always coming home with pictures he had done or something he had made.

Answer 8

I am truely blessed that I have had the same daycare for 10yrs with all 3 of my children. The biggest reason I stay is focused on consistency. She involves the parents and even talks to the school to mold her discipline and activities to fit the regin of the local school and the parents. There is no tv allowed all day is spent doing planned activites that are fun and educational.

Answer 9

l've used daycare only occasionally for socialisation for my children, but l'll happily tell you the things l looked for;

The relationship that the carer(s) had with my children-were they warm, loving, respectful, treated them like their own.

A nutritional menu that provided variety and balance, but catered for allergies, dislikes, etc.

Educational and fun activities that offered the children a choice, with plenty of adult interaction.

The condition of my children-if children are consistantly coming home dirty, ie, diapers not changed, runny noses that have dried, l feel that they're being neglected during the day.

Were my children happy to go, would they talk about their day, and regular feedback from staff on child's progress.

Safety safety safety! l'm stringent about a safe and hygeinic environment both at home and daycare.

Discipline-besides the obvious of no physical punishments, l wanted to be sure that children were disciplined fairly and consistantly, and were given rules and limits.

Staff knowledge, training and ratios-making sure that there are enough staff to care adequately for the number of children, that they are qualified in first aid, and hopefully some kind of training and practical experience in dealing with children.

Lastly, my overall instincts told me if a centre was going to be a positive environment for my children to be in, l didn't expect perfection, just a genuine desire to care for and teach children properly.

Good luck with your daycare, l hope it all goes well. And congratulations on asking parents what they would like to see! You'd be surprised at how much difference that makes.

Answer 10

My 2yr old is in daycare. I think they need to feed the kids a little better. Other than that i think its OK.