How did you chose a daycare for your first child?

Question

i am doing a project for my consumer behavior class on the consumption habits of first time mothers when choosing a daycare service. One of the key factors i need to find is which method of search you used to chose your daycare (i.e. internet, word of mouth, commercials).

i figure that you all have been there you would be the best people to ask. If you could provide me with that information along with any other informations that you think might be helpful to me about how you went about purchsing the daycare service, that would be great. Thank you all so very much.

Answer 1

Word of mouth. You can't believe anything you read on the internet.

Answer 2

word of mouth, location, and then went for a visit. I ultimately chose the cleanest and brightest, it was also the most expensive. And quite frankly the quality of care, to me, isn't the greatest. They are just a bunch of over priced baby sitters. They talk about curriculum for infants....BS. They do nothing but change them, feed them and stick them in a chair and stare at them. I'm in the process of looking for another daycare or individual. I had to tell them NOT to put my child in a bouncy seat, or the crib unless she is tired or seems restless on the floor...she needs to work on her motor skills. I find it quite disconcerning that they advertise curriculum and activities in their brochures and website. List of activities include going outside. They have a small area for the babies and my 8 month old has yet to be taken outside by a teacher. Its a rip off. If I could afford another 50 a week I'd just hire a nanny.

Answer 3

I chose ours simply because it was local. I work in the same small town I live in, so it only made sense to use the daycare in town. The home daycares didn't have any openings, and I only had to use the regular daycare for when my regular sitter isn't available. I also don't mind ours because my daughter is old enough to kinda look out for herself at 3 yrs. old. I would probably feel different about the one in town if she were an infant.

Answer 4

I'm a stay at home mom, but use an in-home daycare for my kids for a few hours once a week.

How I found this wonderful woman was by word of mouth - my working mom friend has used her for a couple of years now...she's amazing.

Answer 5

I started calling daycares in my area and asked about price first, then I picked about 3 to visit, then chose one. I chose one that was ran in a church because it was the cleaniest and I clicked with the people right away. I was very happy with my choice and my daughter loved it.