I’m what you may call an over-bearing mother. I was always against daycare’s because of all the horror stories we hear on the news, but for many parents daycare’s are necessary in order to live. After careful consideration and having spoken to my sister-in-law daycare’s aren’t that bad. They get your child prepared in a school setting, interacting with other kids their age, educational and of course fun. If you follow us on YouTube you came with us as we visited a couple schools and a bit on my experience with visiting. If it weren’t for Google and my sister-in-law I wouldn’t have known what kind of questions to ask so I thought I’d share some tips for you all. Also, calling 311 helped a lot; not only did they give me a listing of facilities, but also provided me with a pamphlet of more questions to ask.
1. What are the qualifications of the teacher and assistant teachers?
2. What is the turnover rate for teachers? A low turn over rate is great because that means the teachers that teach stay for a long time, essentially meaning they are being treated good at the facility.
3. Is everyone CPR trained? How regularly are they trained?
4. Policy on sick kids?
5. Staff to child ration?
6, How do you deal with discipline?
7. Potty training procedures?
8. Open door policy for visiting?
9. Do you provide any meals?
10. What is the fee for child care?
11. Is the fee charged when your child is not there?
12. When is payment due and are there any late fees?
13. Is the program currently licensed or registered by the state?
14. Talk to other parents who use the caregiver/facility
15. Ask for a schedule of their daily routine. Go over what activities are done through the day. Reading stories? Sing-a-longs? Alphabet practiced? Numbers taught? Arts and crafts? Play Time?
One school I went to seemed to have too much playtime which I didn’t like. The other school I went to were more into educating your child which I definitely loved.
16. Does everyone get a criminal history background and State Central Register for Child Abuse and Maltreatment checks? Including everyone living in the persons home?
** Just note that it is a state registry check if they had some type of trouble in “Florida” it will not register in “New York.”
17. Is the location childproofed and are dangerous material stored out of reach of children?
18. What is the plan for medical or fire emergencies?
19. Is the fire emergency escape plan practiced with the children at least once a month? How many exits are there?
20. How often are toys, floors and furniture cleaned?
21. Do children spend time outdoors each day?Is it fenced?
22. Go over what activities are done through the day. Reading stories? Sing-a-longs? Alphabet practiced? Numbers taught? Arts and crafts? Play Time?
One school I went to seemed to have too much playtime which I didn’t like. The other school I went to were more into educating your child which I definitely loved.
23. If you can go with a second person– an extra pair of eyes will definitely help in observing what you may have missed or not thought about looking at.
24. What are the mobile phone policies? Are phones expected to stay in a different area? Many incidents happen because sometimes an individual are preoccupied with their phones.
25. When a child’s diaper is changed or when they have to use the toilet, does the staff have to work in pairs?
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