What To Look For in a Daycare

Good Evening! I thought I'd share my thoughts on this topic since I have a lot of friends who are pregnant, have small infants or toddlers, or are thinking about having kids, and many have asked me about how to start the daycare process for their kids. When I had my first child, nobody told me about how much daycares cost or how to even start the process, so I'm hoping this post will help someone before they get to that "crunch time" phase of searching for a daycare!

My kids have been in daycare since they were 4 months old. Vinny is now 4 and Jacob is 14 months. They've been with both at-home child care providers and early learning/preschool centers.

The search for a good daycare is a VERY overwhelming process. I will start by saying that I am only speaking from my experience. I live in Northern MD and have researched MANY MANY day cares and day care providers from here to Northern VA. Before you start researching day cares, expect the following:

• They will all be quite expensive--about $800-$2000 a month for an infant (0-2 years old), and about $400-$1500 a month for toddlers (2-4 years old). I'm quoting that based on full-time (5 days a week) child care, and it being a licensed daycare provider or center.
• Many daycares will not have any availability and you may be wait-listed. The first question you should ask when you call a daycare should be if they have any availability for your child's age group.

This is a great site to search for child care in Maryland! I used it to find all my child care providers. You have to create an account but it's free: LOCATE

Here are a few tips and things to look for while searching for a daycare:

1. Decide if daycare is right for you. It's not for everybody. I was 23 when I had my first child, barely making any money, and did not have a clue about child care expenses. If I had the opportunity back then, I probably would've turned to grandparents or other family members to watch my kids. Unfortunately, I had no options and had to put my kids in daycare. In doing so, I actually found great benefits to it. There are many to list, but here are some to name a few:
1. It socialized my children.
2. My kids learned to listen to other adults, not just Mom and Dad.
3. It greatly progressed their speech! Vinny learned how to speak clearly and in full sentences before he was 2!
4. It helped teach them manners. At 18 months, Vinny would put his plate in the sink after dinner and push his chair in. Please and thank yous came so naturally as well!
5. They learned to share very well.
6. They learned to play with kids that didn't look like them. My children are half African-American and half Filipino. I value diversity and want my children to be surrounded by kids of many cultures and races. This was an important factor for me while searching for a daycare.
   
2. Budget accordingly. Know what you're willing to spend and what you can afford before starting this process. This will help you immediately rule out any daycares that are too expensive. There are TONS of daycare options out there, so the more you can rule out off the bat, the better.
3. Always do the tour or schedule an interview. If you're interested in attending an early learning center, which are the large centers/preschools for children from  6 months - 4 years old, they will offer you a tour of the facility before you apply. If you are interested in finding am in-home daycare provider, someone that is licensed and runs their daycare in their house, go to their house and have an interview with them. I would also suggest that you ask if you can come back to observe how they are with the kids. If they allow you to, schedule it. Don't just show up; your surprise visit could distract the kids and mess up the routine of the day, or you might come during nap time and won't be able to observe much.
4. During the tour or interview, ask about everything. Even about things that concern you. Do not be shy. After all, this is your child that you will be leaving with them. Here are a few examples:
1. How many care takers are here and are they here for the whole day?
2. How do you handle visitors that come while the children are here? (This question is very important for an in-home day care.)
3. How well do the children play together?
4. Do they have a place they go to when they do wrong (like a time-out chair)? How do you discipline them?
5. What do they eat during the day? See what meals and snacks are included in your tuition.
6. What do you do if a child gets sick?
7. What is your sick day and vacation policy?
8. How often do they clean and sanitize their toys?
5. During the tour, carefully observe the childrens' environment. Does the facility have hard floors or carpet? Is it toddler-sized furniture or regular size furniture that kids would have to climb? What do they nap on? For in-home daycares, where is the kitchen in relation to the children's area (and ask where the kids go when the care taker has to cook them lunch)? Where are the bathrooms (in relation to the kids' area)? Does the environment have anything that's not appropriate for children? How clean is everything?
6. Bring your child to the interviews. Observe how he or she is with the teachers that are there and with his or her surroundings. A lot of times, your children's behavior can make the decision for you. Especially if they're old enough to communicate it clearly. They know when something is right or wrong. Trust their instincts and yours!
7. Decide where you want the day care to be.  Close to your house or near your job? For me, I wanted my kids near my workplace so that if I needed to run out to get them at any time of the day, I can easily get to them. This was one of the best decisions I made because I have had to run out many times to get my kids when they were sick!! I didn't want to take the chance of making them wait because I got stuck in traffic or something because my kids were too far away from me during the work day.
8. Check to see if your company offers any discounts for daycares in the area. I'm lucky enough to work at a company that does! I save 10% off of Vinny's tuition. That's a lot in the grand scheme of things!
9. Take advantage of Flex spending programs that your job may offer. At the end of the year, you will find that you have spent $10,000 or more on child care services. Flex spending programs allow you to deduct child care costs (up to a certain amount) from your gross income, so that you essentially get that money tax-free! You can't deduct everything, but definitely a good chunk of it.
10. Research is everything. Take the time to read reviews, go to interviews, talk to other parents of current students...your research is everything! You want to get as much information as you can before you make one of the biggest decisions of your life!

Choosing a daycare, and any school for that matter, is a big investment, so you want to make the right one! I hope this helps somebody out there. :)