Daycare, Don't Delay

Picking a Daycare is a hard decision to make so don’t wait until you are going back to work. I started my search while I was pregnant. I can tell you mothers intuition should be listened to. I went into some places and immediately turned around because I didn’t feel like that was the place for me to entrust my child to. Word of mouth is a great way to find out about a place. Once you narrow your choices drop in unannounced to look around (if you are allowed). See what the ratio is, how clean is the grounds inside and out, and are the workers loving. Find out what background they have – any licenses or degrees, if they are accepting new enrollment, restrictions, hours, up front fees for vacations times and what they provide, policy on accidents, what schools they go to AND days they are closed. Many people don’t realize a day care might follow a public school schedule. I worked with a girl who didn’t realize this and ended up having to cover the day after Thanksgiving, Good Friday and a few others she didn’t think about. In the end I was fortunate and never had to use a day care, I had lots of family to take advantage of. Now I have a deal worked out with my sister and a few friends – it covers every day of the week and we all benefit from it.