[KatiInCT]

I have been lucky to have a 12 week maternity leave but it has come to an end. I head back to work on Monday (2/22/10). Thankfully DH is able to take paternity leave starting now and to the end of the school year (he's a teacher). We are both home this week and next week he will be on his own with Osric all day. It should be exciting for both of them.

Since we are both home this week we decided to schedule a tour at a daycare so we can figure out where we will be sending Osric come July and can budget accordingly. I have seen all sorts of lists of questions to ask but what do you all think is important to ask on a daycare tour? (It is a popular chain licensed daycare center, not a home daycare.) Osric would obviously be in the infant room to start (he will be 6 months).

I have mixed emotions about heading back to work. I miss the daily intellectual stimulation but will miss being able to be with Osric.

[~*sierra*~]

i wish i had some advice!
i can't believe how time flies, i feel like ozzie was literally just born!

[sara~b]

I just went with the flow and listened to the provider giving the tour. If they came off as nice and knowledgable and I felt comfortable I gave serious thought to putting Gemma in their care. My gut instinct hasn't been wrong yet. In fact, my biggest problem with the last daycare was that they were too overprotective of Gem and made me feel like a bad mom all the time!

[Mars]

The time goes by so quickly and it sucks. I'm not sure about all the right questions but I recently went to do a tour and my main focus was observing how the "aunties" interacted with the children...how they held them, spoke to them, coax them, etc. I asked about the child to staff ratio, meals, routines, activities, discipline policy, etc. I too think it's a "gut" feeling decision.

[Oriyan]

You will just know if you found the right place. Our first daycare was horrible. He was always grumpy when he came home. Now when he comes home, he is happy and actually wants alone time because he's been played with all day! Your gut will tell you if you are in the right place or not.

[~*sierra*~]

Originally Posted by Mars

The time goes by so quickly and it sucks. I'm not sure about all the right questions but I recently went to do a tour and my main focus was observing how the "aunties" interacted with the children...how they held them, spoke to them, coax them, etc. I asked about the child to staff ratio, meals, routines, activities, discipline policy, etc. I too think it's a "gut" feeling decision.

oh my gosh, how sweet is it that they call the caregivers their 'aunties'! i love it!

[LisanAndy]

I have no advice, just wanted to say good luck

[*krista*]

I hope all goes smoothly with the transition! Is your DH nervous? You guys are so lucky that he gets to stay home with Osric for so long, though. He will be a big boy ready to interact and have fun with other babies by the time he goes to day care!

[Chelnae6]

Having worked at a daycare (with infants until 3 years old) and having miki in daycare I can give you a few pointers.

1) Observe the kids in the daycare (if they all seem fairly happy - they wont be happy all the time), then you can count on it being a pretty cool place

2) Ask about potty training and prices (most places charge more for un-potty trained children). Some dont potty train at all.

3) Observe the interaction between caregivers and chilren and the care givers moods/aura

4) Ask how many children they have there already for in home daycare (I think the max is 8 or 10 to 1)

5) Ask about a schedule and curriculum (although Osric is still young, he might be there for a while)

6) Once Osrics start a daycare, it's ok if you have to switch. It may be frustrating to go on the hunt again, but you wont really know how things are until he's been there for a little while.

7) Kids eat and try more food at daycare than they do at home. they even eat and try foods at daycare that, even after they realize they like it, they still wont try it at home. I know he's young but just an FYI.

8) Ask about the cost if he's only there for 2 or 3 days one week. Some places do not charge you for the whole week if you're only there for 2 or 3 days.

9) Ask how do they control who can pick up your children. Every daycare should only allow listed people to pick up or visit children.

10) Ask about calling guidelines. Some daycares dont allow phone calls around nap-time.

11) Check out the cleanliness of the place.

12) Check out napping areas. (ask what do you need to bring for nap time)

13) Ask about the ages of other children. (if its at a home, you'd want at least one or 2 children to be around Osrics age for interaction purposes... between newborn and 18 months)

14) In the event that they run out of bottles, ask them what do they ahve to supplement (you might want to supply a can of formula if your FF or send extra bottle of BM if BF)

15) Some places have internet monitoring services where you can log-on to their cameras and check out whats going on (you can also ask about that)

16) Whenever you drop Osric off, if you run into other parents who are dropping their child off, ask them questions about how do they like it or how long they've been going there.

17) Look up reviews on the internet or BBB if there are any. You can find reviews on most major daycare centers.

18) The most expensive daycare is not always the best daycare.

We're sending Lani to the same place that we send Miki to when she's here. We love her and she's convenient. Miki never likes to actually be dropped off but she loves it there b/c she tells us ALL about her fun day when we get home.

HTH!

[ANGWife]

Check out the Child Care Providers board!! We have lots of stickies and info about what you should ask a provider.

[♥Ashley♥]

Oh my gosh! I cant believe how fast 12 weeks went by! Good Luck going back! Thats awesome your hubby gets to stay at home with Osric!