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I'm not sure if this should be posting in the Parents forum, but it seems like this forum gets more traffic and I'd really love some thoughts on this. It may be a little long, I apologize!
I have an 18mo daughter who is mine and my husband's only child. We moved from another state to the current state we are in right now.
Over the past three weeks, we visited a total of 12 daycares - 4 centers and 8 home daycares. We immediately ruled out center daycares because I, especially, wanted my daughter to grow up with children both younger and older than her so she can learn follow in the older children's footsteps and to lead the younger children by example.
The first 5 home daycares were NOT what we wanted in a daycare. One we visited during morning snacktime and she was feeding the children marshmallows. I'm talking the regular sized marshmallows and each kid sitting at the table had at leaste 3 on the napkin in front of them. "These kids LOVE marshmallows" was what the provider said. Another provider had at least 6 children under the age of two (not sure if that's allowed) and we could barely hear the provider over the screaming of a few of the babies. Some of them were climbing on chairs and tables and hitting each other with toys and the provider kept on talking and explaining her daycare and how she did things. It seemed more like a zoo than a daycare.
The 5th daycare we tried was only accepting 3 years and up. I'm sorry, but shouldn't this have been mentioned when we emailed and scheduled a tour when I clearly stated I had an 18mo old? The 6th one was nicer An older grandmother type of provider whose house smelled like cookies. She had two babies who were just under 1, and when she guided us to the playroom we saw both babies, fast asleep, in infant swings. I was horrified! My sister's infant daughter died of positional asphyxiation from sleeping in an infant swing and I tried to voice my concerns and my situation with my sister and she said "What's positional asphyxiation?". I immediately vetoed this daycare.
We had almost given up hope and gone with a center daycare when my husband suggested looking on Craigslist. I thought this idea was kind of out there, but I was willing to give it a try. I found an ad about an Organic home daycare and I visited the website this provider had on her ad. This website was flawless! It had her rates, her hours, references from current and past clients, photos of her daycare room, her organic menu posted and information about her infant, toddler and preschool programs. I was impressed. I emailed this woman through her website and she contacted me later that night to set up an interview the next day mid-morning.
When we arrived, we knocked on the door and this extremely friendly, polite young woman answered the door. We were a little shocked at her appearance because she looked maybe 18 years old, but she welcomed us into the home and introduced herself as the provider. She took us through the backyard first and showed us the children who were having outdoor play and introduced us to her mother who is her assistant. She left her mother outside with the kids and set out to show us the playroom which was her separate garage that was converted. It was instantly that we felt we found the right daycare. The playroom is basically a separate house with an large playroom, a separate Baby Zone (as she called it), a bathroom and a small kitchen. There were divided areas such as Pretend Play, Arts & Crafts, Manipulatives, ect. The Baby Zone was amazing, with toys that were in great shape and everything was so organized. It was blocked off from the regular play area where the older kids played.
This provider explained about her no-battery toys, floor-based play (we have never heard this before and she explained in fantastically that I almost wished I could participate in floor-based play), why she chose to go Organic (she was a vegetarian herself), why she separated the infants from the older children, her daily schedule, her weekly fieldtrips that included Storytime at the library, the zoo and aquarium during the warmer months, kid museums and parks, ect. She had an entrance where we first walked into that had an archway, cubbies for each child, coat racks for the preschool-age children, real cute mini-mailboxes for each child on the wall that she put any papers, artwork or such in for parents to pick up. Normally, she explained that the archway would be just 4 feet high, and it was meant for only the children to walk through. Parents would walk through the door, hang up their children's stuff and sign them in, and hug/kiss their child before sending them into "daycare". It sounded like a wonderful thing.
We came to the end of the tour and interview and she gave us some paperwork that included her handbook, contract and introductory letters and information. I couldn't hold it in any longer and I, embarrassingly blurted out, "How old are you?". I can hear my husband gasp next to me and the only the that comforted me was that the provider just laughed. "I'm 21 years old." She explained that she was a nanny for two little girls (who she still had in care) for two years, before working as an assistant teacher at a daycare for two years while she got her degree in Early Childhood Education. She eventually opened up her daycare at 20 years old and she admits that parents did look shocked to know her age and that most of them did ask her age which she was absolutely okay with.
Concluding my story.......... I asked if we'd be able to come and observe her with the children and bring our daughter along for a play-date sort of thing. She said she only did observing at 10am, and that she can only allow us to stay for 30 minutes. We are going back next Wednesday to observe.
Am I wrong to trust a 21 year old provider (even with a mother who works as her assistant)?
What sort of questions should I be asking during out observation?
What should I look for during the observation?
Out of all of the daycares we visited, this woman was the most friendly, the most professional, the most educated, the most knowledgable about kids, the most......perfect and exactly what we wanted in a daycare. I almost feel intimidated by her by how she comes off and she's so smart!
I would love other providers thoughts on this as you wouldn't probably know more about how daycares work on the inside and if 21 is too young to be owning her own daycare.
Thanks!
I have an 18mo daughter who is mine and my husband's only child. We moved from another state to the current state we are in right now.
Over the past three weeks, we visited a total of 12 daycares - 4 centers and 8 home daycares. We immediately ruled out center daycares because I, especially, wanted my daughter to grow up with children both younger and older than her so she can learn follow in the older children's footsteps and to lead the younger children by example.
The first 5 home daycares were NOT what we wanted in a daycare. One we visited during morning snacktime and she was feeding the children marshmallows. I'm talking the regular sized marshmallows and each kid sitting at the table had at leaste 3 on the napkin in front of them. "These kids LOVE marshmallows" was what the provider said. Another provider had at least 6 children under the age of two (not sure if that's allowed) and we could barely hear the provider over the screaming of a few of the babies. Some of them were climbing on chairs and tables and hitting each other with toys and the provider kept on talking and explaining her daycare and how she did things. It seemed more like a zoo than a daycare.
The 5th daycare we tried was only accepting 3 years and up. I'm sorry, but shouldn't this have been mentioned when we emailed and scheduled a tour when I clearly stated I had an 18mo old? The 6th one was nicer An older grandmother type of provider whose house smelled like cookies. She had two babies who were just under 1, and when she guided us to the playroom we saw both babies, fast asleep, in infant swings. I was horrified! My sister's infant daughter died of positional asphyxiation from sleeping in an infant swing and I tried to voice my concerns and my situation with my sister and she said "What's positional asphyxiation?". I immediately vetoed this daycare.
We had almost given up hope and gone with a center daycare when my husband suggested looking on Craigslist. I thought this idea was kind of out there, but I was willing to give it a try. I found an ad about an Organic home daycare and I visited the website this provider had on her ad. This website was flawless! It had her rates, her hours, references from current and past clients, photos of her daycare room, her organic menu posted and information about her infant, toddler and preschool programs. I was impressed. I emailed this woman through her website and she contacted me later that night to set up an interview the next day mid-morning.
When we arrived, we knocked on the door and this extremely friendly, polite young woman answered the door. We were a little shocked at her appearance because she looked maybe 18 years old, but she welcomed us into the home and introduced herself as the provider. She took us through the backyard first and showed us the children who were having outdoor play and introduced us to her mother who is her assistant. She left her mother outside with the kids and set out to show us the playroom which was her separate garage that was converted. It was instantly that we felt we found the right daycare. The playroom is basically a separate house with an large playroom, a separate Baby Zone (as she called it), a bathroom and a small kitchen. There were divided areas such as Pretend Play, Arts & Crafts, Manipulatives, ect. The Baby Zone was amazing, with toys that were in great shape and everything was so organized. It was blocked off from the regular play area where the older kids played.
This provider explained about her no-battery toys, floor-based play (we have never heard this before and she explained in fantastically that I almost wished I could participate in floor-based play), why she chose to go Organic (she was a vegetarian herself), why she separated the infants from the older children, her daily schedule, her weekly fieldtrips that included Storytime at the library, the zoo and aquarium during the warmer months, kid museums and parks, ect. She had an entrance where we first walked into that had an archway, cubbies for each child, coat racks for the preschool-age children, real cute mini-mailboxes for each child on the wall that she put any papers, artwork or such in for parents to pick up. Normally, she explained that the archway would be just 4 feet high, and it was meant for only the children to walk through. Parents would walk through the door, hang up their children's stuff and sign them in, and hug/kiss their child before sending them into "daycare". It sounded like a wonderful thing.
We came to the end of the tour and interview and she gave us some paperwork that included her handbook, contract and introductory letters and information. I couldn't hold it in any longer and I, embarrassingly blurted out, "How old are you?". I can hear my husband gasp next to me and the only the that comforted me was that the provider just laughed. "I'm 21 years old." She explained that she was a nanny for two little girls (who she still had in care) for two years, before working as an assistant teacher at a daycare for two years while she got her degree in Early Childhood Education. She eventually opened up her daycare at 20 years old and she admits that parents did look shocked to know her age and that most of them did ask her age which she was absolutely okay with.
Concluding my story.......... I asked if we'd be able to come and observe her with the children and bring our daughter along for a play-date sort of thing. She said she only did observing at 10am, and that she can only allow us to stay for 30 minutes. We are going back next Wednesday to observe.
Am I wrong to trust a 21 year old provider (even with a mother who works as her assistant)?
What sort of questions should I be asking during out observation?
What should I look for during the observation?
Out of all of the daycares we visited, this woman was the most friendly, the most professional, the most educated, the most knowledgable about kids, the most......perfect and exactly what we wanted in a daycare. I almost feel intimidated by her by how she comes off and she's so smart!
I would love other providers thoughts on this as you wouldn't probably know more about how daycares work on the inside and if 21 is too young to be owning her own daycare.
Thanks!
Even though she is "only" 21, she sounds like she has a great facility set up and a great program. As the pp stated, go with your gut. Make sure you do your homework to ensure she doesn't have any serious violations, but I think that place sounds like a lot of fun! 
Good luck
If she really knows her stuff, then who cares if she is 50 or 18! 
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