Kids of Daycare Past

[wdmmom]

Have any of you ever been contacted by a current provider to ask about a child you previously watched?

How many of you ask for the child's provider information and reason for leaving when signing up new families?

Has the experience been good or bad?

[Lucy]

I have never done it. Sometimes it would have come in handy!!! Nobody has called me for a reference either.

My concern though is that if you ask name and number of previous provider, would they really give it to you if they had a bad experience or left on bad terms or without paying??? They could easily give a friends number and ask the friend to say they are the previous provider.

[MarinaVanessa]

I have only had a DC provider contact me once for a referral. I chose to simply say that I couldn't share the details about the past client but that in this case the DC family left on their own accord but not for negative reasons.
The DC provider did ask me if were the family to decide to come back would I accept them and I had to answer honestly with a no... I have to admit, she got me ::. The DC provider's response was "Oh I see, she's one of those hmm?" and I couldn't help but laugh but didn't say anything.

I just don't see the purpose of delving into details and I suppose that because I live in CA where everyone is sue happy that I'm afraid that a family may come after me for violating the privacy policy in some way KWIM? I call previous providers to ask about history but I ask general questions like how long they were there for, whether it was a good arrangement etc.

[wdmmom]

I've often considered asking prospective clients for their current providers name and number and their reason for leaving. You never can be too sure if you'll get the truth but I thought it might be worth trying.

I know plenty of parents that are out for free and cheap. If cost is the reason, I would know not to even entertain the idea of an interview for the simple fact that there are plenty of providers in this area by far cheaper than me.

The last time I did interviewing, it was a train wreck! The mom was a teacher (didn't tell me until the interview), the dad worked second shift yet they wanted daycare from 7am to 4pm. This just rubbed me the wrong way given that dad didn't leave for work until 2pm!

She asked me for references to which she contacted every one of them.

Then she called me back 2 days later to say "We'll take the spot and want to start tomorrow!"

A.) I don't start kids out on a Thursday!
B.) I told her I had other interviews to conduct.
C.) Then I had to tell her not only did I feel they wouldn't be a good fit for my program, but the family I interviewed prior to her already paid the deposit.

[Blackcat31]

Have any of you ever been contacted by a current provider to ask about a child you previously watched?

How many of you ask for the child's provider information and reason for leaving when signing up new families?

Has the experience been good or bad?

I do not usually enroll children unless they give their previous provider's information. I will enroll if they have never been in care and of course if they are new parents with no previous daycare experience but in most cases, I ask about their previous care provider.

I ask the parent why they left and what, if any, issues they had with the provider (NOT personal issues....only issues relating directly to the care of the child).

I will call and speak with the provider and ask them the same questions I asked the parents.

Now, I would NEVER not take a family based on what a previous provider said or what a family said, as there are always two sides to every story and not all relationships were a good fit in the first place.

Alot of the times the things a previous provider tells me is just a "heads up" or fair warning for me and that way I kind of know what things could be issues with a potential family.

I have had families with rave reviews turn out to be awful for me and the exact opposite where a family came with bad reviews from their old provider but ended up being a great family for me.

I also have to state that I live in a small enough community that most the providers in my area know or know of each other so calling them isn't really like calling a stranger...kwim?

[cheerfuldom]

I do ask for the parents to share their past daycare experiences with me but I dont require the providers info. People have offered that before but I have never called. I dont know these other providers and find that the opinions of strangers is not helpful to me at all. Now that I have been doing this for awhile, I have a really good feeling for what people are like pretty quickly and have never been wrong (that I can remember). I do listen carefully for what parents say about other providers, its very telling. I give a fairly vague reference should a parent use me as a referral to a new provider. I am honest, but vague.

[momofboys]

I have never been called as a reference; however, I am friends with another local provider & we sometimes give each other leads if we don't have room for someone calling & asking for care. One day I called her & she told me about a new prospective client who had called her for care - when she began describing the family I knew it was a family I had termed & spilled the beans. She did end up taking the family on but knew upfront she would have to be VERY strict with her policies b/c otherwise she would get walked all over. I'll admit it felt kind of good to tattle about theirm poor behavior.