First Time Mom Daycare Jitters

[Cat Herder]

I have worked in an amazing large center and an awesome home daycare. I have interviewed in an awful large center and toured some horrible home daycares. There is good and bad anywhere. It is about an individual Provider, not about the building, just like Moms. A nice "package" does not always make a nice emotional environment for an infant.

My advice is to go with your gut. If you feel something is off, talk to them. Don't be afraid to have an open and honest dialogue with your provider or director; whomever makes you feel most at ease. The worst thing that could happen would be to ignore your instinct and regret it later.

I would keep in mind that if you are basing this on pick-up time AFTER they have spent all day in a room with up to 8 kids AND the typical "working with other women drama" it may not be a fair judgement. It is a rare person who would still be perky and want to visit after that:: Are they any better in the mornings???

[Unregistered]

gut feelings

Anyone have any advice about the best way to provide feedback to my day care provider. I started my 3.5 mo old daughter at a corporate day care center last week full time. I felt I did the best research I could and felt comfortable about the center I chose. However, now I'm getting some instinctual reservations about the facility. I don't have anything concrete and some of things that I've noticed are not "problems", they are just observations. I wanted to share my "observations" with the day care Director, however I'm not sure how my comments will be taken. I don't want to seem petty or complainy, but I want my daughter to get the best care imaginable. I also don't want to cause a problem with the caregivers in her room, so that my daughter gets treated differently somehow. Are my reservations just normal and I need to get over it with more time (I'm a first time mom), or should I say something? My main issue put simply is that "I don't feel the love". It seems as though the day to day happenings are typical, not special. The caregivers seems to be babysitters, not teachers. The feedback I get is random and ******* (x number of bottles and diaper changes), not friendly or personable. Help me make the right decision on when and how I should talk to them. Any advice is much appreciated.

hey i just wanted to let you know i'm a mom of two kids,I have learned that the mother instinct is usually right , I think God gives us this to protect our children so if you are feeling something not right than it probably isn't. i had an in home liscensed daycare for about 5 years, home daycare can be a great place because you are only allowed 5 kids and you can give those chidren the love & attention they deserve. you can look up in home daycares in your area that will be a good match for you & your littleone.you can go out to the daycare watch the owner & the children interact with each other. you can stop by anytime, you can also see how your littleone reacts with the owner & the other kids you will know if this is the right place for your baby,just listen to your gut.

[jen]

The caregivers seems to be babysitters, not teachers.

They are. In all honesty, your child is 3.5 months old, she needs a caregiver, not a teacher. Plus, most likely, the caregivers have only the minimal education required.

As for not feeling the love...I do think that there are some GREAT daycare centers. However, alot of the time, the workers are underpaid, overworked, and lack experience. Here is some information from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics...

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos170.htm

"Pay depends on the educational attainment of the worker and the type of establishment. Although the pay generally is very low, more education usually means higher earnings. Median hourly wages of child care workers were $9.12 in May 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $7.75 and $11.30. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $7.04, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $13.98. Median hourly wages in the industries employing the largest numbers of child care workers in May 2008 were:


Other residential care facilities $10.56
Elementary and secondary schools 10.53
Civic and social organizations 8.53
Other amusement and recreation industries 8.41
Child day care services 8.39


Earnings of self-employed child care workers vary with the number of hours worked, the number and ages of the children, and the geographic location.

Benefits vary, but are minimal for most child care workers"

The above is the reason why the turnover rate in daycare centers is so high. If you are really looking to feel the love, I strongly suggest going to a center that charges ALOT more or find a home daycare provider.

Think of it this way...

Kids are interchangeable in large centers; there are always new ones coming in, and old ones going out. In the really expensive version, the center will work harder to keep your business, because it is difficult to find people willing to pay the elevated tuition. In a home daycare, the provider is limited to the number of children she or he can care for and they most likely depend on a stable income. When a client leaves, the provider may loose a significant portion of their income...therefore they too are more likely to strive to keep your business.

I'm sorry if this sounds callous, I truly care for the kids in my care and provide the best possible care for them, but it IS first and foremost, a business.

[Unregistered]

"not to be rude"

but most of these posters who reply will obviously say home daycare is better since most are all home daycare providers. In MY opinion, daycare is better. Granted there isn't one on one attention. I know that. However there are many other pluses to daycares that home providers tend to forget. One being that centers NEVER close because one teacher is out sick or one needs a vacation. Now I can hear home providers now saying that they too get sick yadda yadda yadda. Yes we all know that you are one person and you cant do it all. However SOME not ALL but SOME providers just completely shut down without the use of the substitute. In daycares there is no worries about that.

Sorry but in today's society, thats all that parents think about. That is convenience. Oh and cost.

JMHO

LOL it's so true - most people here will say that about home daycares because they are home daycare providers but they became providers instead of going to work in centers. One thing that parents seem to forget is that they pay almost double, if not double, to have the convenience of a center that never closes for sick or vacation days. I am a home daycare provider and I close ONE week out of the year for vacation. That's it. I've been open for 5 years and NEVER closed because of illness (I have subs and staff just in case). So, my parents "IN TODAY'S SOCIETY" think about their child first..and OH..COST being less than a center I guess. They are Happy that they can arrive late and not have to pick up their child from a precinct but instead their child is Happy and fed dinner. Flexibility, low cost and a loving family environment...that is convenient..for some parents...that's what THEY think about. But hey - whatever floats your boat. Poor kid! LOL