Daycare problem-need working mom advice

[childcaresavvy.com]

I am bummed. I go back to work in two weeks, after my maternity leave, and have discovered that my provider will have more kids than she is supposed to.

This bothers me for both my children. My infant needs attention and have 6 kids over two running around is a lot to watch. My 2 1/2 year old is a demanding one. He is lovely but wants to know everything about everything.

A very respected daycare center has openings for both our children. I think this is great for my preschooler because I think he needs more structure than is at an in-home environment. The move is more difficult for my infant. I have always loved the in-home environment for babies.

The centers infant room seems wonderful and loving. They even have a program that has grandmas come rock the babies.

Finding the right daycare is just so difficult.

I would love to hear your experience with changing daycares and sending an infant to a center.

Thanks!
Stephanie
Xander 15 weeks, Gavin 2 1/2

www.childcaresavvy.com
Follow me as I get ready to go back to work and deal with all the challenges and emotions that brings.

[mommy42boys]

Wow, I love your boys names. But anywoo, I have 2 boys as well, they are 3 and 11 months. I have had them in every type of care, in home, a large center and a small family owned center, and kept at home with my aunt. I did not care for the in-home but I might have just had a bad experience. I've heard other people that love it. I just feel like with only one person there, they aren't really held accountable. The large center was good, especially with the babies, but I feel like the tods get kinda lost in the shuffle. There isn't as much one on one time but there are more kids to play with to build social skills. My fav is the small family owned center that my kids currently go to. The baby room only has 3 babies so Declan gets a lot of attention. There are enough kids for Ian to play with and I've gotten to know the teachers really well because there is no turnover, though they have added teachers as they've grown. Plus if Ian every wants to play with his brother they will let him spend some time in his room. And letting my aunt watch them was just a bad idea, she was super lazt and all she did was put movies on for them. Though that's probably just my aunt. Anyway, good luck. I know it is a very difficult choice to make. Oh, also make sure they don't mind if you call to check on the baby every once in a while since you'll probably want to do that. Good luck momma!

[allisonb]

Going back to work is so hard! My biggest piece of advice is to check references! This is so important! I had my daughter in a large daycare center and have just recently moved her to a home daycare. I really wish that I'd asked for a few parent references from the large daycare, because the turnover with staff is crazy and once the baby is moved up to more of a toddler room, sometimes they have so many, you know your child isn't getting the individual attention they need. My daycare also hired a lot of college/high school girls for assistants, and they were known to spend quite a bit of time text messaging, which meant they were not watching my child!! Anywhoo.....I made sure that this time when I went to different centers/home care daycares that I spoke to a number of parents who'd had their children in the center. Good luck!

[CLS]

We've had an overall good experience with a large center. My son started there when he was 10 weeks old, and still goes there at age 4. The things I like best about our center are the fact that they don't hire anyone under age 25. Almost all the staff have been there 10+ years. The infants are in a room that is separate from all the other kids, which both limits the spread of germs & limits the noise level. The teachers are held accountable by other teachers & parents who are coming and going, so I never worry that my son is being abused/ignored/etc. There's preschool cirriculum built into the kid's day, so I don't have to take my son to a separate preschool in the middle of the day. The things I'm not as happy about with a big daycare center include the strict policy about when medicine can be given to kids. Sometimes it feels like the center is concerned about profit first and what's best for the kids second. My son is exposed to other kids' bad behaviors/language.
I think your experience at a large center depends a lot on which center you pick. So, ask lots of questions. Go in for a tour (unannounced) more than once, at different times of the day. Talk with the staff. Talk with parents. That will give you a better feel for whether it is the type of center you will like or not. Good luck to you!

[Angelsrose12]

I think it depends on the individual child. I have an 18 mo old right now and another on the way. I also like the idea of home day cares for infants. I had a GREAT home day care for my DD for her first year. I lucked out even more that I had the first 4 months with my DD and my neighbor was able to care for my DD for months 5 and 6 before she went to the home day care (she was supposed to watch her for the full year, but she got pregnant and was put on bed rest).

This year I had her in a different home day care(my other day care had to stop for financial reasons) for the first month (I am a teacher so I am considering Sept the beginning of the year) but she didn't seem happy going there like she did last year. She would cry when we dropped her off and often be watching TV when we picked her up (or not watching since she doesn't like TV). We switched her to a large day care and are THRILLED with it! She is always happy to go to day care and even resists going home sometimes. She gets more art, activities, and outdoor time with equipment for large motor skills that a home day care just couldn't provide.

I still like home day cares for little ones (less germs, kids, ect) but only if you can find a small one.

CLS had GREAT advice about going more than once and unannounced! I went to this day care 3 times unannounced before I left her there. Each time just made me want her there more. As for other day cares in the area, I did not get the same good vibes.