If you’ve ever been a parent with a busy schedule, you’ve naturally wondered “How do I find a good daycare?” Like most adults these days, you’ve probably even Googled the question. The truth is, there is no easy answer to this question, and you won’t find answers by searching online, only opinions.
A good daycare starts with an owner who has a love for teaching young children. Someone who loves it so much that they have taken the time to get a degree or go to college for the preschool teaching profession. In my 11 years of experience, I have seen more random people come in off the street without any background in working with children than I would like to list. When this happens, your children often don’t want to be left at the nursery or are bored. They have hired babysitters who are too busy texting or Facebooking on their phones instead of doing activities and encouraging creativity and knowledge in your child. It doesn’t matter that you are paying top dollar for the quality of care you were promised when you agreed to become a client. You will find that your child is not doing anything constructive and you are as an old boss of mine put it “A paying family”.
If you choose a daycare centre based on what you are told during a tour, you are making a big mistake. You need to ask personal questions and ask to see credentials. Ask about staff turnover rates. This is how often people are hired and eventually quit. If you see this happen often, know that something is very wrong with your child and you need to take steps to place them somewhere else. Keep in mind that anyone can open a daycare if they have the money. They don’t have to have a love of children or a passion for teaching. More often than not, you will find a daycare that is nothing more than a money mill for the owner, and they don’t care what lies they have to tell you to get you to sign up. They’ll even go so far as to warn employees about parent suggested pick-up times so that everything looks slick by the time you arrive. This happens more than you will ever know because children are often very young and can’t talk to you about things they don’t understand and can’t complain if they don’t know what they are missing.
Questions to ask when interviewing potential daycare providers:
#1: Are you accredited?
#2: Have you ever had a provisional license (if they say yes or feel uncomfortable STOP CLOSING! Provisional licenses are given to daycare centres with violations so bad that they are about to revoke their license).
#3: What are the education and experience requirements for the staff you hire here?
#4: Question for the director: Do you have a degree in Early Childhood yourself?
If you get no to question #4, don’t be fooled into thinking they are a good centre. Know that there is a money mill going on, especially when hiring people who have no formal education. If a centre is not accredited, it probably does not meet accreditation requirements.
Above all, the staff should be warm and welcoming, no matter what time of day, in person or on the phone. If you find that this is not the case, imagine what kind of attitudes and conversations, your children will be exposed to when you are not there. A daycare centre that is not willing to stop whenever you want is not good; they are hiding something.
Last, ask yourself, “How easy was it for you to walk into the daycare centre?” Did you walk into an office, a lobby, a classroom? Was the door locked? Was there a buzzer? Did you see anyone when you walked in? Make sure you know how safe your child is in a place. If it is easy to step in and there is no one in the lobby or office, that is a huge red flag! Anyone can go in, pick up a child and walk out.
Anderson Road Child Care Centre is an entirely professional and reliable child care centre. We have dedicated staff to care for your children and help them learn and develop.