How to evaluate day home?

[MsVyky]

We FINALLY found a dayhome close to home that is with an accredited agency and can accept our government childcare subsidy!

We are going to visit this evening, and honestly I have NO idea what to look for. I know that the dayhome owner is up to date in first aid and CPR and has an up-to-date criminal record check and Child welfare check (is mandatory to be accredited and part of the agency's requirements). The child to caregiver ratio is fixed and regulated by the agency- no more than 6 children, including her own, no more than 2 under age 2, I think.

My DD will be starting care September 1. I begin school on the 7th (welre starting right away to allow us all an adjustment period). She'll be 10 months.

What things should I be looking for at the home? what questions should I ask? I've never done this before so I'm totally clueless. Any red flags I should be on the lookout for (I mean, aside from the obvious "washes hands ofter changing diapers, washes/sanitizes toys frequently, outlet covers, doesn't house rabid raccoons , etc)


Any input from the BTDT mamas?

[Gator-mom]

Ds goes to a home daycare that I love and some of the things I really enjoy about here are:

Open-door policy (I can walk in any time unannounced when he is in her care)

Flexible schedule (she does not run her home like a military school)

Gentle discipline (she's firm, but time-outs are on the stairs and she uses great communication to help them understand what went wrong)

Respects our diet and lifestyle choices (always follows our vegetarian diet and was open to using our cloth diapers)

Very honest (if Ds gets hurt, she always explains what happened and what she did about it. If he get sick or hurt while in her care, then she'll call me to let me know)

If I were still looking, I'd some open questions like how she plans to spend the day with your baby, what her schedule is, how she handles conflicts with the kids, if she has an open door policy, how and when she will handle the billing, time off (our lady sometimes takes random days off which can leave me hanging at times)..etc.
Hope that helps a little.. good luck with school! I'm there myself!

[lyterae]

Honestly I think the biggest thing is your gut feeling on it.. Are you comfortable there?

Some of the questions we did ask involved what kind of meals they had, how often they played outside, discipline policies, as well as asking how they worked the schedule. I really was interested in a place that I was comfortable with leaving my daughter there and that wasn't on a strict schedule. DD really likes having a schedule, but we all know that sometimes a nap needs to be earlier/later than "normal", etc.

That said, I interviewed 6 different home daycares. I knew the minute I walked in that I had found our daycare, we've been there for almost two years now and they are like family.

Good luck!

[poppan]

I think it will be fairly obvious when you walk in... although it helps to go to a few so you can compare (even if the other ones don't accept the subsidy and you aren't seriously considering them).

I've walked into daycares that just didn't feel clean, or nice, or warm/loving. It's just a vibe you get.

I would ask the director non-leading, open questions. How do you handle discipline is a good one to ask, because you'll want to be on the same page about that. In a home daycare the big kids will probably be mixed in with the little kids, so for me I would want to understand how she supervises everyone together. What happens while she's making lunch. What's a typical day like. How does naptime work. When is naptime--on the individual child's schedule or is everyone on the same schedule.

They'll probably give you the rule book (I'm sure it's called something else!) which I would go over carefully. You should understand what you're providing vs what they're providing, when they're closed, how much paid vacation you're giving them, etc.

[GuildJenn]

On top of the other suggestions (especially discipline) I'd ask about:

- visitors to the home, other people who live there and that kind of thing
- activities (television, trips to the park, etc.)
- "can you tell me about a time you had a conflict with a child or family and how you handled it" - the basis of the conflict will give you a lot of info, whatever the answer is
- references

[MsVyky]

I never even thought about discipline issues. I am in way over my head....

[just_lily]

MsVyky, since you used the term "day home" it sounds like you are in Alberta. I run an Alberta day home as well, and you should feel confident that we are very well regulated.

We have standards that we have to follow that cover everything from how we change diapers and clean our homes, to meals, to discipline. For discipline we aren't even supposed to be using time outs, just distraction, redirection and prevention.

On top of the background checks and CPR, your provider is subject to safety checks twice a year, and unannounced visits by the agency at least every two months. There are all kinds of rules we need to follow about supervision (such as infants and young toddlers need to be in line of sight at all times except for naps, preschoolers you can leave out of sight on the same floor as you for short periods as long as you can hear them and physically go and check on them every 3 to 4 minutes, etc.), where children can sleep, how many kids we can have, etc. etc.

So that being said, if you are going with a licensed home it is really about personality and fit. You should know right away if you are comfortable with the provider, and trust your instincts!!

Only once have I ever had a potential family come for an interview with a specific list of questions. Mostly we just chat. I have a bit of a standard "spiel" that I give people about our usual routines, our policies, my rates, etc. And then we just kind of hang out and get to know each other.

You should expect her to be very upfront and open with you. For example I tell people right away that my DH works from home, so although he is usually tucked away in his office, he is around and will interact with the kids from time to time. (He is subject to all of the background clearances as well.)

[MsVyky]

Thanks for that information!

yes, I'm in Alberta (Edmonton) and the day home is licensed/accredited through North Alta Dayhomes. I met with the caregiver and she seemed like a great lady, so we are going to do some half-days starting September 1 leading up to full time on September 7.

[Quinalla]

Sounds like you had a good first meeting with her!

There are lots of places to download a list of questions, but after covering those, I found that just chatting with childcare providers about unrelated things and some good open ended questions (How did you get started in childcare? What is your discipline policy?) were best for getting a feel for the person, to find someone I really clicked with and to make sure I was getting good vibes. There was only one place I visited when searching for daycares (not the same as a dayhome, but still, similar questions and the like) that I got an actual bad vibe and it was obvious. But there were also only two places I got a really good vibe, the others were neutral and I am sure are perfectly good places, but just didn't click with me.

[MsVyky]

just_lily, I have a question for you

I just got my registration package and there's a form I have to sign saying my child is up to date on vaccinations. We don't vax. Can they reject us on that basis? Are they allowed to check the status of my child's vaccines?

[just_lily]

Ours requests the info, and it bugs me. Kids aren't required to have vaccines, but they ask anyway. I would just write something on the form that you decline vaccines by choice and that should be it. If anyone gives you a hard time it is probably only because they are ignorant (I have lost track of how many times I am told my kid needs vax for school - uhh... no.).

There is no way the agency would be able to check up on you at public health or anything like that, and my agency doesn't monitor who is due for vax or anything like that. The forms all just end up in a drawer.

[MsVyky]

Thanks so much for posting that. I was really stressed out about it for a hot minute. Then I remembered that my program at school required my vaccine status (for holistic health? really?) and I had to go to the IBU and request/pay for the document that proved that *I* was U-T-D

I just checked the box that said "I agree to keep my child current on vaccines as necessary OR as reccommeded by Capital Health". Technically not lying, since I don't think ANY vax are necessary, and the "or" leaves the second part of the statement open ended


f they find out one way or another (y'never know, right?) I'll just tell them that we don't vax for [insert one of many valid reasons here] and that our decision was okay'ed with our ped

eta: thank my lucky stars for FOIP!