1. The Day Care Employees take part in good sanitation.... i.e. washing their hands... the children's hands.. and they change diapers properly (using bleach water on the surface, and washing their hands and the child's hands afterwards) There is a lot more to this one, and if you want more info about sanitation, you can always contact your local Health Dept. to get more info. *Each state has diffrent regulations, some better than others!
2. The Staff welcomes you to view their facility, including the areas where your child will sleep, eat, and play. (If the provider is hesitant to show you an area, it may be because there are more children than there should be there.)
3. The Staff welcomes you to visit with your child during the day, and spend time there with your child, before and after enrollment.
4. The children like the childcare provider(s).
5. Although most facilities will want you to come in during nap time to view their facility, I feel the best time is early morning, say around 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. The children are awake and you can see how the provider interacts with them easily. Depending on schedules, see if you can view the facility at a time when the children are awake.
6. Plan to spend some time with your child at the facility. This is the best thing that you can do for you and your child. It gives you a chance to see how your child will interact with the provider and other children (if they want to) and it gives the child a sort of "test run", so that they feel more comfortable at the daycare.
7. The facility has a set curriculum, including science, math, stories, language, games and physical education.
8. The daycare is licensed.
9. The facility observes your state's children to provider ratio.
10. They have a clean, fenced in playground, and go outside everyday if weather permits. *In the summer, you may want to be sure they are not going out in the hottest part of the day 10AM - 4PM, depending on where you live.)
These next few are suggestions for after your child is enrolled at the daycare.
1. Drop in unannounced. Say you pick up your child at 5 p.m every day, but you have a half day on Tuesday, and can pick him up at 11 a.m, it's worth the extra fee for the half day to drop in and find out what goes on during the day.
2. Remember that form you filled out, it stated who is allowed to take your child home from Day Care? Find someone whom you trust that's not on that list, and have them pick up your child one day, but don't tell the daycare that they are coming. If they let that person take your child, you should either have a long talk with the Owner/Director or find another daycare.
3. Drop in once on your break. This one is okay for parents of children who don't have separation anxiety. If your child cries when you leave them, DO NOT drop in to say "hi." But for the most part, it gives you an opportunity to check out the staff in action.
4. If you have an infant (child under 1), notice where your child is when you pick them up every day. Are they always in a swing or play pen, is someone playing with him/her or is he/she playing on the floor or sleeping?
These tips adapted from Chicky Ma Ma's Page!
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RELATED LINKS
National Clearinghouse On Child Abuse and Neglect Information
CareGuide
Kidcare.net
