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When you are shopping around for daycare you are making a huge decision.
You are decided who to trust with the life of your child for a large portion of their day.
The place you select and the caregivers will be taking care of your child’s basic needs and also impacting the person they become.
Let’s take a look at 10 warnings signs that might make you want to avoid or rethink a daycare decision.
#1 Trust Your Gut
You have to trust your gut!
If something makes you feel that your child will not be well cared for then you have to move on. You will never forgive yourself if you ignore a gut feeling and then something bad were to happen.
#2 Watch for Signs
When you first pull up look for literal signs.
“Now Hiring” signs can be a bad thing. This could mean the daycare has a high turnover. A high turnover means your child could frequently have a new caregiver. You want staff that has been there a while and are going to stay. You want your child to go to a daycare where the workers are happy.
Also, watch for a sign saying they have openings. If it is a quality daycare word of mouth will keep them full, possibly even with a waiting list. If the daycare is advertising spots they likely have quite a few openings. Watch out for this.
Both of these are not complete deal-breakers. Any business will come with some turnover and at times spots will need to be filled. These are just potential warning signs.
#3 First Impressions
When you arrive how do you immediately feel? What do you see and hear?
Do you feel like you are walking through chaos?
Are all the kids in rooms and together or are there random children walking around unattended?
We noticed a few random kids walking around during a tour. Who was in charge of this child? Where were they going and who was accounting for them?
This was something I found extremely concerning.
Don’t let the staff tell you that today is just a crazy day and this isn’t the norm. Whatever you see is what is happening on a normal day.
Your first impression will tell you a lot!
#4 Policies
When you are taking a tour or researching a daycare check out the policies they have for various situations. How do drop-off and pick-up work? They should have clear policies. If they don’t I would move along.
Ask about what to expect if an injury occurs. Will you receive a phone call, email, or notice at pick up? They should have established procedures for these situations.
When they talk about these procedures do they use clear language or use words such as “maybe” and “sometimes”.
You want to hear language such as, in the case of a minor injury we inform the parent about what happened at pickup time. In the case of an emergency, our first call would be for emergency services followed up by phone calls to the parent.
You want them to sound like they know what they are doing with consistent practices.
#5 Cleanliness
While walking around the facilities do you feel that the cleanliness is up to par? Now if lunch is happening or a craft has caused a mess that is completely normal. However, if it is 10 am and the kids aren’t eating yet the snack table is a mess as well as the floor then I would start to question things.
We all want our children in a clean environment.
While looking at the cleanliness also pay attention to the toys and the general look of the room. Do the toys look clean and in good working condition? Is there some sort of structure and organization to the room or is it just chaos?
#6 Classroom
Pay attention while touring the room your child will be in. I already mentioned cleanliness, but there is so much more.
First off, count how many children and in the room and how many teachers.
During a tour, I saw 6 children to 1 teacher in a room that should have been 5:1. Where was the other teacher? Do they not take the legal ratio seriously?
Look around the room for different signs and lists. Maybe you will see the daily schedule where times are listed for snacks, lunch, and nap time. You could also see signs stating which child has food allergies.
At my daughter’s current daycare there is a large sign on the fridge and snack cabinet with her name and food allergies. I appreciate this for her safety.
#7 Questions
When you are taking a tour or learning about a daycare, what questions do they ask you?
That’s right I am flipping this around on the daycare.
You of course can have your lists of questions, but right now I am interested in what they ask you.
After all, it is important they show interest in getting to know your child.
Some things I would love for them to ask include:
-Does your child have any allergies or dietary restrictions?
-Is this their first time at daycare?
-If you switched daycares what was the reason?
-Will you have consistent people picking up and dropping off?
-Do they get along well with other kids?
They could also make an effort to interact with your child, like giving a toddler a high five.
I am not saying the daycare should come at you with this entire list. That would be a lot. My point is do they show interest in learning about your child? Do they seem interested in your child’s backstory? Or are they just curious about how you will be making the weekly payment?
#8 Staff Interactions
Pay attention to everyone. If a manager is giving you a tour how does the teacher respond when you all walk into the room? Do the teacher and manager seem to have a good relationship?
Another interesting thing to pay attention to is how the staff interacts with the children in front of you. Sometimes you walk into a room while touring a toddler with comes up to you with questions. Does the tour person treat them kindly or do they ignore them hoping they will move along?
Look for kindness in all interactions. Those between staff and directed at children.
#9 Lines of Communication
When you first contacted the daycare did they respond in a timely manner and was the communication smooth? How was the process of setting up a daycare tour?
If you struggled with these simple tasks just imagine how continued communication will look.
Communication is extremely important when it comes to your child. If your child is still nonverbal communication is EVERYTHING!
If communication is a struggle I would walk away.
#10 Reviews
You have to check out online reviews. When you do so make sure you are looking at the dates. A daycare can change a lot in a year. Reviews are where people can express how they really felt about a place. Look at the ratings, reviews, and what people have to say. You can also find some information via social media groups.
Use your resources available to help in your decision!
Conclusion
These 10 areas are great for uncovering warning signs of a not-so-great daycare. Be the detective your child needs to find them the best possible daycare you can. Use these warning signs to help you avoid disaster.
Good luck in your search!
Check Out My Articles
The Top 7 Things to Consider Before Choosing a Daycare for Your Child
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