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infant home day care - opinions wanted
Hi - never posted here before and wanted local mom's takes on this.
I have my 7 month old at a day care since late August. Its a home day care and the owner has 2 ladies helping her. Long story short: We get the impression that the owner is not there most of the time. (she might be upstairs in her house) but not in the room with the kids. (When we booked her, she promised she was there all of the time except when she drove her son to school and picked him up)
Today we found out she went away for the night and isn't there all day today. Didn't tell us or ask us. We didnt know the lady who was filling in for her and her helper (who we really like) lied to us when I asked if the owner was upstairs in the AM. (Lets just say facebook can really get you in trouble if you friend your clients/customers). Also, her helpers don't speak great English so I wanted to be sure that my kid is being spoken to in English and they are supposed to sing and stuff and I just dont think that happens.
Just wanted some opinions here since we are first time parents and are wondering if we are crazy/overreacting and why none of the other parents seem to care since she has a pretty full house most of the time.
That's our main issue with the place (a few other little ones) and just have a weird feeling the person we thought was going to watching our baby doesn't even know him. (esp since the last time she tried to hold him in the AM when I was there, he cried and wouldn't go to her, only the helper).
TIA
Re: infant home day care - opinions wanted
My child would be out. No questions asked. If she tried to pull a money thing I would show her FB (screen shot her profile NOW).
Anytime you feel weird about it, you follow your gut. It's not a good fit. I'm not saying your child isn't taken care of there, but it's not care that you are comfortable with.
I would certainly speak with this woman about your concerns. Whether you give it another chance or tell her when you are leaving is up to you.
We're at a corporate center. I will say that everyone speaks English, but most with an accent. My child got songs in English and Spanish from the teachers. There is often English childrens music playing in the rooms int he morning too.
It's not unusual for there to be staff changes at a place like mine either, or for teachers, like head teachers, to take a week or so of vacation and we are not notified in advance.
I was often concerned in the beginning that we needed an identified care taker. I have learned that I was wrong. We're at a large center - there are teachers I have never spoken to that say hello to my youngest as we walk down the hall - I know they aren't her teacher, and yet they know her name. There's a lot of floating around. A women comes in to teach an "enrichment program" to these hundreds of kids - every class has it once a week. She'll tell my older one how my younger one behaved! Everyone knows everyone- not what I expected at a big place, but it's a nice feeling.
As for the crying - some kids cry at drop off every day. others are when the routine changes a bit (favorite teacher isn't there). others when they are tired. others only on monday after spending all weekend with family. my girls have had their teacher preferences. i don't know that the hand off incident would phase me.
what would bother me is her friending clients. that's plain unprofessional and stupid. and being lied to - you should be able to trust who is watching your children. Obviously the language thing bothers you too.
the hardest part of this is that your child cannot tell you about their day. i learned after my oldest could communicate well that their day is wildly different than i ever imagined (for the better)
anyway - my feelings towards our daycare haven't always been a love affair, but it is where i am comfortable leaving my girls.
trust your gut and good luck.
thanks for taking the time to write that. My husband isn't into the corporate thing but I would totally use a Tutor Time or something. I think we will when he is more of an older toddler so he can get used to a school setting like that. My mother has a lot of background in that too since she used to be a day care director. (she also tells me that you ARE going to find things you don't love at every place you find and just to be sure its a safe place for him to be, etc.)
I have no problem with accents and stuff but I also just want to be sure they ARE actually doing things like singing and playing - not just managing the madness...
I am meeting with another home provider tomorrow, and its much closer and less expensive too.
i agree with ur take on the fb thing - I do NOT friend my clients or people I work with in other companies.
My son has been in a day care center enviromennt since he was 17 months old so I've had a bit of different experience from a home day care. Regardless of the type of daycare setting. you should NEVER be lied to by your provider. That's just not cool in my opinion.
This woman doesn't sound very smart to me if she's friending clients on FB and then announcing she's away when she's promised clients she is with their children. The other parents probably don't seem to care because they have no idea she's not there. I bet if they knew she was leaving their children with the helpers they would have a problem with it too.
You're right in that you won't love everything about a d/c, but you need to feel comfortable with the care your child is receiving. Mother's intuition is always right. Go with your gut on this one.
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My daughter has been in a daycare center for 60 hours a week since she was 7 weeks old. I can't speak on the home day care from a personal note, but one of the big reasons I don't like the setting is I don't like the idea of putting my child in a stranger's intimate area. Too many creeps out there. I like that there are many adults around my child at all times.
For me, the real deal breaker is lying to you. Who knows what else she is lying about? Follow your mommy instincts. Hope the interview goes well!
thanks all....my hubs ran into her yesterday when he was picking up the baby and she played it all out like it was a surprise bday trip and she didn't know blah blah.
We are def keeping a close eye on things and I plan to be very straight up with her about asking about her actually being there all the time, etc.