How do I search for daycare?

JenD1018 · August 2012

We will probably be putting Jack in full time daycare in January.

I have a recommendation from a friend but I'd like to see what else is out there. Are there any good web resources? Do you think my pedi would happen to have a list?

I live in Glenside if anyone knows of any good places!

tracyd21 · August 2012

I don't live near you or have any recs, but I used this site to search for licensed centers in my area. It's through PA Health and Human Services.

https://www.humanservices.state.pa.us/compass.web/ProviderSearch/pgm/PSWEL.aspx

jessica0602 · August 2012

I asked coworkers and friends. I think personally recommendations were our best resource. We did check up on the place we chose before we went but that's how we got our place.

kross605 · August 2012

Posting on this board and asking around to neighbors, coworkers etc helped me uncover a few options and the biggest help was asking the County for a list of their licensed daycares, which did include some in-home locations--I assume every county has this kind of list?

FWIW, Ive heard very good things about the Malvern School, if you have a location near you and a good friend of mine considered the daycares at both Abington and Holy Redeemer hospitals (thats close to you, right?) for her kids. They go to one of them but I dont remember which one, but she liked both of them and you DONT have to be an employee there or anything.

I wonder if your school district would have a list? I really dont know where else to go.

JenD1018 · August 2012

Thanks for all the good tips!

canesbaby · August 2012

You can do a zip code search on the keystone stars website to find centers, and that will also tell you how many stars a center has. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a great resource for accredited daycare/preschool programs, though I would definitely still consider programs that were not NAEYC accredited, especially smaller ones that just don't have the funds to make it worth it.

I think visiting centers is huge. We're considering switching our daughter now that she's a little older, and I've already visited a few and have several more tours lined up. It gives you such a good idea of what options are out there, you learn about different centers' philosophies on learning, and you can see the teachers and kids interacting. You can't find much online about daily schedules for different age groups, teacher to kid ratios, etc., so I've found it best just to visit centers to get a feel for them and have a chance to ask all of my questions! It is hard to find where the centers are/what centers are close to you- I have also just done google map searches for daycare, preschool, childcare, montessori, etc. and even just drove around looking. Recommendations and online reviews are a great way to prioritize which to visit and which to leave off your list once you have one!

ColRan2010 · August 2012

I toured the gerstadt center in Abington and liked it. I was wait listed at Holy Redeemer for 1 1/2 years and just got the call for Sept start but I like where my son goes now so he will not be going. I also toured the Abington YMCA but it wasnt my favorite. Finally i looked He is at a center in Willowgrove area... It's smaller but has been around a long time... PM me if you would like the name. There is a church in glenside that has a daycare but I can't remember the name of it.... It's listed on the sign out front

eSynergy · August 2012

I didn't have any recommendations from people when we were looking...I just did internet searches until I had a list of every possible option, then visited them. I was able to really narrow down our search after doing tours and talking to directors. You'll get a good feeling if you like a daycare. I also looked at the parents (I went early in the morning at drop-off time) to see if they looked "normal" and happy.

eaglesfan700 · August 2012

Are you friends with ccmom on FB? Her daughter lives in Glenside and has kids, I bet she would have some recommendations for you. GL!

larrysdarling · August 2012

My search was a little like Esyn's. I googled dc's local to home and my work (not dh's b/c of his awful hours and commute into Philly.) Fortunately I worked close to home. If I didn't I prob would have looked at one that was on the way to work.

The visit is key. I always called first to ask a few questions to get feel for them and to ask about price. I didn't bother to go to any that were out of our price range.

I think so many parents will tell you to go visit and see how you feel. You'll get a good feel for the place by going to see it. Look for happy kids, ask a lot of questions about things that are important to you and your family (i.e. policies about how they deal with bf'd babies, etc.)

If you find a few you like, see if you know people who have used them - like on here or on FB if you can.

Out of curiosity, why the switch to dc? Is the family thing just not working out?

JenD1018 · August 2012

larrysdarling:

Out of curiosity, why the switch to dc? Is the family thing just not working out?

We are thinking about moving to daycare for a few reasons, even though it's going to cost us more.

The primary reason being more socialization for Jack and having lots of different activities and experiences.

In terms of family, it's getting hard because my SIL, my mom and now MIL (she just retired and offered to watch him one day a week) schedules are changing and he's shuffled all over and it's getting hard on Mr.D (he does the dropoff and pickup) and it's not a consistent schedule for Jack.

And my other SIL is due any day now and she asked my SIL (her sister) if she could maybe watch her baby starting in November or December and I think it's going to be too much because my SIL has her two kids at home with her (one will start am kindergarten this fall).

How do I search for daycare?

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