How to choose family day care

Children Today, Jan-Feb, 1992 by Catherine A. Hohman

I took one last look at my four-week-old daughter before leaving. Was her bib clean? Did her flaxen hair point in a wispy peak at the top of her head? Did she look irresistibly adorable? She gave me a puzzled grin. Wow! If only she would do that at the interview. She looked too small to be in the rat race, but out the door we went.

Although it was four years and one baby ago, I can still remember how stressful it was for me to obtain day care for my first-born. Along with all the uncertainty of new parenthood? I was suddenly faced with care decisions that I did not feel prepared to make. I wasn't really certain how to go about it.

Since that time, I have learned that successful acquisition of family day care can be accomplished by breaking the process down into manageable steps. I have also developed an interview form which can be used as a guideline for provider interviews. While the focus of this article is on selecting family day care, the process can be used to obtain other types of day care.

Day Care Choices

Most mothers have an instinctive preference for the type of day care they want for their child. Basically, there are three types of day care:

* Individual In-Home Care--This care is given exclusively to the child and furnished in the parent's home.

* Family Day Care--This care is furnished in the provider's home, often among other children.

* Day Care Centers--These are businesses that specialize in child care.

Cost and personal preference must be considered. Not only should the choice be suitable for the parents, budget but it should be compatible with their lifestyle and with the child's needs and desires.

Referrals

The secret to getting referrals is to ask everybody--from friends to work associates to store clerks to local church groups. Good referrals can sometimes come from unexpected sources in unanticipated ways: I once received an excellent referral as I chatted with a registration clerk while signing up for an aerobics class.

When calling day care providers, a parent should ask providers if they know of other providers in their area. Local day care provider associations sometimes offer referral services. Agencies in some states list licensed referrals by home or work zip code.

Phone Interviews

Several decisions must be made before the interview process is initiated. Parents hoping to find the perfect child day care provider who will instantaneously fulfill all their criteria and expectations may be disappointed--it doesn't usually happen that way. Parents should make a list of the attributes that are most important to them in a day care provider, and what they can and can't live without. They should use the list as a guideline for the initial telephone screening.

Among the most critical issues to consider are the following:

* Is the provider licensed?

* Does the parent prefer that the provider's location is close to work or home?

* Are the day care operation hours compatible with the parent's work schedule?

* Does the provider or any other household member smoke?

* Will the provider be taking the child anywhere by car? If so, does she have safety approved car seats?

* Can the parent afford the cost of the provider's day care?

* Is the focus of the day care on education or is it more family oriented?

When a provider meets the parent's initial requirements but is unable to accept any more children because all her child care slots have been filled, the parent should keep a record of the provider's name and phone number and request that the provider do the same. Because of the unpredictable and changing nature of the work environment, neither the parent nor provider can know when a spot will become available.

Personal Interviews

If a provider has passed the initial screening and has an opening for the child, the parent should arrange for an interview, which can be conducted either during or after day care hours. Scheduling the interview after hours enables the provider to give the parent undivided attention. Interviewing by day allows the parent to witness the normal operation of the day care service. A combination of both types of interviews can be used: If the initial after-hours interview is a success and the provider is definitely a candidate, the parent can schedule a second interview during business hours.

As the old adage goes, two heads are better than one. It is a distinct advantage for a parent researching day care to have a spouse or child present at the interview. It will be worthwhile to determine how well the child responds to the provider and her home. A spouse may also make a number of observations the other parent did not notice.

Even in a case where only a few providers are being evaluated, maintaining a record of each provider interview is invaluable. An interview record retains all the pertinent information in one place, permits the parent to review and compare notes later, and preserves consistency between interviews.

Key factors to weigh during the interview are:

* Overall cleanliness of the day care site. While every parent wants and expects the day care site to be clean, an absolutely spotless environment may not always be a good sign. I once interviewed a woman with an immaculate house. During the course of the interview, however, I discovered that the children were not allowed to play anywhere outside of the play pens.