One of the most stressful decisions for any working parent is choosing the best daycare for our little bundles of joy. That’s not surprising – we leave our precious children with these individuals for 8 hours a day. Not to mention, daycare can easily eat up a giant chunk of our salaries. It’s no wonder that finding quality child care at an affordable cost leaves many of us wringing our hands.
A main reason for the stress is that we don’t really know which questions we ask. We think we do. We have our list ready to go, get the answers we think we want, and then are shocked a few months later when we learn about a mass employee turnover at the center or find out our kids have been ingesting sugared fruit punch all day.
“We spend more time shopping for a car than shopping for child care,” said Stephen Zwolak, executive director of the University City Children’s Center. “We need to allow parents the opportunity to test drive their schools.”
To narrow down 10 questions every parent should ask on their “test drive,” I asked both Zwolak and Dr. L. Carol Scott, executive director of the Missouri Child Care Resource Referral Network (MOCCRRN), for opinions on appropriate questions and threw in a couple of my own.
Dr. Scott’s examples (via email):
Zwolak’s examples:
My examples:
No matter if it’s your child’s first week at daycare or his third year, it’s essential to keep the dialogue going between yourself and your childcare provider. These men and women you entrust want the best for your children, and maintaining a relationship built on mutual respect will go a long way in the emotional health and well-being of your child.
By Nicole Plegge, Lifestyle Blogger for SmartParenting
Metro East mom Nicole Plegge has written for STL Parent for more than 12 years. Besides working as a freelance writer & public relations specialist, and raising two daughters and a husband, Nicole's greatest achievements are finding her misplaced car keys each day and managing to leave the house in a stain-free shirt. Her biggest regret is never being accepted to the Eastland School for Girls. Follow Nicole on Twitter @STLWriterinIL
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