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| |  To all the mothers: Day Care Advice (long)
Hello Allnurses!
I just got accepted into Midwestern State's BSN Program for the fall. The school is a 150 miles from my parents house, which I reside, so of course I'm moving. I have a soon to be 3 month old little boy =) I do have a babysitter down here who has been watching my nephew until he was able to go to school as well as my niece. They are now 6 and 7. She is currently keeping my other niece who is 20 months old. She is wonderfullll. And plus she is a great family friend. Now seeing how I will move, I have nobody to watch my son when needed. My bf is currently in jail for something he didn't do, no he isnt a dead beat and whatever else you might be thinking. He goes to court on the 23rd of this month, so I'm not sure what will happen, if they have to reset his court date again, or he goes to trial or whatever, the point is, I don't know if he will be out in time when school starts. So my question is to all the mothers, or even Aunties who have custody of their nieces, nephews, anybody with children, or who have experiece with children, how do you pick a day care. My sister advised me to go to the Child Protective Services website and look at all the day cares and people who do child care throught out their homes and look at their ratings. She said pay attention to how long they have been in business, how long they have had their issuance of their license, and the ratings. After 7 pages of day cares and people, I have narrowed it down to 5. Four are licensed day cares and they have been in business from 1986, 1988, 1996, and 1998. No violations, no complaints, passed inspection. Then I have another woman, she is registered does child care from her home, has been doing business since 1998, no violations, no complaints, passed inspection. I need help on choosing. How do I go about this? Do I go set up a visit? What questions should I ask? Any suggestions and advice would help. I think I can narrow it down to three, because I know I will be in clinicals and those start around 6:30-6:45 right? And two of those don't take children until 7AM. The woman in her house starts at 6AM until 6PM, the other two are 6:30-5:30. Please help me out. I'm terrrrrrrrrrified of day cares. There is always a story on the news "we're sorry, we didn't know we left little Billy in the van", or "omgsh, i don't know how he fell" or "i didn't hit him T H A T hard". I know mothers can really understand what I'm coming from. So please help me out. I will be so appreciative. Hopefully, my bf will be out in time, so I won't have to go through any of this, but if he's not I need help. Please keep us in your prayers.
-Prettyladie.
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| | Advertisement Sponsored Links | | | | No. 2 | 
Apr 19, 2009, 06:31 PM
Re: To all the mothers: Day Care Advice (long)
Thank you so much for your input.
| | No. 4 |
Apr 19, 2009, 07:28 PM
Re: To all the mothers: Day Care Advice (long)
i wish i could. i dont know anybody in this area. I will be completely new to Wichita Falls, that's why I'm extra nervous. I've been told to ask a lot of questions. I'm just trying to think of every one i can.
| | No. 6 |
Apr 19, 2009, 08:03 PM
Re: To all the mothers: Day Care Advice (long)
Is there any way you can find a school closer to all the family support you have?
steph
| | No. 7 |
Apr 19, 2009, 08:24 PM
Re: To all the mothers: Day Care Advice (long)
I leave my son with a sitter and have since he was 3 months old. I ALWAYS make sure they are licensed by the state, as they have to pass an FBI fingerprint check, like we do for nursing. I ALWAYS go on more than one interview so in the beginning, I will go to let's say 10 different daycare providers. I will then narrow it down to the people I think are the most trustworthy, clean, no tv, healthy homecooked meals, GREAT interaction with the children, children's drawings on the walls, activities going on, etc. Then, once I narrow it down, I will go back and interview again, usually right before lunch (that's a provider's busiest time) and see how they handle the stress.
I also like to call and make sure my buddy is doing great during the day. My childcare provider is the BEST. I'm not in the Wichita Falls area but I'm sure there are great providers there as well. You should always have access to the childcare provider's licensing history, which will include ANY claim for negligence, abuse, etc, even if it is unfounded. I rule these people out right away. Better safe than sorry.
You can always ask for a list of references as well and CALL ALL OF THEM!
Good luck and try not to worry too much. Does the school you are going to have daycare? What about a center?
| | No. 8 |
Apr 19, 2009, 09:06 PM
Re: To all the mothers: Day Care Advice (long)
this is to the several posts. i cant find another school because out of 5 schools this is the only one that has accepted me and I'm taking no chances of trying to apply to a school that is closer to home. My parents could keep him, but it would make no difference because my mom works 7-4 and sometimes until 6 and my dad just doesnt havent patience, so while she is at work, she would have to take them to the babysitter i have now. so i think that is excess money to be spending. and plus my mother works hella OT and she works every other saturday. so thats not really working. as for his other granny my bfs mom. she works a rotating shift, but she is mgr so she can make her own schedule, but still its not working. and honestly i dont think i can go weeks without seeing my child, as wichita falls is not an easy weekend commute. like i said. i have found the centers that i liked based on their qualifications and no complaints, no abuse, and etc. the entire history is great. im going the first week of may with my mother, and i know i will check them out, i'm just reallly nervous. i litterally just started crying because i dont want anybody to hurt my child, just like any other parent, but it happens. the centers i found are all licensed by the state. there is one, and she is only registered. i'm not real sure what that means, becuase she has been doing childcare since 1994 and the CPS documents no faulty activity, no complaint, and passed all inspections.
| | No. 9 |
Apr 19, 2009, 10:40 PM
Updated
Apr 19, 2009 at 10:48 PM by Jo Dirt
Re: To all the mothers: Day Care Advice (long)
I'll be Frank (and I'll be Earnest, too) but I can only make assumptions, forgive me if I'm wrong. When you say "boyfriend" I am just assuming this is not the father of your infant. If you have not known this man long, please do not leave him with your child. For that matter, jails are full of innocent people (if you know what I mean.) I recently saw on the news about a woman grieving over her year old daughter she left with her boyfriend while she went to class at the local college. He shook her baby to death. She says she couldn't understand how he could do this because he treated her like gold the whole time she knew him. Bad people don't have the decency to wear a sign or show overt indicators they are not nice people.
I used to be trusting of people, way too trusting. It sounds like this may not be the best time to move, especially with a young child and no family around. If you move, please contact the CPs to find daycare centers and get all the financial help you can through grants and public assistance.
If you think I'm being paranoid, just think of how you would feel if something happened to that sweet baby. You can't be too careful.
P.S. I know what it is like to feel like you've got an opportunity you have to hold on to, but it sounds like you may have a lot of things going against you with this. I recently turned down my dream job after a lot of grieving over it but finally decided it wasn't what was best for my four children. I've had many regrets over not taking this job (which would have required me to move out of state) but there came a point I had to realize the cards were stacked against me. Surely, you have another option. Why can't you go to the vo-tech and become an LPN first? Don't you have a local vocational school? It's only a year! You could then work and do an online LPN to BSN program...it isn't that out of reach! I'm not going to think I'm going to change your mind, but in case there is any chance of getting you to consider an alternative I want to put it out there.
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