So I found the perfect dayhome in March for Finley. Or so I thought. At the time, it seemed great. 2 ladies looking after 5 kids 2 blocks from my house and was relatively inexpensive. I was so excited that I had gotten so lucky. Fast forward 6 months to our first playdate with the dayhome. The head of it all had left that day for a 5 day trip to the states so it was the other dayhome girl and the other girl's mother in law.
There were 2 kids a little older then Finley who by the looks of it, hadn't had their diaper changed in hours - it was droopy I am not sure how it stayed on. The same 2 kids were so filthy that I was speechless. I was told that 2 other kids had stayed home that day because they were sick and 2 others around the age of 4 were playing wii. Or at least one of them was. So I added it up - that's 7 kids including Finley. Then she told me that her sister was bringing her 2 kids starting in November. 9 children for 2 women? That's not what I signed up for.
The two older kids that were there were on the couch playing the Wii. Well, it seems that only one kid was playing because it was his wii, his house and because of that he didn't need to share.
His sister was one of the dirty kids and was also running around the house eating a hotdog. Did they not have to eat in the kitchen? Did they not realize that the child could choke on the hotdog by running or what would happen if they fell? Perhaps I am overreacting but these situations could occur. Finley went to grab a book and she grabbed it and said mine mine mine. They just laughed. Technically it was hers, but I would like to think they would encourage the kids to share.
Another thing that bothered me was that the carpet was filthy. I am not sure when it was vacuumed last. Also, the couches (which were leather) were filthy, you could see sticky spilled juice stuck on it and yet she said she just cloroxed it with wipes. She obviously didn't do a good job. The gate that separated the kitchen from the front room was broken and nothing there to keep Finley from crawling into the kitchen. At one point she did do this and the 2 ladies just kinda laughed and I had to go get her. When I entered the kitchen, the island thingy was covered in bottles and all kinds of other crap - nothing very sanitary!!
As I was getting ready to leave the 2 closest to Finley were walking and playing with Pencils. This did not please me. God knows what kinda damage you could do to a child if they fell.
Lastly, both toddlers still had bottles which is fine I guess but I am working really hard trying to get Finley onto a sippee cup and this will not help the situation.
Perhaps I am overreacting, my standards are too high some might thing, but when it comes to my child, nothing but the best will do. So now I am looking and looking. I have emailed probably 20 dayhomes in the area and have 2 playdate/meetings lined up today and tomorrow. Hopefully more will follow. I still have one more playdate at said nightmare place tomorrow but I am pretty sure that we will be attending a new one more sooner then later.
Anybody who has any ideas regarding dayhomes or daycares, please feel free to share!!
Oh yah! I can relate to this one! I completely agree with you that it's not about the standards being too high, it's about your child welfare and SAFETY. I went though exactly the same. First Michelle went to a highly recommended daycare. I would NOT recommend it at all! NAZI! All they wanted is kids being quiet and play those video games! common! Very conviniet for them, but what about those kids? And no running or active games? Tell it to a perky 3 yo. Food was very questionable... Then I really saw that Michelle is very unhappy there i though screw those recommendations and provider early childhood education crap. I want my daugter to be happy and safe. Everything else will come. So I started looking like crazy for another dayhome. I searched the Internet (I find kijiji the most useful) and started calling the providers. You will get the sense about the person even over the phone. Some sounded crazy or "unstable". If you think that the person seems to be OK go and see everything with your eyes. First without Finley if you can so you can concentrate on what is going on in there. look at the kids, they will tell you everything without any words. Don't be biased against immigrants. I WAS. Stupid me. It does not matter. The one that Michelle goes now is run by an Iranian woman. She has been here for a long time, but still... Iranian... I was kinda not happy about it, but my guts told me to try it because ALL the kids looked happy, clean and well fed there. The place was clean. ALL the kids were playing TOGETHER! And the caregiver looked HAPPY to be looking after them. So we tried it and in 3 days I knew that Michelle is happy now. Don't be fooled, you will never find a PERFECT place. Something will be always not the way you want. But there is minor stuff that does not really matter in the long run and MAJOR stuff that MUST be right. Also, keep in mind that you are not signing a cantract, so if you see later on that something is definetely wrong, look for another one untill you find the one that both of you love. It takes time, but you will find such for sure. Good day care does wonders for kids.
ReplyDeleteJulia
Hi Becky,
ReplyDeleteBeing that I just went back to work I know exactly what you are going through. We looked at close to 10 dayhomes and I just couldn't find one that meets my standards. My standards are high like yours but that is OK since we are leaving them with our most precious cargo!!!! I went to daycare my whole life and my mom said when choosing it comes down to gut feeling. If your gut feel is no then it isn't the right place for Finley. We decided on a daycare just because it came as close to a gut feel of yes as we are going to get. Is it perfect... no. But we think that Grady is being well cared for and safe. That is what it really boils down to. Good luck with the search as I know it is not easy. I hope you find something really soon!!
Christy