What are the most important questions to ask when interviewing a new child care provider?

Our babysitter quit today with no notice. I've visited a few child care centers today, and I'm so nervous about sending my daughter to such a big environment when she's used to being in a house. She's 8 months old. What have been your experiences with infants and child care centers?

Public Comments

1. ask the ratio of providers to kids,you want your child to be able to get as much attention as possible. Ask if everyone is CPR certified,have them tell you what all the do in a day.


2. Personally, I would try to talk to other parents and find out what they think about the child care center. Find out how many adults are there, and the ratio of children per adult. You could check with the Better Business Bureau also to make sure they don't have any complaints against them.


3. I would ask them to provide you with 3 references of people that currently have children close to the age of your child and then call them. Be sure to ask the references what they like about the center and what needs improvement. Also, when you decide on a place plan on making a few random visits to let the care givers know you could show up any time unannounced. Good luck!


4. The very FIRST question to ask is if they allow parents to "drop in" without calling/notice. If they say "No" walk out. If they say yes, then you can ask any other questions such as child/caregiver ratio, activities, if they have any sort of educational cirriculum, meals, and/or field trips and parental involvment.


5. Before I was a mom I worked in a childcare center and we had an infant room. Some of the things that my center took pride upon were the following things:

   **all of the staff was CPR/First Aid certified (re-issued every year at training, no lapsing!)

   **parents were able to drop in whenever to say hello to their babies (once the baby graduated to the toddler room the parent was welcome to observe but it was usually hard for the child to see mom or dad leave 2x in one day)

   **Our toys and equipment were sanitized at least once during the day and every night at closing. Toys were also rotated around

   I also agree about talking with parents to see how they feel about the center. Parents are usually more than willing to share their experiences about the centers (even the if they don't like it)

   Good Luck! It can be hard dropping your baby off somewhere else but in the end it should be a great experience for your daughter. Lots of interaction with kids and loving adults!