How Do You Go About Finding Good Childcare? I'm a Little Overwhelmed...

If you type in the search engine childcare or daycare, and your zipcode, it should pull up quite a bit. Then look online to see if there are reviews. Personally, I did this AND I went in person to several places and said "I'm thinking about placing my child here, can I have a tour" and they'll do so in a heartbeat. I check out the room, the playground, and slowly read brochures or whatever to get a feel for how the staff is around me. Then mamasource is a good source of info if you want to know about a specific place. In-home childcare: you could check with coworkers, mamasource, and see if they're registered, etc. Good luck!

C. - congratulations on the new house & your upcoming arrival! I'm a co-founder of MomCheck - www.momcheck.com - it's a place to start your childcare search. Our database has all facilities in DFW and you can search by hours, rates, and more. We also secret shop daycares, though I don't think we've done any in the area you'll be looking (but you can always pull up the reports of ones we've done so you can get an idea of how comprehensive we do our tours). We have some informative articles on the website, too, to help you become familiar with childcare. We're still free, so definitely check it out.

It's extremely overwhelming to look for childcare!! We're trying to help alleviate some of the angst. If you have any questions or need any advice, please don't hesitate to PM me. I'll be more than happy to help you with anything you may need. Good luck!

I don't have advice on daycare centers, b/c I don't know that area. But I worked in daycare for a total of 4 years. You need to visit several different centers and see which one you feel comfortable in. Ask about child/teacher ratios. In the infant room (6 wk.-12 mo.) the ratio should be no more than 4 babies to 1 teacher. The toddler room ratio is either 7-1 or 9-1. Two yr old's, 11-1; three's is 15-1; 4's is 18-1. These are state guidelines last I worked in a daycare.

I would tour the whole daycare, not just the infant room, and observe how the teachers interact with the kids. Are they sitting there or helping/playing with the kids? Talk to the infant room teacher and ask about how the day goes in the room. Are the babies just sitting in swings, high chair, boucy seats? Or do you see them on the floor? Tummy time should be a requirement each day, not just sometimes. You want to have good communication with your baby's teacher, so make sure you're comfortable with her and the environment. Don't hesitate to ask questions! Also, ask about their "sick policy".

Basically, it comes down to how you feel about the place when you go to visit. If you just don't like it, then visit another place. I wouldn't settle on the first place just because you heard it was good for someone else. Make sure it's good for you and your baby!

This website is very helpful too. Once you find one that peaks your interest, you can see if they've had any violations http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_Care/Search_Texas_Child...