What Is Your Daycare like in the Morning?

J.

I agree with the other responses. They should be ready and more importantly, welcome your little one upon arrival. It builds his/her confidence and self-esteem. I recommend that you consider an alternative place if nothing changes after you speak with the assistant director.

I am an "over the top" mom and actually drive 15 mins out of my way to take my children to a center where they are cared for to my liking. I was pretty picky, and well worth the extra time on the road. I found them by doing a search at naeyc.org (National Association for the Education of Young Children). They certify childcare centers based on guidelines that typically exceed the state requirements for child/teacher ratios, lighting, curriculm, etc.

Best of luck to you. If I can be of help, just ask! -A.

Hi, I have a 17 month old daughter in DayCare. The center i take her to has different classrooms. Sometimes i have to take her in early and her teachers are not there yet either, but when this happens she just goes into one of the other classrooms and stays there with other "teachers" until her class is ready for her. They should always make you feel confident that your child is being taken care of. Its good that you will be calling to speak with the Asst Director, they have to be made aware of the problem and correct it!..by the way, what day care center is it??

J.:
I have to say that I have a similar frustration with our current daycare center. We moved three months ago, and the center in NYC was always fully staffed and up and running, no matter if we got there the minute they opened. There were two teachers in each classroom upon opening, so one was able to welcome the children and one was able to speak to the parents.
Now that we are in CT, her regular teachers don't come in and open her room until 8:30 or so. There is a wonderful teacher in the adjacent toddler room who cares for the early drop offs. But she is all alone, so has a lot to do and I feel that we don't get the morning attention that we need (now that my daughter is experiencing separation anxiety).

What's worse is that even though I pay for the early drop off, sometimes when I come in, we need to wait for a second teacher to come to the room or I need to take my daughter to another toddler room so that they can meet "ratio" of no more than four children per caregiver. I am not suggesting that they should break ratio, but they really should have more staff on duty for drop off. I agree its very frustrating, especially if you have just gone back to work and are both adjusting to the concept of daycare in general.
You might want to start checking in with the daycare center during the day and asking how your son is doing. I called most days for a few weeks after we moved, and they always were happy to fill me in on the days full activities. You might also ask for a written sheet of each days events, which both centers I used provided automatically. I always felt better knowing the details of my daughter's day.
BTW, my daughter seems to love her daycare situation otherwise. I have come in at different times of day to observe and she is always happy and engaged. When I pick her up in the evening she chatters all about her friends at school and her teachers. Its just the frustration of the morning that gets me.

J.
If they open at 7 they shoud be ready for your child, no ifs ands, or butts. I would definitely speak with the Dir and let her know you do not feel comfortable dropping off your child. You may also want to look for another facility. What town do you live in or work in..I may be able to make some suggestions.

Let me know if I can help
B.

Hello

I have had similiar experiences from my daycare. I too would wait for someone to take notice of my son and feel frustrated and torn when I left. Then I decided that I pay good money for daycare and I was the "customer" not someone that should be grateful to them. I addressed the issue face to face with the Director. I am always respectful but I am to the point on my concerns. I also say the same thing to the primary teacher, or whomever is in the room with my son, that way I know everyone is aware of the challenge and if I don't see improvments I do a friendly reminder. Let's face it, daycare providers don't get paid that much, and they do it for the love of kids, so Director's and Assistant Director's sometimes hate to make waves and risk loosing people That is never my intention and I make a point to say; let's work together and resolve this so I can feel confortable and confident in my daycare decision. They understand me, my expectations and through discussions I get to understand them and we work together so I can feel good about leaving my son in their care.