The adjustment from parental leave to childcare can be rough for anyone but luckily there are some ways to ease the transition. The number one way to keep anxiety down is to feel 97% confident in your provider! I don’t say 100% because odds are that you won’t trust anyone to take care of your child as well as you, but there are some amazing providers who might come pretty damn close.
Of course there are some standard questions you’ll ask any potential provider like “What are your hours?” “Do you have any pets?” “What is the cost?” While these are all important, they don’t tell you whether or not you’re going to be a nervous, crying, mess on that first day at daycare or just a less nervous, crying, mess. LOL.
The questions that will truly help you choose the best provider are often the ones that aren’t thought of until you’ve already made a commitment. Below I’m sharing the 9 most important questions to ask before choosing a daycare provider:
-Will you follow the same schedule we have at home?
-Will there be any other adults around my child? (home daycare)
-If food is provided, do you have a menu?
-Do you feed purees, use baby led feeding, or a mixture?
-How will you put my baby down for a nap? Rock them, cry-it-out, held?
-What do you do with unused breastmilk at the end of the day? Breastmilk should never be wasted! Check out all of the cool things you can do with it, here.
-What is the best way to communicate if we have a concern? Text, call, email?
-Do you celebrate any holidays with the kids?
-How do you discipline kids?
There are no right or wrong answers to these questions but it’s the little things that can sometimes be a cause of contention. Hopefully the answers to these questions will help you decide whether or not your potential provider’s values align with yours!
What questions do you wish you would have asked before choosing a provider?
Sleepy Sista 