Lately I've had to start thinking about daycare for bub. I said I'd take a year off and I'm still planning to but with how quickly the year is going by, it's already time to start. When I was pregnant, I was told to get in early on the daycare waiting lists as they're much sought after. We put bub onto two lists when I was about 37 weeks. To be honest, I didn't take it seriously then - how can you when bub hasn't arrived and I hadn't actually decided on a name for the little guy. I think he went onto one of the lists as 'Baby Heng' - well what did the daycare centre expect when bub was still in my tummy.
One of the biggest considerations for us choosing a daycare is the location. There's a few in our area but all are bordering on the long walk/take bub in the car distance. I visited Little Zak's the other day (had heard a lot of good things about them but hadn't gotten round to get on the wait list) just to test how long the walk would be. Ended up being a 10 minute walk and then a 15 minute walk to the station. I said to hubby that that would be doable if you don't mind the big hills and the glisten of sweat after the walk. Though when I think about it, the thought of getting the car, parking the car when it's just a 10 minute walk, well the walk sorta wins.
Anyhow, popped back today after I made an appointment to do a centre tour and was taken around and shown what goes on should I decide to put bub there. We aren't even starting yet but the thought of daycare made me a little sad - my little guy is growing up too quick! Me aside, the centre was great though and we got ourselves on the wait list. I asked a whole stack of questions which I'm going to jot down for my other centre visits (thinking I should visit a few and make an informed decision then).
- Is there parking for drop offs and pick ups?
- What is the cost for the day and what does it include?
- Are there spots available now?
- How many staff are there per child?
- How many kids are there per day?
- What are the opening and closing times?
- What are the penalties for a late pick up?
- What is the check in process? esp. if someone other than the parents are doing a pickup?
- When can we start?
- How would you recommend starting daycare for a mum that needs to go back to work 5 days?
- What food to do you feed?
- What is the program for the day?
- What is the opt out process? How much notice is required to cut back on days or leave the centre?
- Is the price fixed for the year or will there likely be a price increase?
Part of me doesn't want to think about daycare but the reality of it is that it's creeping up on me quick. Time please slow down.
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