Finding a Daycare near You Should Not Be the Only Criteria

Location is very important especially since we already have such long commutes and less time on our hands. However finding a daycare near you should not be your utmost important criteria when choosing a child care provider for your little one or little ones.

The Important Criteria

You may be fortunate to be able to find a quality daycare near your home or your workplace (some offices even have them on site), but not everyone is so lucky. If you do pass by a daycare near you on your way to and from work, make an appointment to meet with the director and after asking the important questions about being licensed, trained in CPR, teacher-child ratio and the like, see what your gut feel is.

If you see all the children are happily engrossed in some kind of constructive activity - that is a good sign. Of course there might be a child or two who is having a bad day or who is throwing a fit, but the majority of the class should be busy and not just plopped in front of a cartoon channel.

Ask them about nap times, meals and snacks, diaper changing facilities, certification of teachers and references where you can speak to other parents yourself. Enquire about sick child policies as you wouldn't want your child to constantly be exposed to a variety of germs day in and day out.

These criteria should always outweigh the fact whether the daycare is near you or not. Even if you have to drive a few more miles or take a few different turns en route to work, it is so worth it when you are comparing that to the well being of your child and the mental satisfaction that you will feel that he or she is in good hands.

The Nanny Option

If you can not find a daycare near you, look around the place you or your spouse works, this way you have three areas to choose from. If nothing works to your satisfaction, consider hiring a nanny to come to your home. This way you will not have to find a daycare near you as the child care will be coming to you. You may be able to leave a little later for work and get back sooner; you need not wake a child at 6 AM and bundle him up in snow suits to drop him off to a day acre center.

However, nannies have their share of issues as well. You again have to trust her dearly as she will be alone with your child. If she falls ill or needs a vacation, you do not have a back up teacher so you may need to take time off from work. Weigh the pros and cons and hopefully you will be able to come to a solution that works best for you and your family.