New Childcare Provider Review Site!

Our friends at myChildCareCrush.com have created a wonderful option for parents wanting to know what other parents are saying about their child care provider!


This site is brand-new, and looking for parents like you to add your favorite (or not-so favorite) childcare provider in Ohio or Kentucky and to the list, and leave a review based off of your experience for already listed providers.

Listing and Leaving a Review is easy!

1.  Visit mychildcarecrush.com 

1.  Search for your provider name by name, address, or county - add a Review if they are listed

1. If you don't see your provider listed, click "Add A Provider" on the top right of the Homepage and List for free! Only add the provider's/Center's name and address. 

You will be prompted to sign in/sign up so that you can be notified when your provider has been published.  Once your provider is published, you can then add your review.

   This is a site by parents, for parents!  The more providers that are added, the more of resource it will be for parents looking for new providers!  

If you review customer reviews of hotels before you stay,  why are you just shoving your kids into a stranger's place before getting reviews??

@OVParent Ohio's parents R using the newest site to list your favorite providers & share reviews! Visit https://t.co/CETxPUqEU4 for details! pic.twitter.com/KiWAMS0qu5

— Ele Millenia (@alphagenfiles) October 18, 2017

Why I like this site:

1. Signing up and listing a provider is easy- you just need their name/center name and address.
2. Providers will have the chance to respond to your concerns and make it right.
3. You can read articles and discuss child-related topics with other parents in the Tea Time Discussions forums.

Sign up today!  myChildCareCrush.com
 

Preschool Tours

You've narrowed down your list of preschool choices with great academic records and now it's time to tour. Beyond the usual questions, there are other questions you should be asking, and behaviors you should be noticing.  Here are a few major things to look for during your tour

Displays of the student's art work is a great sign 

1. Does the school official actually interact with the children? Does he or she greet the child by name or just gives general, "Hi"?  Schools often have set tour dates so they can put their best foot forward.  I like to schedule my tour on another day so I can get a better feel of the culture and if the administrators don't know the children's names, you'll know that they haven't been there long, the children are all new, or they haven't cared to learn the children's names. 
2. Do the children like their officials? Do you catch them approaching teachers or admins on their own? Hug or side chat?
3. What is the willingness of the admin tour guide to take you to additional parts of the school...or when you ask, do they make excuses?
4. Do you see bullying on the playground? Take time to observe the children in their free-play setting. I do it without the kids noticing too much but with school permission. This is when you can see the kids' interactions and how issues are handled by staff/faculty. You can also ask what they're policy is. Saying they have no bullying means they're oblivious and don't care to even know...which could be dangerous for your child.
5.  Ask teachers and other staff if they'd bring their own kids to the school. Some parents will volunteer this information and that's good but then ask if they still are enrolled and why not
6. How do they interact with your child? If your toddler seems apprehensive during the tour, does the tour official reach out to help put your babe at ease, do they seem annoyed by your child's reservations, or do they simply just ignore them? This can be indicative of their future (or worse) behavior when you are not around.
7. Does the teacher for the class your child would be enrolled in come to greet you during the tour? If not, is there a valid explanation why not? If they don't come greet you or even wave hello, and no one seems to show that it's important, it could be a sign that the school is not into establishing a parent-teacher partnership
8. Ask what the average tenure of the teachers and administrators there is.  Are they there long enough to really be invested in the children to be able to notice their strengths and weaknesses? Is it long enough to get engaged in the school culture and the mission?

Dialogue: What do you look for in your tour? If you've never toured, what questions would you have for other parents?…email me or leave your comments below  

READ ANOTHER RELATED ARTICLE HERE

…Until Next Time

Child Care: When to remove your child

Everyone has had the question of whether or not the daycare your child attends is right.  Here are some signs of when to end your provider's services

Read another related post Here

1. Your child is being bullied.
1. Note that even toddlers are capable of bullying if they live in an environment that fosters it.  If you make a unscheduled visit to the provider while your child is there and you notice some disturbing behaviors: multiple children yelling and spitting into your child's face, while repeatedly stomping on his/her feet, then that is something you want to bring up to the administration.  Pushing and shoving that isn't enjoyed by both parties should also be shared with an administrator.  I've seen where a child is being violently pushed until he falls, and then straddled while the attacker starts punching him….. 2yr olds!!!!
2. When you’ve informed the provider/center administration of what's happening, and nothing is done, this is time to leave.  You don't want this affecting your child's growth or personality.  Some of the bullied kids become forever victims, and some take on the bullying behaviors and become a bully themselves.   Report the incidents and lack of the action to whatever governing body you have in your state (state child and family services, etc.) as per their guidelines. 
2. Your child is being neglected 

1. Provide the facility with different diapers than what you drop your child off wearing (I gave 4 Pull-Ups brand diapers to the daycare, and dropped him off wearing Huggies Little Movers). I repeatedly noticed that when I returned 10-11 hours later, he was wearing that same Huggies Little Movers diaper he was dropped off with.  The diaper was soaked each time.  If you see this, then you can bet that they have left your child neglected for the duration of his time there.  Inform the administration in this case and monitor their action.  Some of the unprofessional centers may deny wrongdoing and may insist that they changed your child.  If you have a special mark written on the outside of the morning drop-off diaper, then you'll know that indeed your child wasn't changed when you come back to see that same marked diaper on your child.  Changing a diaper is not difficult, so if the facility is failing to do this regularly, what else are they failing to do?

3. Your child is being abused by certain teachers

1. Learn to understand the difference between whether or not your child is just complaining about being dropped off or genuinely scared to death.  Once you see
   
   your child is truly scared, pinpoint the issue, report and get out of there.  

4. Your child has scars and scrapes and/or bite marks on their body, but no incident reports have been filed
1. When you pick up your child, make it a priority to check them out.  If you notice something unusual, ask the provider.  If they don't know and say they had a shift change, ask to see the incident report.  If there has not been one filed every time you see a new injury, that is a RED FLAG. Get your child out of there and report the provider. You don't want another child to experience a serious injury and nothing be done about it.
5. The child care provider acts like they are your child's parents.

1. While I understand there are parents that improperly think they are the child care provider's employer, a lot of providers think they have more authority in making decision for your child.  If you seem to have a never-ending battle with a provider/administrator on whether or not they should have dairy; that's a problem. Even more so if they decide to give your child pork when you specifically requested in writing for them not to do so for religious reasons.

6. There is no academic curriculum and you want more than just a babysitter
1. If your child is there for an extended period of time, you may want to know that your child is in an environment that conducive to learning.   If so, and your provider is unwilling or unable to provide this, it's time to roll out.  No hard feelings.  But you're looking for a different experience. Write a letter if you'd like gently letting them know, but also that you appreciate their services rendered. 

Ultimately, it's always your choice on when to leave or not, and you don't want to leave for just any silly reason.  But you don't want to ignore signs that your child should be somewhere better suited to your caregiving needs.

#Daycare: Is mine a cesspool, or just plain normal?

That dreaded sign on your child's daycare classroom door notifying you of the latest confirmed case of craziness to hit reared its ugly head for me YET AGAIN.  The third time in one month alone I've seen.  First it was lice, then strep, now pinkeye.  My son managed to avoid lice, but unfortunately got pummeled with strep throat and pinkeye almost 1-2 days after the signs were posted.  The previous month it was Hand, Foot, and Mouth (I was going to pass out if my son caught that) and an upper respiratory infection.  I'm sick of this and although I know kids are going to get sick at school and daycare, but I can't help but wonder if these are signs that my daycare isn't very sanitary.

Evidence for the theory...

In addition to the multiple signs of confirmed illnesses:

1. The smell.  It hits you in the face when you walk down the hall towards the classrooms.  Urine.  Emanating from the bathrooms.  Sometimes you smell it only in the afternoon, but there are plenty of times when it's strong early in the morning as well.
2. A Critter Control van on site when I arrive...I'll let you draw your own conclusions about that (but there are no pets allowed on the premises).

Troubling still...

While my son was still out with pinkeye, the daycare called to ask when he'd be returning back.  The administrator then casually told me, "Oh yeah, on that subject... Wanted to let you know it seems we've got a stomach bug going around.  Okay, you have a good day!" I didn't know I could feel dejected and disgusted simultaneously - until then.  So you mean to tell me that there's a chance my son will catch that as soon as he returns?  She tried to answer in a way to comfort me, "You'll be happy to know that we are serious about this and are sanitizing the classroom tonight!" I couldn't find solace in that information because it was the first time I'd heard it since the beginning of the school year when we enrolled!  That was the last bit that supported my theory of this daycare being downright nasty.  Now I just don't know what to think.  We waited months to get enrolled here because of the great academic curriculum they have.  My toddler is thriving; family and friends are seeing the changes in his language skills, motor skills, literacy  development and math development.  I don't want to jump out of the pot into the fire, so to speak, and move him to another site that is just as bad and also lacks the academic components.


The Jury is Still Out...

There are arguments both for or against the theory that getting sick 2 times a month is atypical and something to be worried about.  I for one feel that getting sniffles and a cough 2x a month is totally different than things like strep and pink eye floating around the classroom multiple times a month. But at this point, all I can do is wait and see.  I've heard that once spring rolls around, the illness will follow winter out.  Fingers crossed.