Thursday, March 20, 2008

Daycare Shopping

My  mom and I just ended a long afternoon of visiting daycare facilities. Suffice it to say I'm mentally and physically exhausted. 

Our plan is to have in-home care the first few months after I return to work, but eventually we will need to find a daycare. I'm quickly learning this can be a competitive venture since, of course, we want our child to get top-notch care. This world involves waiting lists and deposits which sometimes don't even result in getting a spot in the facility (which is why we're starting 6-9 months out).

After researching accreditation levels, star ratings, and dozens of other criteria, we compiled a list of about 10 places worth checking out in person. The afternoon got off to a seriously rocky start. The first two places had smells that I still cannot get out of my nose. Now, my very first job was at a daycare so I know there can often be some funky smells, but this was a whole new level of funkiness. I tried giving them the benefit of the doubt thinking that my heightened sense of smell was contributing to the awfulness, but judging from how quickly my mom turned to bolt out the door it wasn't just me.

As we were driving to the third facility, my mom reaffirmed her offer to retire early and move to Norman if it meant her grandchild didn't have to experience those places. Luckily, things started looking up at the next few facilities, two of which I would be confident in watching our baby. 

Overall, I'm just so shocked at how terrible some of the daycares were, yet they were filled with babies and older children. You'd think once the kids were old enough to talk they would ask to get the heck out of there. Anyway, I'm just so thankful that we found some places that don't give me nightmares. 

Next up, I'll get Mike's opinions of the short list daycares so I'm sure that will be interesting blog fodder. I can only imagine some of the comments he would make if he had gone into the smellyville facilities. Maybe I should send him to one or two just for the entertainment value... 

1 comment:

JoJo said...

I smell a business opportunity for you. Start your own daycare facility in Norman. It's winning attribute -- Smell Free Zones. Let your mom run it. Your kid gets free tuition, your mom gets to keep the profits. Staff it with college kids who are majoring in early childhood development. Shouldn't be that tricky, right?
Your favorite uncle