How to choose a good infant care
After a long debate on whether to choose a nanny or infant care for my baby, I previously decided on a nanny near my house.
However, after only 2 weeks, my nanny quit on me. She wanted to work only from 7am to 5pm which is totally different from our agreed upon 8am to 7pm. I negotiated to 8am to 6pm but she has decided not to take care of my baby anymore.
So, a mad rush of last minute hunting to find an alternative. I visited several infant care further away from my place as the one nearest was fully booked. Luckily, I am able to find one 15 minutes away and I am thankful that I have a car to manage the transportation.
One more bad thing about nanny, they can quit on you any time but infant care will always be open for you. Plus, the infant care can take care of the baby half day on Saturday. I always take care of the baby myself during the weekends but it's nice to have that option.
The legal limit of teachers to babies ratio is 1:5. However, if the centre is at maximum capacity, your baby will definitely not have the appropriate attention. Take into account that the teachers will also need to go on sick and medical leave so, they should not be filled to the brim. Talk to the teachers, ask them questions about what they do during awake times, how they handle crying babies and basically, just interact with them. They should be upfront and friendly because if there is an issue with the babies, you will need to communicate with them to solve things and be comfortable around them enough to speak up.
2) How they decorate the play area
Is it full of pictures and decorations? Check out if the teachers are putting in effort to cultivate a fun environment. Some of the private centres have spaghetti day where they allow the babies to play with food, pretty fun idea. I definitely can see different situations between different branches so a visit is compulsory before making the decision.
3) The organization of the place
A few of them has space constraints so there are some tight corners and pillars. There are also not enough room for the babies to roam around. Some of the places have toddlers beside the infants although they are separated by partitions. It would be noisy and distracting for the infants so the bigger the distance, the better. I have seen one with the infant sleeping area just beside the bathing area and it would be noisy because they usually shower those babies who are not asleep twice a day. How neat the place is plays a part to ensure that different things do not get contaminated and your babies' personal belongings will be used accordingly so, it's good to observe them while on the visit.
5) The most importantly, how happy is your baby
Perhaps because the infant care is staffed with professionals who knows how to handle babies with ease, my baby never cries when handed over to the teachers even on the first day. Comparing it to the nanny, where the baby will cry every other day, how interesting! She is also always full of smiles when I picked her up so that makes me reassured too. I guess she really likes interacting with other babies and the environment is more colorful and bright, keeping her engaged all the time.
6) If possible, interview the parents who leave their kids there
They give you the best feedback. After leaving my baby there, I met a mum who left a childcare right downstairs her house and she would rather use the carrier to take a 15 minutes bus to this place as she likes the teachers here. I was also interviewed by a few others so I guess it's a normal practice to do so.
After visiting the area, if you have a positive feeling that makes you yourself want to stay there, then I would say that it should be a good choice. It's a second home for the baby so it's worthwhile to make the effort to look around.
However, after only 2 weeks, my nanny quit on me. She wanted to work only from 7am to 5pm which is totally different from our agreed upon 8am to 7pm. I negotiated to 8am to 6pm but she has decided not to take care of my baby anymore.
So, a mad rush of last minute hunting to find an alternative. I visited several infant care further away from my place as the one nearest was fully booked. Luckily, I am able to find one 15 minutes away and I am thankful that I have a car to manage the transportation.
One more bad thing about nanny, they can quit on you any time but infant care will always be open for you. Plus, the infant care can take care of the baby half day on Saturday. I always take care of the baby myself during the weekends but it's nice to have that option.
Critieria to look for in a good infant care
1) The number of teachers and how they interact with youThe legal limit of teachers to babies ratio is 1:5. However, if the centre is at maximum capacity, your baby will definitely not have the appropriate attention. Take into account that the teachers will also need to go on sick and medical leave so, they should not be filled to the brim. Talk to the teachers, ask them questions about what they do during awake times, how they handle crying babies and basically, just interact with them. They should be upfront and friendly because if there is an issue with the babies, you will need to communicate with them to solve things and be comfortable around them enough to speak up.
2) How they decorate the play area
Is it full of pictures and decorations? Check out if the teachers are putting in effort to cultivate a fun environment. Some of the private centres have spaghetti day where they allow the babies to play with food, pretty fun idea. I definitely can see different situations between different branches so a visit is compulsory before making the decision.
3) The organization of the place
A few of them has space constraints so there are some tight corners and pillars. There are also not enough room for the babies to roam around. Some of the places have toddlers beside the infants although they are separated by partitions. It would be noisy and distracting for the infants so the bigger the distance, the better. I have seen one with the infant sleeping area just beside the bathing area and it would be noisy because they usually shower those babies who are not asleep twice a day. How neat the place is plays a part to ensure that different things do not get contaminated and your babies' personal belongings will be used accordingly so, it's good to observe them while on the visit.
5) The most importantly, how happy is your baby
Perhaps because the infant care is staffed with professionals who knows how to handle babies with ease, my baby never cries when handed over to the teachers even on the first day. Comparing it to the nanny, where the baby will cry every other day, how interesting! She is also always full of smiles when I picked her up so that makes me reassured too. I guess she really likes interacting with other babies and the environment is more colorful and bright, keeping her engaged all the time.
6) If possible, interview the parents who leave their kids there
They give you the best feedback. After leaving my baby there, I met a mum who left a childcare right downstairs her house and she would rather use the carrier to take a 15 minutes bus to this place as she likes the teachers here. I was also interviewed by a few others so I guess it's a normal practice to do so.
After visiting the area, if you have a positive feeling that makes you yourself want to stay there, then I would say that it should be a good choice. It's a second home for the baby so it's worthwhile to make the effort to look around.
Jes
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